At the end of each school year, Colorado Youth for a Change collects and analyzes the data from our programs. This information is used to evaluate achievements and adjust practices to better serve our youth. Here is a snapshot of the 2018-2019 school year. Thanks for making this important work possible with your support!

My high school had a rule that if any student was tardy 3 or more times, they would receive detention. I was always a rule follower and avoided trouble at all costs, but sometimes I was 5-10 minutes late because of my carpool. I remember actually feeling angry about the rule, it’s such an extreme consequence for teenagers who had trouble getting to school by 7 am each day. Here’s how I solved my problem: on any day I was going to be late, I would just skip school entirely to avoid detention. The result was that instead of missing 5 -10 minutes of homeroom, I would miss a full day of instruction. I never got detention, but I also missed enough days of school that my grades suffered. Nothing about that experience was restorative. I didn’t grow as a person, and the only thing I learned was that high school was another “us vs. them” kind of place.

50 years ago today, members of the LGBTQIA+ (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer/Questioning, Intersex, Asexual, etc.) community began a series of demonstrations against the Manhattan police for perpetual harassment and social discrimination at the Stonewall Inn. A place of refuge for many, the Stonewall Inn, an openly gay bar in New York City in the 1960’s, was frequently raided by police (1). Usually patrons scattered into the streets but this time, they rallied together.