On the western edge of Edgewater lies Jefferson Junior/Senior High School and across Pierce Street is Lumberg Elementary School. To those without kids, these spaces are where you take your dogs to run or use the track for exercise. For others this is where their kids went to school 20 or 30 years ago when Edgewater was a different community. For those like my wife and I, these schools are where our kids attend school and where our heart lies.
We firmly believe that a community has a role to play in creating thriving schools. Our hope is that Edgewater Elementary, Lumberg Elementary and Jefferson Junior/Senior High School are thriving schools for all students. To see this vision become reality, we need your help.
Before I dive into what we can each do, it is important to talk about how we arrived at a place where our schools are disconnected from our Edgewater community.
Changing Demographics in Edgewater Schools
As I have talked to longtime Edgewater residents, I have picked up on a common theme. Going back to the 1970s, Jefferson High School began to develop a reputation as a struggling school. One prominent Edgewater family told me that other parents gave them a hard time for sending their children to Lumberg Elementary and Jefferson High School in the 1970s. Even back then parents who wanted the best for their children would send their children to other schools in the area like Wheat Ridge High School instead of Jefferson.
Over the last thirty years the demographics of our schools have changed as housing was cheaper in the Edgewater area than surrounding communities. The demographics also changed as a result of middle class families choosing to send their children to other schools. From 1991 to 2001, the percentage of Jefferson High School students facing the roadblocks of poverty (% of students receiving free or reduced lunch rates) rose from 16% to 45%. Then in 2011, that number rose to 86%. Currently, 9 in 10 students at Jefferson Junior/Senior High School face the roadblocks of poverty. There was also a corresponding growth in Latino students over the last thirty years. Now 80% of students in our local Edgewater schools are Latino.
Around town you will hear statements made that the children in our local schools are not “our kids.” By this they mean that the children in our schools live in other cities. But this is a myth. We have the data to show that the children in our Edgewater schools are Edgewater kids though they might just look different than the growing majority in our city.
Now a majority of the students in our local schools are Latino and face the roadblocks of poverty. As a result, the data from our local schools shows that students are struggling academically from kindergarten to 12th grade. Where there is concentrated poverty, there will more than likely be low academic results in that school. A side effect of low academic results is that middle class families are continuing to send their children to schools with better academic results.
A Change is Happening
Local families like ours are choosing to send their children to neighborhood schools in Edgewater. When our family moved to Edgewater we toured Lumberg Elementary and decided to send our daughters there. We love that our children can learn from students who look different from them and have different experiences than them. Both of our daughters have had a great education at Lumberg Elementary and Jefferson Junior/Senior High School.
Other Edgewater families are following and choosing to send their children to Edgewater schools. Grant Babb, co-owner of Joyride Brewing, with his wife chose to send their children to their local Edgewater school. David Fleck, former Edgewater Councilperson, and his wife chose to send their child to their neighborhood Edgewater school.
Choosing a school for your child is very personal and is dependent on the academic needs of that child. Our hope is that neighborhood families would visit their neighborhood school and meet teachers before choosing a school outside the neighborhood.
When I’ve looked at our schools in the Denver area where all kids, regardless of socioeconomic status, succeed academically, I’ve found those schools to be integrated. Integrated schools have a beautiful mix of ethnicities and socioeconomic statuses. Students learn from each other and develop a well-rounded education. Schools divided by socioeconomics and race further strengthen the divides that are present in our communities.
Local Funding for Education
Since we launched Edgewater Collective over five years ago, we have seen our community rally around our schools. Community members and local foundations have invested over $434,000 in our work with the schools in the 80214 area. These funds have been used for college scholarships, classroom books, Goodwill CareerPlus mentoring program, college pathways, teacher training, school gardens and much more. Over that time period we have seen important data points for student learning and the teacher workplace increase. This growth is moving up into the junior and senior high levels as well.
School funding in Colorado is not where it should be so local, targeted funding for our schools is so important. When you donate to Edgewater Collective, you can be sure that the money is being used locally, for our neighborhood schools. We keep our overhead with Edgewater Collective very low so we can multiply the funds that go to our schools. Over the last few years I have also seen other county organizations increase their funding into various projects in the area. As we increase the awareness and opportunities in our local schools, other organizations are motivated to join the effort to see students succeed and schools thrive. So if I included the other investments from other organizations it would be much higher that $434,000.
So How Can You Help?
With new residents moving into Edgewater, we are committed to connecting them to our Edgewater community and our schools. Even those without kids yet or those whose kids have already graduated have a role to play in creating thriving Edgewater schools.
Here are some avenues for you to jump on board with this effort and bring more funding and resources to our schools:
- Join Our Email List
Stay up to date with our work in the local schools and how you can be involved.
- Joyride Fundraising for the Jefferson Community Center
Join us on Saturday, May 19 from 12-4 pm at Joyride Brewing Company (2501 Sheridan Boulevard) to raise funds for the Jefferson Community Center. The Jefferson Community Center is inside Jefferson Junior/ Senior High School and connects students and parents with resources to help them overcome the roadblocks of poverty. Join us on May 19 as we raise funds to keep the Jefferson Community Center open during the summer. $1 from every beer sold goes to these efforts. You can also learn more about the Jefferson Community Center and donate directly here.
- Jefferson Booster Club Golf Tournament
Join us for the first Jefferson Booster Club Tournament at Lakewood Country Club on May 21! Get a chance to play the newly redesigned, private Lakewood Country Club and support the sports programs at Jefferson Junior/Senior High School. More details here.
- Edgewater Community Festival and 5k
Join us for the Edgewater Community Festival and 5k on Saturday, August 25 as we raise money for classroom libraries in our local elementary schools and other projects in our schools. More information here.
- Connect with the Jefferson Community Garden
We have a devoted group of community members who are involved at the community garden at Jefferson Junior/Senior High School. There are free monthly gardening classes and ways you can help connect students to the garden. Click here for more information.
Together we can continue the forward progress to see thriving schools in Edgewater. We cannot rely on the school district or teachers to get us there alone. We all have a role to play.
Feel free to give me a call (303-748-0631) or email me at joel@edgewatercollective.org if you would like to learn more about how you can support these efforts. I’ll treat you to a cup of coffee at Coda or a beer from Joyride and we can see how your talents can support our schools.
Joel has been a resident of Edgewater, Colorado with his family since 2012. He is the Executive Director of local education nonprofit Edgewater Collective and Editor of the Edgewater Echo.
Be the first to comment on "Editorial: You Can Have a Role in Creating Thriving Schools"