$13,242 raised by 73 donors
53% complete
$25,000 Goal
OUR WHY
We're here to prove that kids belong in the community, not just at desks, in rows.
We're not just challenging schools; we're uniting the village.
We're redefining education for the future.
OUR HOW
We're an independent Lab School for 6th-8th graders, majority BIPOC, and tuition-free.
Our students break free from traditional classrooms, spending 80% of their school day immersed in unique experiences with community partners like the Denver Zoo, History Colorado, and CSU Spur.
We also ignite their creativity, spending 25% of our entire school year outdoors, learning through play, following forest school principles. Yes, our students are literally sharpening their skills, forging their own paths and lighting fires!
OUR GREATEST ACHIEVEMENT
Happy, Joyful Middle Schoolers!
That is worth repeating.
We have happy, joyful kids that love where they go to school and what they are learning.
We credit their happiness to active learning, close-knit relationships and simply being out, whether that is out in nature or out in the community.
We think this is how most of us actually learn
Testimonials
My kid wakes up excited to go to school. We joke that we have had to up our game on the weekend so she isn't too disappointed it's not a school day. It's hard to compete with a day helping feed animals at the zoo, wading in a creek, or connecting with her friends while they build a three-dimensional city for a national competition.
Every kid should have access to an education like La Luz, engaging in the community, having enough unstructured time to socialize and play, learning to work together, and seeing those subjects we always tell them are so important to learn (science, math, writing, history) being used and worked on in the real world.
At an age where so many kids try to act cool or a bit tough, what I have seen at La Luz has blown my mind, kids showing real affection and care for each other. Somehow La Luz has created a space where ALL of the kids feel safe and included. I love that my daughter is in an environment where everyone, child, and adult alike, feels a commitment to creating a welcoming space.
Our core mission has always been to break free from the confines of four walls, offer kids genuine learning experiences within our community, and have a little fun along the way. What may not have been immediately evident to us was the inherent yearning within the community to actively participate in the education of our kids. People are eager to contribute, yet they often defer the responsibility of "learning" to schools—a notion that we believe is misguided.
Today, a significant portion of our effort is dedicated to collaborating with community partners and businesses to advance the cause of holistic youth education throughout our community. We are not only pushing schools to think differently about educating kids, we are working with our community to be part of the solution. We are uniting the village!
Middle school hasn't changed in decades, and during COVID, we were spurred into action. In 2021-2022, La Luz launched a micro-school for 14 Latinx families in SW Denver. We partnered with amazing community partners such as the Denver Zoo, Museo de las Américas, History Colorado, and Denver Inner City Parish to name a few, to provide real and authentic learning experiences. We learned, experimented and piloted, all while getting feedback from our families, students and our community partners.
We are now in year three of amazing families, kids and community partners. We exist to have an impact on the public education system and are ready to start working with other schools and districts to show then what community-based education should look like.
Organization name
La Luz Education
2020
Tax id (EIN)
87-0892656
Category
Education, Youth Development, Community Improvement & Capacity Building
Organization Size
Medium Organization
Address
361 Vrain StDenver, CO, US
Aurora, CO, US
Commerce City, CO, US
Wheat Ridge, CO, US
Littleton, CO, US
