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20-year-old Enihs Medrano never envisioned herself serving in local government until a program for young people opened her eyes to the power of civic engagement. As a high schooler in Lafayette, Medrano connected with JD Mangat, a fellow Lafayette resident who became Medrano’s coach and mentor in Public Achievement, a youth-led civic engagement program within CU Engage.

CU Â鶹ӰԺ researchers have been working with state partners to understand and address the financial strain new teachers face when trying to enter the educator workforce and elevate teacher candidates’ voices. Their work paid off when Gov. Jared Polis signed first-of-its-kind legislation for Colorado that will support new teachers and create student-educator stipends.

With help from CU Â鶹ӰԺ’s Public Achievement (PA) program students and staff and support from Â鶹ӰԺ Valley School District administrators, several high school juniors' dream of creating an ethnic studies course at Lafayette’s Centaurus High School is becoming a reality. PA leaders developed curriculum for the first-of-its-kind social studies elective class exploring culture, identity, race and ethnicity, and they hope it will be offered districtwide in 2023.

On April 14, the School of Education at CU Â鶹ӰԺ will host a virtual gathering of Ed Talks. Inspired by TED Talks, these short talks will explore the theme of political courage, including book censorship, gender and sexual diversity in schools, institutional violence, and the personal and powerful battles for inclusive higher education and STEM opportunities. 

Teachers, informal educators, youth organizers, researchers and more gathered to reimagine climate change education for a more just and sustainable world through a series of free webinars and an in-person gathering at CU Â鶹ӰԺ in August and September. Watch the Climate Change Learning Series webinars, which uniquely focused on the role of justice, emotion and action.

Just before Denver's Pride weekend, the team behind an innovative effort to make classrooms safer for LGBTQ youth discusses how schools shape what people think is normal. A Queer Endeavor and a talented group of graduate students and faculty from the School of Education, will host their third Educator Institute for Equity and Justice in July.

Born out of the pandemic but not confined to it, the new Buffs for Front Line Service Employees program provides equitable educational support to the families and school-aged children of the university’s essential employees. Through in-person and virtual support across subject areas and grade levels, Buffs4FLSE fosters a welcoming and nurturing where CU Â鶹ӰԺ service employees and their families feel seen and valued.

In May, the CU Â鶹ӰԺ School of Education hosted an evening of reimagining new social and educational futures through the art of play, heart, truth, and dreams at the Ed Talks virtual event. At times lyrical, lighthearted, and deeply personal, the videos from this series of CU Â鶹ӰԺ's Ed Talks are now available and sure to leave the audience full of hope and excitement for a more beautiful and just future.

The CU Â鶹ӰԺ School of Education and College of Engineering and Applied Science have teamed up to launch a new Inclusive Teaching and Pedagogy in STEAM Learning collaboration. The initiative aims to create a space for faculty, staff and students across disciplines to engage in conversations, practice and action centered on issues that live at the intersections of equity, inclusion and education.

Join us Feb. 23 and 25 for the virtual Teachers of Color and Allies (TOCA) Summit! This year's event will feature an amazing lineup of educators, including Gerardo Muñoz, Colorado Teacher of the Year as moderator, for BIPOC Teacher Panel and facilitated affinity group conversations to foster community building and knowledge sharing. Register now