April 14, 2016
VOLU ME 32 | ISSU E 42 | 50 ¢
WheatRidgeTranscript.com J E F F E R S O N C O U N T Y, C O L O R A D O
A publication of
Colorado workforce demand in focus A special report by Colorado Community Media Staff Report
A large crowd races down Washington Avenue during last year’s Golden Gallop. The annual race is the Golden Schools Foundation’s primary fundraiser, and because the race grows every year, the foundation is able to make a bigger impact. Courtesy photo
Enriching the lives of students Golden Schools Foundation continues its success By Christy Steadman csteadman@coloradocommunitymedia.com Students in Golden schools can flourish — and part of their success can be attributed to the efforts of the Golden Schools Foundation. “We need to make sure we do everything we can to make sure the students are reaching their full potential,” said the foundation’s board of directors chair Kimberly Brock. The articulation schools that the foundation serves are Kyffin, Mitchell, Pleasant View, Shelton, Ralston and Welchester elementary schools,
2016 ENRICHMENT GRANT RECIPIENTS $2,528 — Welchester Elementary for projectors and bulbs
classroom, including a 3D printer and funds for field trips.
$2,380 — Kyffin Elementary for its school garden.
$2380 — Shelton Elementary for its school garden.
$2,328 — Mitchell Elementary for a Lego WeDo Classroom Kit.
$2,000 — Ralston Elementary for staff professional development.
$2,380 — Pleasant View Elementary for supplies for a project-based learning
$2,000 — Bell Middle School for its honors program staff professional development.
Bell Middle School and Golden High School. The Golden Schools Foundation got its start in 2010 after a group of parents and residents noticed people were
choosing schools out of the Golden area to send their children. So they got together to help sustain the local Enrich continues on Page 2
CASAs help children navigate in life Volunteers there for kids in court system By Christy Steadman csteadman@colorado communitymedia.com The Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASA) of Jefferson and Gilpin Counties got started in 2001, and since then CASA volunteers
have helped more than 2,500 children. “When I think about all the children we’ve helped — literally thousands — I think, what if we weren’t here for them?” said Leah Varnell, executive director for CASA Jeffco/Gilpin. Still, she added, in the 15 years the organization has been in existence, only 30 percent to 40 percent of the
children in the court system got advocates. This past year, there were more than 1,000 open cases of child abuse and neglect in Jefferson and Gilpin counties. CASA volunteers were able to advocate for 416 of the children. CASA is always needing volunteers, Varnell said, and volunteers come from all different backgrounds,
professions and personal experiences. Just under half work fullt-ime jobs, and the rest are students, retired or work part-time. April is National Child Abuse Prevention Month, and one way CASA spreads the word about the program is its annual Champions for Children Breakfast, which CASA continues on Page 13
With the fourth-lowest unemployment rate in the nation, 3 percent, Colorado has made mountainous gains when it comes to economic development following the recession that struck in December 2007 and lingered for years. Businesses are flocking to the Centennial State, and Coloradans are finding work. But employers increasingly are finding it difficult to find the right workers to fill their jobs. Metro North Chamber of Commerce President Angela Habben said, at least in her organization’s part of the Denver area, the workforce isn’t meeting the market demand. “Either employers can’t find workers willing to do the job or they can’t find prospects with the training required to meet position qualifications,” she said. Simon Fox, deputy director of Business and Funding Initiatives for the Colorado Office of Economic Development and International Trade, said the demand is great for wokers in the fields of information technology and skilled trades. “There aren’t enough welders or carpenters,” he said. Democratic and Repbulican state lawmakers are working together to address this. The 10 bills comprising a bipartisan package called Colorado Ready to Work are making their way through the Legislature. The overriding theme is creating partnerships between the business and education communities, with the goal of developing a workforce that can meet Colorado’s growing and changing demands. For many business leaders, measures like these can’t be passed soon enough, given the massive growth the Denver metro area figures to see in coming years. “That’s a real supply-and-demand dilemma if we don’t act soon,” Habben said.
WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT
MORE INSIDE On pages 6 and 7, we take a look at the Colorado Ready to Work package, and at what is being done now to train the workforce in the face of growing and changing demand.
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