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Service Learning

At Colorado Academy, we care about others.

From Fifth Grade students raking leaves for community members to Middle School students preparing meals at food banks and Upper School students tutoring in the Horizons program—CA students actively demonstrate compassion for others in need. Their care extends to the environment as well, through initiatives like graffiti removal, trail restoration, and international travel to study and protect vulnerable ecosystems.

At CA, caring for people and our planet isn't just an abstract concept—it's woven into our everyday experiences and school culture. Through these service opportunities, students develop empathy, leadership skills, and a deeper understanding of social and environmental challenges. They learn that meaningful change happens through consistent action and genuine commitment to the communities we serve.

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Making A Difference

Service learning is embedded in Colorado Academy's intentional programming across all divisions, regular reflection opportunities, and a schoolwide ethos that celebrates the responsibility we share toward one another and our world.

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Lower School

CA instills the value of service in young children by helping them understand that the world is filled with uniqueness and empowering them to create positive change. Giving a voice to the needs of others, children learn how they can make an impact. These are the roots of empathy, compassion, gratitude, and cultural competence based within experiences they know.

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Middle School

At each grade level, Middle Schoolers engage with their community in a multitude of ways—working with the ECE program, entertaining seniors at Dever retirement homes, clearing up the Easton Regional parks, working in animal shelters, reading with students who are learning to speak English, preserving a section of habitat along the South Platte River, helping food banks sort groceries, and more.

Upper School

Service learning is woven into multiple aspects of the Upper School, including school-led projects and student-initiated endeavors. Days of Service are built into the CA calendar and are essential to Global Travel trips. CA students are also members of a Philanthropy Board, which researches charitable causes and donates several thousand dollars to nonprofit charities annually.

Having the entire CA community work together for HOPE was amazing. AndI I love seeing the impact—whether it’s someone getting new clothes or a family getting vaccinated—because it reminds me how small actions can create lasting change.Oliver Twite, Class of 2025

 

 

CLUBS, Community impact projects, and HOPE

CA students also participate in service through clubs like Children’s Hospital, Horizons Club, and Haiti Club. CA students relish these opportunities to step up in meaningful ways, serving important roles as teachers and mentors, and becoming the best version of themselves.

Service learning culminates in the Community Impact Project (CIP), a graduation requirement, in which students identify a community need and design/implement a project, or volunteer time to make a positive impact.

HOPE, an organization led entirely by students, has served the community for more than 25 years, bringing thousands of under-resourced families to campus each December for a hot meal, vaccinations, holiday gifts, school supplies, and more.

LEARN MORE ABOUT HOPE | WATCH THE VIDEO

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