[00:00:05] Before we get started, I just wanted to let you know this interview was done last year around August 2025. So with that being said, let's go ahead and continue on with the show. Hello, hello, everyone. Welcome to School: After Hours where we talk about all things related to our school sound program and education. I am your host, J. Lee, and today we have an incredible conversation for you.
[00:00:27] My guest, Dr. Virginia Patterson, the founder of Reschool, a Colorado-based nonprofit on a mission to make out-of-school learning equitable and accessible for every kid in the state, sits with us and breaks down how Reschool partners with families, employers, and community organizations to meet youth where they are outside of the classroom.
[00:00:49] We talk about their Learning Dollars program, which has put over $1 million directly into the hands of families and communities. We also sit down and dig into the power of co-designing youth programs with communities rather than for them.
[00:01:05] And we get real about the challenge of sustaining youth programs with political priorities shift and funding disappears. If you care about education equity, community-driven change, and what it really takes to build systems that serve every child, this one is for you. So without further ado, let's go ahead and get started. Hey y'all, I know we're getting into the good stuff on this episode, but I just wanted to pop in and tell y'all about something new that we're doing this year.
[00:01:32] So to get ready for the school year, I'm hosting a virtual Brunch and Build Boot Camp this July. Before Saturday mornings from 11 a.m. to 12 p.m., we'll be tackling your youth program vision, team building and how you can support them, how to build partnerships not just within your community but other organizations that are aligned with your goals, and building out your operations systems to better support your program.
[00:02:00] So make sure that you sign up, bring your coffee, your tea, and your favorite brunch food. I know I'll bring mine. Registration is open right now, so make sure that you share this with program providers, youth program managers, youth organizations, so we can all come together and plan as a community. Hey Amy, how are you? Hey Denise, I'm doing great. How are you doing?
[00:02:27] I'm doing all right. So thank you for joining us today to talk about all the things that you do. So for anyone that does not know you, can you tell us a little bit about what Reschool is and how you started it all? Yeah, sure. Well, Reschool is a nonprofit organization based in Colorado. We primarily focus our work on Colorado, and our goal is to provide access to learning that happens everywhere for kids across our state.
[00:02:54] And when I say learning happens everywhere, I primarily mean that we're extending the learning beyond the time that kids are in school to the time that they're spending outside of school, and trying to make that system that sits alongside our education system more equitable and more accessible for youth across our state. Awesome. So in doing all this work, you shared us your story of how everything started and your journey in education through policy, through charter school, all the things.
[00:03:23] And starting Reschool, how has Reschool partnered with families, schools, and other organizations to create that impact that you wanted? Well, we've partnered with community-based organizations like housing authorities. We've worked with employers. We've also worked with nonprofits that are embedded within communities. And the goal there is that we want to be in spaces where families already have trusted relationships in their communities,
[00:03:51] and that we partner with those organizations to be able to understand what are the contexts within which families in those communities are accessing and having educational opportunities. What are their needs? What are their interests that they're trying to fulfill? And to what extent are they getting what they need versus where are the gaps?
[00:04:10] And as we start to understand, and there's often very similar needs and interests across communities, but then there's also those that are unique to different communities, depending on who lives there. And so as we understand who we're working with and what the needs are within communities, then we can start to co-design and co-create concepts or programs or those kinds of things in response to what we're learning.
[00:04:33] And what we found is that after doing this work for over 10 years, that there are some consistent interests and needs that we've seen over and over again, regardless of the community we've worked with. Families want and need access to cash. Like they need money and resources that they can then spend on the things that their children need that supplements what they're getting from school.
[00:04:53] Everything from books and resources and materials that they can be using in the home to activities and summer camps and after school programming to instruments or equipment for sports, you know, so that they can engage in those programs. Tutoring, you name it, you know. And so we have raised over $700,000 over the last decade that has gone directly to parents that they have been able to use for their children's needs.
[00:05:19] And sometimes we've run funds that are directly with youth and then the youth get to direct the money themselves as well. We've raised another $300,000 in addition, so over a million dollars total that the other funding has gone directly to what we partner with local learner advocates. Some people call that promotoras or navigators. And those are people that are in relationship with community that help people access opportunities, navigate system barriers, et cetera.
[00:05:47] And so we've had our own navigators and learner advocates on our team. Like when we worked with the hospitals, we were an employee benefit. And anyone who worked in that hospital could have access to reschool resources, including our learner advocates. But then we've also partnered with organizations that have those kinds of relationships and people already employed. And then we just compensate them for being our partner and for their time and expertise to work with their community.
[00:06:12] We've also provided provider dollars, which is something else that's come from families in the sense that if there's providers who families want, like they're more recently in one of the cities just outside of Denver, there are families that wanted access to some arts program, mariachi, for their mariachi dance and music for their children, as well as soccer programming. And it didn't exist in this community that they were able to access.
[00:07:04] And so we're also trying to help people in the community. And so we're trying to help people in the city of Denver, which are more of the areas that they're more than one of the cities in the city of Denver, which are more than one of the cities in the city of Denver. And so we're creating now like very organically grown learning ecosystems in various parts of the metro area.
[00:07:27] We've actually worked statewide, but more recently our work's been more in the Denver metro area that are starting to build a more equitable pathway for people to learn across a variety of spaces.
[00:07:38] Nice. So in building and going through this process of partnering, how important was it to you and the organization to consider that not just that community voice, but that parent voice and making funds available and making resources available and finding those resources for the children as well as the families in the community? I mean, it's become essential, really. Like the fact that families have access to resources, they feel trusted, they feel they have the agency.
[00:08:08] Like families know what their kids' strengths and challenges are overall. They just don't always have the resources to do something about it, to find whatever it is they need in order to fulfill their child's interests or to address a challenge they might be facing. Or they maybe lack information around where those programs exist or where those resources exist. So we're about empowering families to make the choices that matter most for them and for their kids.
[00:08:32] And to the extent that they need some support in doing that work, then we are here to provide that kind of support for them and or resources that they can use to make those decisions. And so I believe for the most part, the way school systems have worked or a lot of our systems, not just education systems, is they get designed by the people who work in those systems and they bring their thing to a community and not necessarily co-design it alongside or with the community. And we're trying to do the opposite.
[00:09:02] You know, we're trying to create things alongside communities, not for or to communities. Right. And I like that that is something that you've brought up in other interviews as well. When doing this, you look at it from a co-design perspective instead of this is what we have. So this is what we're going to bring to you to implement and to exercise. Because what those individuals, what those organizations may be bringing, that community may not need. Yeah, exactly. And then they don't get used and then it's been like a waste of resources.
[00:09:33] Exactly. So with going through that process, what are some of the things that have come out of it that was eye-opening for you in the organization? You know, I think the most like eye-opening thing for me right now, and maybe this is just given the times that we're living in, is that there's such a lack of investment that we're making as a society in youth in so many different ways. But I can give an example, like very recently.
[00:10:01] So we worked on a ballot initiative in 2021 that had it passed. Unfortunately, it didn't pass. It was close. But had it passed, it would have brought about $135 plus million of public funding into the state that kids could access with learning dollars, that they could use basically for out-of-school learning. And at the time, we worked on that with an organization whose leader has now become the mayor of our city of Denver.
[00:10:27] And he brought that concept with him to the city, since it didn't pass at the state level, and created a pilot program modeled after learning dollars at the city level called MySpark, that ran for like last year, like last school year, basically. But then this year, I don't know, given other priorities or other things that have happened, they pretty much defunded all of their out-of-school and children's programming at the city level, like gutted it.
[00:10:53] The biggest cuts that the city made just recently in the last two weeks were to the children's programming. And so I feel like we feel like we're making these steps forward. We finally get to a place where we're showing people the value and the impact of investing in youth programming and what opportunities that opens. And then the political winds shift, and it just gets all taken away, you know? And so it's frustrating, I guess, more than anything.
[00:11:18] And that's not necessarily something specific that's come out of our work, but it just shows that I think there's so many people that are probably listeners to your podcast who have had experiences in this space that find it hard to sometimes continue to keep moving forward when our systems don't necessarily invest in the right things that, you know? If we're going to invest in anything, I think kids is a pretty darn important thing to invest in.
[00:11:43] Right. Especially when it comes to shaping the society, the communities, the world that we want to see. So most definitely, I definitely get that. But that leads me to my next question for you. Like in the light of the current changes in education, how have you reshaped reschool to support youth and communities? I mean, we came into this year, like a lot of nonprofits, I think, not sure how it was going to go. You know, we didn't have government funding.
[00:12:13] And so we weren't personally as an organization worried that there was going to be a chunk of money. But because so many of our funders have other fundees who did have government funding that they now lost, that they're asking for more money. And so there's been these ripple effects around funding that I think a lot of us in the out-of-school nonprofit space are dealing with right now. And so because of our commitment to something I shared before around emergent kind of strategy and being nimble and we're small,
[00:12:43] we remain small as an organization on purpose because we have partners. And so instead of having a big organization when we bring it all in-house, we have a core team, but then we have partners that we build our capacity in that way. We've been able to be flexible, I guess, this year in ways that have been critical. We've been able to reduce, like, our budget as the funding has reduced. And we really saw that the need for kids to have access to safe spaces with caring adults
[00:13:11] and people that they were connected to in the community during a time of challenge at the national and local levels was something that was probably as important in a different way now than it was during the pandemic. Like, there was just a new need that was really, really necessary for us to step in. So we've mainly done learning dollar funds this year. We've run three learning dollar funds and worked with three different communities across the metro area
[00:13:36] and just really wanted to be there during this time to support them as they're navigating through this space with their kids. And so that's been our highest priority this year, whereas in past years, we maybe were doing learning dollar funds and working with providers in those communities, but we were also running maybe two or three other kinds of projects or programs. And we've really been focused laser-like this year on community.
[00:14:01] How has that changed some of your dealings with your partnerships and your partners that you usually have or you usually bring in? I mean, I think they're struggling as well for a lot of the same reasons we are. And so we're just riding this out and we'll get to the other side of it. But it's been hard because there's just a general lack of resources across the ecosystem. I've been trying to find creative ways to try to prevent this from happening again down the road.
[00:14:29] And so I've been talking with some people locally about revisiting a policy or ballot initiative type strategy, either at a local or state level, as something that this might be the right time to try to pursue again, just given all the cuts and changes. I've also been intrigued by and trying to learn more about the school choice tax credit, which was part of the federal budget bill. I initially thought it was mainly for school choice, like to go like a voucher,
[00:14:57] like you could go to a private school with this tax credit, which it can allow for. But what I've learned is that it also seems to be something that if our governor were to opt in and we could become one of the states that was part of that program, that we could raise money like we've done for learning dollars and that it would be a federal tax credit where people could donate. And then we could then use the money that they've donated to provide learning dollars at a larger scale. And then the people who donate would get a tax credit later on.
[00:15:25] And so that money could also not only provide learning dollars, but it could help provide support for providers. Like I guess schools and districts could be vendors for it as well. If it were to go through and they could then partner with providers in the community to provide extended day programming or like in Colorado, we have four day school weeks and so fifth day programming. So I've been trying to not be only frustrated, but also think creatively and see what the possibilities are
[00:15:54] and try to see how some of these possibilities could be investments and resources for kids in our state. Right. And I know that sometimes that can be a challenge, but I definitely see how this can put someone in the place of, OK, so how in the world can we go forward from here? Like what are we supposed to do? And in that vein or in that space, moving forward in the things,
[00:16:21] all the things that you want to do for your youth and in the current climate of education, how do you see yourself continuing to serve, not just the youth, but also the families that you serve at the same time? Well, I mean, I think that there's going to be an ongoing need to have these kind of funds. And so to the extent that we can get smarter and more creative about how to sustain that kind of funding. And when I say these funds, I mean both the funds that are directly for families to access opportunities for their kids,
[00:16:50] but also funding the ecosystem of providers, because if families have resources, but not providers to go to or providers, but not families, you need both, you know, like you need to fund the supply, you need to fund the demand. And for the ecosystem to be healthy, those providers in that ecosystem also need to have a voice and shaping like what those policies or those funds might look like so that they will be sustainable for them as well. So I'm very focused right now on sustainability and trying to solve for that challenge.
[00:17:20] But when we create systems that are sustainable, that they're anchored in the needs and desires of the families and kids that they're intended to serve. Right. But you bring up a good point. And I did want to ask you this follow up question, like what role, because people may not know, what role does policy play when it comes to choices like this? Well, I mean, it depends, I think, on a state by state basis. But in our state, there might be some things that we could do at a legislative level,
[00:17:48] like at the state capitol, you know, like pass some kind of a policy or create a small program. But probably the strategy here is a voter initiated kind of strategy where you go to the voters, whether that be like the city of Denver voters or like we did in 2021, the state of Colorado voters. And you present an opportunity, a policy of an idea. And then they vote either yay or nay on that idea. And so but in order to get to that point, you need to build a coalition.
[00:18:17] You need to have a diverse and expansive coalition of people whose voices and communities that they work with are advocating for this, too. And that is what will move voters or others to want to then say, yes, this is something that we think is important for our kids. And so you have the policy itself, which is the bill or the initiative or whatever. But then it's a lot of the work around the coalition and the advocacy and those kind of pieces that are part of that puzzle, too.
[00:18:45] I was like, oh, choices, choices, choices. But I do feel like that if this is something that the families and so much of the community needs, it is important to have like that advocate for them. You know what I mean? Mm hmm. Because for those that can't be in the room and have the say so or even know what to say and express their needs, I think it's important for them to have that. Absolutely. And like when we had our advocates that were embedded within the two employer sites as an employee benefit,
[00:19:13] any employee in those two hospitals could access Reschool's advocates. But we marketed and primarily reached out to like the mid and low wage departments within the hospitals. And so people would come to us. You know, all parents have issues and challenges as it relates to their kids' education, whether you're somebody that is a nurse or working in the cafeteria or administrative, you know, behind the scenes or a doctor. You know, like everybody can come and try to like get support from an advocate for various kinds of needs.
[00:20:12] And so we're just building upon their existing supports to be able to reach more people. So I know that's right. Well, Amy, thankful for all the work that you do in continuing with this fight for not just the communities, but the youth that you serve as well. But before we go, we are going to go ahead and jump into our professionals lounge. OK, Amy, we have made it to the end of our show for our professionals lounge.
[00:20:39] So for professionals lounge, my question for you is what lessons have you learned about sustainability and growth that others could apply to the current situation that we're going through now in education based on your long experience doing this? Right. Well, I'm going to share two things and they're kind of related. But the first one I touched on in my interview, I believe that there are a lot of organizations in the community that already are really good at doing certain things.
[00:21:08] Like they've really figured out how to work with youth, you know, in really effective ways. Or they're really good at like training new leaders and fellows to kind of bring programming into the space or professional development of existing out of school time providers. Et cetera. Like there's a lot of great resources. And so what I've tried to do is not duplicate or replicate the things that exist, but really figure out what is uniquely something that reschool brings to the table.
[00:21:36] And then when it comes to knowing that the communities or families we're working with, whether that be providers or parents or youth, need something else, need something else, that we are looking to this broader ecosystem of people and organizations to be our partners and carrying something out. And I think that for sustainability and growth, if we could do more of that, more of that collaboration,
[00:21:57] as compared to trying to work in more scarcity kind of ways and build together, I believe that is the wave of the future. And so that's one thing that we've been trying to really lean into more. And then kind of related to that is I feel like once you have some of that energy going, and this gets back to when we talked about policy and advocacy and coalitions,
[00:22:20] is if you have that and it's been built in an authentic way, then that's a powerful thing that you can start to organize around. And, you know, just as a resource, we have been participating in some programming by a group called the Children's Funding Project, which is a national organization who supports local people and organizations who want to get policies passed in their community.
[00:22:43] And they've been successful at supporting those communities to pass policies, whether that be for out of school time for kids or early child care and our other kinds of youth focused needs. So I do believe that we need to be more involved at pushing and doing things actively at the community level to make change at this stage, as opposed to hoping and relying on our leaders to do it for us.
[00:23:11] So whether or not I'll be successful, like, well, let's check back in a few years. But I do believe that that's the way to go, at least at this point in time. I know that's right. Well, Amy, if anyone wanted to get in touch with you to learn a little bit more about what you do, also learn a little bit more of how they could help or even volunteer with Reschool, how did they get in touch with you? Well, you can either go to our website, which is reschoolcolorado.org, and there's a lot of information and resources on there.
[00:23:37] You can also reach out via email at info at reschoolcolorado.org. Well, everyone, that brings us to the end of our show. If you like what you heard and you enjoyed our conversation, make sure that you're following us on YouTube, but also hit that like button so we know what you are enjoying. You can also find us on other podcast platforms like Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and Google Podcasts, if you want to listen to our audio version as well.
[00:24:04] To get more behind the scenes stuff, make sure that you're following us on our social media accounts, Instagram and Facebook at School After Hours. Well, that's all I have for today. In the words of Mr. Arthur Ashe, start where you are, use what you have, do what you can. Until next time, y'all. Bye-bye.