We want to break down the walls between learning and living, so we work to build real community. We believe schools should be places that bring people together because this is where we see each other each day, where we hear about each other’s lives and where we care for each other. We have watched Patchwork grow into a hub where people gather to talk about important matters, feel supported in their growth as parents and individuals, and advocate for people of all ages.
We believe that getting out into the community and bringing the community in helps us all to remember that learning does not just happen inside these four walls, but is happening all the time. We are grateful for the support of many parents and organizations! See below for updates on our most recent community projects and our community partners!
POCKET: Patchwork Outreach Connecting Kids with Elders & Teens
It is important for children to have relationships with all kinds of people. We are currently finding ways to connect teens in our community with part-time jobs working with and learning about young children. In addition, we offer volunteer opportunities for elders to stay connected with the joy of spending time with young children. These connections across ages are valuable to everyone involved! Please feel free to contact us if you are interested!
Patchwork GO
Patchwork GO is another Outreach program connecting us with schools near and far – see below for more details and to sign up!
Local Partner Organizations
Naropa University
We are honored to have Naropa students in the Master’s Programs for Clinical Mental Health Counseling Program carry out Practicum and Internship hours at our school. These graduate students offer additional Social/Emotional support in the classrooms for our students and staff. Often their presence allows us to provide essential accommodations to a child with unique behavioral or mental health needs. In exchange, we are excited to share with them the ways in which we are able to bring Social Emotional well-being into the classroom in each and every moment of the day, and to support these students in getting the hours they need to become licensed practitioners in the community. The students are supervised by a licensed counselor from the Louisville Family Center. Please click here for more details on the program and our partnership.
University of Colorado
We have often partnered with CU to offer students, usually from the CU INVST Community Studies Program, opportunities to learn about community leadership and the importance of Early Childhood Education. Often CU students will research the structure of our school and then present their findings to their classmates, and some eventually become assistant or part-time teachers to learn more!
As a professor at CU-Boulder, I love being a volunteer at Patchwork School. I’m impressed with their distinctive educational philosophy, and it’s clear that they are providing an environment where the children are growing socially and intellectually. And equally importantly, it’s clear that the children are really happy.
— Volunteer, 2010
Louisville Family Center
Louisville Family Center offers Play Therapy, Parent Counseling, and other resources for heart centered family living. The Patchwork School partners with Louisville Family Center to provide Parent & Staff Workshops and other supports for Patchwork families and staff.
Queer Asterisk
Offering therapy services to the LGBTQ+ community in the greater Denver, Boulder area, Queer Asterisk has supported The Patchwork School by offering staff and parent educational workshops for our community. We have learned about systemic privilege and oppression, specifically heteronormativity through an intersectional lens, biological sex, gender, and sexuality as binary and linear social constructs, queer and non-binary identities and experiences, concepts and language pertaining to queer identities and experiences, best practice guidelines, strategies and tools to create inclusive spaces for queer and trans individuals and their families.
I just wanted to thank you again for such a meaningful experience this past semester working at Patchwork. I think my main takeaway has been the realization that the best way for me to show up for the children is to be my authentic self. Previously, I had this idea that there were certain emotions/experiences that, as a teacher, I had to hide from the children, partly in order to protect them, partly out of my own discomfort with sharing these parts of myself, and partly out of fear that this would make other adults (parents or other teachers) uncomfortable. By suppressing parts of myself that I worry are unacceptable or unlovable, I also, in both implicit and explicit ways, send the message to children that those same parts that reside in them are also unacceptable or unlovable. I can’t tell you how huge this epiphany has been both to my work and also my life! I’ve also come to truly appreciate the importance of letting children have their experiences, not trying to avoid conflict or discomfort or sadness or anger, but instead allowing it all to be okay and valuable. It’s become clear to me that when adults attempt to orchestrate children’s experiences so as to avoid anything that might make the day challenging (for the child, as well as the adults) or when we swoop in and attempt to solve challenges or rush children through challenges, we ultimately steal their opportunity to process and work through their emotions/difficulties. The children attract or create these challenges in order to externalize something going on internally so that they can understand it better and move the energy, and when we arrest this process, we prevent them from completing a necessary component of their growth. They will then have to continue to experience the challenge until they find a way to complete the process. So ultimately, in our desire to protect children and prevent any discomfort, we are really prolonging their ability to move past something challenging.
Brittney Barth, Intern 2018
Donors and Supporters
Fox Dog Coffee
Fox Dog Coffee is a Family-Owned, Independent Coffee Shop in Erie, Co, stating that they “exist to inspire the coffee journey by loving and serving everyone in our community.” Thank you for their coffee donations for our work days!
Bittersweet
Located in downtown Louisville, Bittersweet features house made pastries and delicious coffee and drinks in a warm and inviting environment. Bittersweet has often donated wonderful treats for our community work days!
Thank you also to Home Depot, ACE Hardware, Collegiate Painters, Good People Tree Service, Snarf’s and Big Daddy Bagels for donating to our 2024 Community Work Day!
