Give the Gifts of Education & Opportunity

Vicky is a bright and outgoing student in our North Boulder (NoBo) program. She shows up at the IHDF after-school program eager to laugh with her friends and chat with the volunteer Learning Partners. Francisco Medina, the Program Director, describes her as “everybody’s friend.”

One day last year, Francisco plopped down on a bean bag to do partner reading with Vicky. He noticed that she struggled with certain letters and sounds. Suspecting an underlying challenge for this fourth-grader, Francisco reached out to Vicky’s mother, Guadalupe, to suggest further assessment. Guadalupe consulted with the staff at Columbine Elementary.

Dyslexia was identified as the underlying issue. Francisco’s attention, Guadalupe’s trust in our program, and the support of the school led to adjustments in Vicky’s learning plan. She received targeted interventions at school, one-on-one tutoring and special dyslexia-friendly books. Everyone rallied around Vicky and her reading skills dramatically improved.

As Vicky returned to school this fall, she continued to experience strong growth. Just from September to October, Vicky saw a 40% increase in reading accuracy and her vocabulary and comprehension improved by 30%: a testament to her hard work and the incredible support system around her.

Inequities and complexities intersect with Vicky’s story in various ways. Importantly, dyslexia is often detected later among students (a) in lower income environments and (b) who are multilingual. Their reading challenges are frequently attributed to factors other than dyslexia which delays evaluation. Large class sizes in school certainly do not help.

Without the individual attention of someone like Francisco who is trained, has the capacity for one-on-one interaction and who works from a strength-based perspective to see past common biases, students like Vicky can fall further and further behind in reading.

Vicky’s trajectory has changed thanks to Francisco’s experience, Guadalupe’s advocacy, the dedicated teachers at Columbine Elementary, the efforts of our NoBo team and your generosity.

IHDF Dreamer Scholars experience success in many forms. They establish strong math and reading skills and develop healthy social-emotional strategies. They may work through dyslexia or rise to greater academic challenges. Over 80% are the first generation to go to college from their families.

Success in elementary years builds toward success in middle school and high school. And we are there for all of it–from 1^st grade through postsecondary studies to their first jobs.

Your generosity helps the dreams of students like Vicky become reality. 

Let’s continue to build into students and to expand our impact in 2025! Your year-end gift will play a crucial role in funding a new class each year and ensuring that we continue to support education and opportunity for Vicky and hundreds of other Dreamer Scholars like her.

Click to learn more about how a donation can make a difference and donate today!