Collaborative Action and Policy
GSN generates community collaboration and state-wide conversations to solve for change. We bring schools and communities together to address complex issues impacting achievement for all students.
Support for Students who are Justice Engaged
In 2023, GSN launched a state-wide effort called the Justice Engaged Students - Colorado, or JES-CO. This initiative reclaims education as a path towards liberation for justice engaged youth in Colorado.
House Bill 24-1216
GSN helped inform legislation that passed the Colorado House and Senate to codify a pathway to high school completion for justice engaged students. The recently passed House Bill 24‑1216 represents a landmark shift in Colorado — making the state the first in the nation to codify a “Bill of Rights” for justice-engaged K–12 students.
Community Campuses
GSN is expanding educational access through Community Campuses. These campuses — currently located in Aurora and Colorado Springs — are collaborative, trauma-informed learning hubs where education, workforce development, and mental health services operate under one roof.
Lived Experience Immersion (LEI)
GSN also supports the Lived Experience Immersion (LEI) program, an eight-week experience where students learn alongside mentors who have overcome incarceration, violence, and substance misuse. LEI offers healing-centered mentorship, leadership development, and self-reflection, empowering students to recognize their strengths and plan for their future.
Support for Students in Rural Spaces
Since 2015, we've operationalized the Colorado Rural Education Collaborative (CREC), a state-wide effort by rural educators, for rural educators, innovating to solve Colorado's most pressing rural education challenges.
This collaborative utilizes local partnerships to establish programs such as a regional model of college and career readiness that addresses the unique barriers rural communities face when preparing students for life after high school.
The CREC also organizes state-wide PLCs and regional community meetings, harnessing peer-based collaboration to spur innovation in rural education.
Support for Students with Special Needs
Through partnerships with like-minded organizations such as Catalyze, OtterCares, and WeThrive, we extend inclusive pathway opportunities to historically underserved populations so they have equal access and opportunities to build capital and thrive in school and beyond.
Our main focus is on creating inclusive entrepreneurial pathways for students to recognize and develop their talents in an adaptive and supportive environment.
