An enthusiastic crowd of supporters and educators were treated to a food-court-style dinner as they heard updates about mentored high school students moving forward to secondary education after graduation. The Peak Education Back 2 School event filled Clay Venues event center on Aug. 31.

Students, with their families, in the nonprofit Peak Education program chatted with guests about the program with its mission “Create a sense of self determination to achieve a strong outcome after high school that leads to a living wage job + fulfillment.”

Peak Education, focusing on lower-socioeconomic schools, for 24 years has grown into many hundreds of success stories and was, said board President Cassie Gannett, one of the only nonprofits to grow during the pandemic.

It was founded by Dr. H. Dalton Connor and Steven Mullens to help students from seventh grade until they completed their college education. Trained staff and volunteers are there “to answer all the questions before college and then during college,” Gannett said.

The program helps develop potential “in high-promise scholars” in areas of social skills and mental health, self-advocacy and life skills, postsecondary and career, and community engagement. Programs focus on “empowering students to take ownership of their educational journey and receive the support and mentorship to overcome barriers that may impede them from reaching their full potential,” the founders had explained.

Statistics for Peak Education students include 95% are high school graduates, 93% pursue higher education and 88% complete postsecondary.

There were cheers across the fundraiser as Mitchell High School Principal George Smith shared the school’s success moving forward from the Colorado Department of Education’s low-performance accountability watch list.

Mitchell had been in ‘”priority improvement” danger from 2016-19, Smith said. There was a “COVID lull” before Smith became principal in 2020-21.

In 2021-22, he said, it was “how to get Mitchell off the clock of the required innovation plan,” which grades achievement, growth, postsecondary workforce readiness. The year 2022 signaled a drop after year four on the state’s watch list, but 2023-24 is a year of change and opportunity as there is a pause in “the clock” as innovative new programs are expected to continue to boost the school’s priority improvement, Smith said.

There’s now a vision of preparing the first Mitchell class with students in post-secondary, Smith said with a smile.

Back 2 School attendees donated $33,000 to go to Peak Education’s programs. CEO Carlos Jiménez described pledges for tuition to theSTEAM Ahead summer program, semester stipends for Near Pass Mentor and monthly programming in partner schools. Donations are accepted at peakedu.org.

The evening’s food was a delicious variety: Conrad’s Flava Kitchen’s Jerk/Curry Chicken, Rice & Plantains, Lemonade; Las America’s Restaurant’s Steak/Chicken/Beef Tacos or Quesadillas, Chips and Salsa; and The Tamale Lady’s Pueblo Chili and Cheese, Chicken Tamales. Cheers Liquor Mart provided wine and whiskey tasting.