AURORA, Colo. — The Cherry Creek School District will welcome the first students Monday at it’s newest school- Traverse Academy.
Traverse Academy is a facility school, meant for students with serious mental and behavior health needs. Students ages 10-18 in the Cherry Creek district will be referred to Traverse Academy for a period of time with the goal of eventually returning to their regular school.
This is one solution to the growing mental health treatment needs among young Coloradans, Cherry Creek’s Assistant Superintendent for Special Populations Tony Poole said.
“When I first started in this position 11 years ago, school districts had 77 facilities on the front range that we could place kids in who were in crisis. By 2019, that was down to 36,” Poole said.
Poole pushed for the district to build its own facility. In 2020, voters approved a bond measure to build Traverse Academy.
Traverse Academy is only for Cherry Creek students, but other Colorado schools may get more help for students who need intensive supports. Earlier this year, state lawmakers passed SB23-219 which will provide $70 million over three years for facility schools.
The hope is the bill will help shore up existing programs and open news ones. Finances are a major factor in why facility schools have closed, Paul Foster, the director of the exceptional student services unit with the Colorado Department of Education, said.
“The big picture was to really ensure more stable funding for the facility schools, getting them more funding that's probably a little better dispersed across the year,” Foster said.
This will help make sure schools stay funded even during periods of time when they’re not at capacity due to students transitioning, according to Foster.
Traverse Academy psychologist Dr. John Smrcka said facility schools are only part of the solution.
“Personally, I would like to see students being able to be kept in their home school as much as possible. Anytime that you're pulled out of your environment and placed in a new place, there may be benefits to that but there are a lot of drawbacks to it too,” Smrcka said.
Smrcka said Traverse Academy is truly innovative and looks forward to working closely with students in their classrooms, providing them both mental health services and a quality education in one place.
