In fall 2020, Cherry Creek School District voters showed overwhelming support for our school community by passing a $150 million bond, allowing us to make much-needed renovations, improvements and investments for our students. Based on feedback from our school community, CCSD chose five areas of investment for the bond dollars: safety and security, mental health, innovation, school maintenance, and technology. We appreciate the generous support of our voters and are committed to using this investment effectively and to continue to ensure excellence for our community.

Mental Health

Mental health continues to be a top priority for Cherry Creek Schools. Given the historical underfunding of mental health support in schools in Colorado, CCSD has taken action and, thanks to the support of voters, made investments to provide direct support and first-of-its-kind services to students.

• Building a first-in-the-nation school district-operated Mental Health Day Treatment Facility to respond to the increased mental health needs of students in our district (scheduled to open in fall 2023)
• Only district in Colorado with a registered nurse in every building
• Total of 160 licensed clinical social workers and school psychologists in schools, far exceeding staffing guidelines
• Support students with several social-emotional curricula

Safety & Security

The safety of our students is our highest priority. The security investment projects came directly from recommendations made by the community-based Safety and Security Task Force, which met for a year with District Security and local law enforcement partners to evaluate existing safety protocols and structures and suggest improvements. This led to a variety of critical safety and security upgrades and new projects, which are in the process of being completed. These include:

• Thumb latches for schools 
• New state-of-the-art intercom systems 
• Secure vestibules 
• Fire system upgrades 
• Consolidated district dispatch center

Innovation

Cherry Creek Schools is a leader in Colorado and around the country when it comes to using innovation to transform learning experiences and creating pathways to meaningful careers for students. With the voter-approved 2020 bond package, we continued this leadership with:

• Cherry Creek Innovation Center: In fall 2019, a state-of-the-art Innovation Campus opened to serve 1,100 students across seven career pathways to provide a hands-on learning environment and prepare the workforce of the future.
• Innovation Spaces: Six, new innovative learning environments across CCSD high schools that create higher levels of engagement for students, allow for more flexibility for learners of all kinds, and provide technical equipment and training to prepare students for 21st century careers. This complements previous work to create 53 new Innovation Spaces in elementary and middle schools.

School Maintenance

As we celebrate the decades of history and successes we have shared as a district, we also know our schools and facilities are aging and must be maintained to protect the community’s investment. Community support enabled the district to:

• Construct Woodland Elementary School in the southeast part of the district which opened for the 2022-2023 school year
  
  
• Make necessary repairs and critical upkeep of heating, cooling and ventilation systems, carpet, plumbing, playgrounds and more to ensure a safe and comfortable learning environment for all students

Technology

We want to ensure every student has equal access and opportunity to computers and other technology necessary to prepare them for advanced jobs and in-demand careers of the future. To support this effort as well as respond to the COVID-19 pandemic, CCSD made the following investments:

• A 1:1 device plan that puts a computer into the hands of every student and opens up new worlds of possibility through innovative, 21^st Century learning
• Critical upgrades to core district facilities such as wireless network, firewall and data center
• Distributed more than 14,000 devices and hundreds of WiFi hotspots to students during the COVID-19 outbreak, ensuring all students could participate in remote learning
• Trained all teachers to deliver high-quality instruction and support via online platforms that kept students engaged in meaningful learning throughout the pandemic