The Colorado Black Caucus of School Board Directors recently honored Jasper Armstrong for his outstanding contributions and dedication to the district and its students. Armstrong received the 2023 Education Champion Award and was nominated by Cherry Creek School Board Director Janice McDonald, who recognized Armstrong’s hard work and dedication to the students, staff, and community in the Cherry Creek School District.

Armstrong, who works as an Equity Partner in the Cherry Creek School District’s Office of Equity, Culture, and Community Engagement (ECCE), oversaw the launch of the Summer Leadership Academy this year and has been with the district for almost twenty years.

“My mom is an educator and education is very important in my family,” Armstrong shared. “Education is the best way to make the greatest impact on my community.  I never had a black male teacher in my K-12 experience and growing up, having the longing to see someone that looked like myself in the classroom.”

Before joining the ECCE team, Armstrong worked at Overland High School as a licensed special education teacher and developed an intervention program for Black males focused on self-advocacy, study skills, problem solving, and empowerment. He also worked as an intervention specialist and coached football at Grandview High School.

“My favorite part of working with students is the mutual exchange of generational knowledge like music and culture,” Armstrong shared. “They keep me young and I try to help them grow.”

Armstrong has served as a mentor to staff in his time with Cherry Creek Schools and believes the best approach to working with students is learning to listen.

“The best piece of advice I can give is to learn to listen to what the students are actually saying, hear what they are saying and believe them when they tell you what is going on,” Armstrong said.

Armstrong believes relationships are key to working with students and practicing the district’s core values (Growth Mindset, Equity, Whole Wellbeing, Relationships and Engagement).

“I think relationships are the key to all the core values,” Armstrong said. “Through relationships, you can speak to the Whole Wellbeing of the child, and through relationships, that is how you bring equity and engagement.  Relationships are the golden core that ties everything all together.”

Posted 3/2/23.