I’m a Mesa parent whose third grader is served in RISE, signing in solidarity with Flatirons families and your RISE community. My son’s IEP team, together with our family, determined that he needs support beyond the resource level. We had real agency in that decision. But we didn’t choose where BVSD housed that support. The district did. Now the district is proposing to move it again — without families yet knowing what that transition will actually look like. RISE stands for Reaching Independence through Structured Environments. For these students, structure, consistency, and predictability matter. Yet families still lack concrete answers about staffing, appropriate space, transportation, continuity of supports, and individualized transition planning. “The specialized program will move with the whole school community” is not a transition plan. If this proposal is focused on the student experience, the transition itself is part of the student experience. Details first. Decision second.
Annie L. · FlatironsParent

Spread the word

Share this voice

Suggested caption

Parents, neighbors, alumni and kids across the district asked BVSD to vote no on its school-closure plan. BVSD approved it 5–2 on September 22. Here’s one voice:

Read more voices → Stay informed →