Education as our Cornerstone
Access to quality education creates lifelong opportunities. When schools thrive, communities thrive.
At BuildStrong Foundation, we believe that every child deserves access to high-quality education and the lifelong opportunities it provides. That’s why education has always been at the heart of our work.
We take a collaborative, community-driven approach that places education at the center of thoughtful development. From early childhood through high school and into postsecondary pathways, we work collaboratively to create opportunities where students, families, and neighborhoods can succeed together.
Our Origin in Education
Founded in 1997 as the Foundation for Educational Excellence, our earliest mission was to improve education through partnership, innovation, and advocacy. In 2017, we evolved into BuildStrong Education and continued to expand our efforts from school development and reform to integrated community support programs.
We have worked closely with educators, parents, builders, and community leaders across Colorado to create a model for education-centered development that empowers long-term success.
EduCommunities: Schools at the Center of Community
Our signature approach places schools at the heart of neighborhood planning, in collaboration with Oakwood Homes and other local stakeholders. Core features include:
Education master plans with school districts
Shared-use facilities
Alignment from early childhood through postsecondary
Integration of school design into overall community development
Notable Projects
Martin Luther King Jr., Early College
A grades 6–12 school in far northeast Denver offering free college courses and associate degrees. Since 2010, it has achieved 100% graduation rates for multiple years and has been recognized as a Center of Excellence for academic turnaround and impact.
Omar D. Blair Charter School
A free K–8 neighborhood charter serving roughly 748 students in Green Valley Ranch and Montbello. Known for its diverse student body, gifted programs, and community-centered facilities, the school features shared-use space, technology-rich learning, and a focus on whole-child development.
Evie Garrett Dennis Campus
Launched with $48M in DPS bond funding, is a nationally recognized ECE–12 campus home to both district and charter schools. Expanded in 2012 and 2016 with the Regis Groff Campus, it serves 3,500+ students and showcases energy-efficient, community-integrated design.
Z Place
Z Place is a vibrant community hub in Far Northeast Denver offering early learning, youth programs, and family services. Located on the Evie Dennis Campus, it brings together top nonprofit partners to support education, strengthen families, and serve the Green Valley Ranch and Montbello neighborhoods.
Aurora Bright Beginnings
Launched in 2014, APS Early Beginnings provides high-quality early childhood education for children ages 3 weeks to 5 years, with a focus on teen parents in Aurora Public Schools. Using Creative Curriculum and Teaching Strategies GOLD, the program supports kindergarten readiness in a safe, nurturing environment.
Banning Lewis Ranch Academy
BuildStrong Education partnered with Falcon 49 and Banning Lewis Ranch Academy to help launch a new charter high school, guiding planning, budgeting, and construction. Despite early challenges, the school opened in 2014 thanks to community vision, board leadership, and tireless collaboration.
Riverview PK-8
Riverview PK‑8, opened in 2021 in Johnstown, CO, is Thompson School District’s newest PK‑8 school, serving around 700 students. It emphasizes innovative, collaborative, and whole‑child learning. Integrating social‑emotional development, arts, athletics, STEM, and career readiness.
KIPP NE Denver Leadership Academy
Founded in 2015, KIPP Northeast Denver Leadership Academy is a tuition-free, college-preparatory public charter high school in Far Northeast Denver. The school empowers students to become critical thinkers, engaged learners, and future leaders through rigorous academics, character development, and strong family partnerships.
Green Valley Ranch Boys & Girls Club
Green Valley Ranch Boys & Girls Club offers before-school, after-school, and summer programs at KIPP Northeast Elementary and Middle Schools. Serving K–12 youth, the Club provides homework help, STEM activities, sports, arts, meals, and field trips. All at no registration fee.
This student-led, project-based high school focuses on Science, Technology, Environment, Agriculture, and Design. Located on 10 acres in Reunion, it prepares students for postsecondary success.
The Story Behind STEAD
Opened in Fall 2021 in Commerce City within the Reunion community. It was proposed and sponsored by BuildStrong Foundation in partnership with Oakwood Homes.
Co-founded by Amy Schwartz (BuildStrong Foundation) and Kelly Leid (Oakwood Homes), STEAD emerged from a bold idea: Why not build a school that prepares students for the environmental, agricultural, and systems challenges of tomorrow?
Funding included a donation of 10 acres valued at $6 million from Cal Fulenwider and $2.5 million raised by BuildStrong, with total build-out costing approximately $32.3 million
What Makes STEAD Unique
STEAD is one of the nation’s first fully integrated NextGen agricultural high schools. It invites students to engage in project-based learning across four pathways, animal, plant, environmental, and food sciences.
The school combines real-world projects, internships, individualized learning, community service, and opportunities to earn college credit, professional portfolios, and postsecondary plans.
STEAD fosters an inclusive, community-oriented learning environment where students ultimately become thoughtful leaders, innovators, and stewards of the environment.
STEAD is deeply connected to its local and regional context, offering students hands-on access to greenhouses, agricultural labs, and partnerships with industry leaders that help bridge the gap between classroom learning and real-world applications.
In 2023, STEAD received the Governor’s Citizenship Medal for growth and innovation, one of Colorado’s highest honors. The award recognized STEAD’s unique approach to education and its impact on preparing the next generation of civic-minded, solution-driven leaders.