In August 2023, we began a village-building process in Harrison District 2. We held a series of CAFEs, including one at Stratton Meadows Elementary. A CAFE is a roundtable discussion where the principal invites partners into the school’s story and, together, they respond with a long-term aim: students, families, educators, and by extension, neighborhoods thriving.
Stratton Meadows is the oldest elementary school in the district, built in 1954 after a one-room schoolhouse, and generations of families have come through its doors carrying a wealth of backgrounds, achievements and dreams. It also faces real barriers: a high share of students who qualify for free and reduced lunch, many learning English, and students with disabilities who need steady, patient support. Add the pressure most school leaders know—staff turnover—and the conclusion comes fast: if you can’t keep staff in the building, forward momentum is nearly impossible, and no principal has enough resources inside their walls to meet every need alone. That’s the space that this village-building model was built for. By bringing partners together, we can discover the beauty and assets of a community and explore the gaps that may exist.
In December 2025, Principal Dr. Jared Stanley hosted a CAFE at Stratton Meadows, and this time the school invited the partners and led with its own vision for a thriving school and neighborhood. About 50 people gathered—parents, students, church partners, nonprofits, and district leadership. The timing mattered: when Meadows Park Community Center closed, the neighborhood lost its weekly food distribution and a place families could walk to for help, so the school opened its doors and rallied partners around food insecurity.
Over the past three years Stratton Meadows has seen some very real results alongside the village they have been cultivating. Attendance has climbed from 91% to 92% over three years, and first quarter of this year is showing even further growth — 93.1%. Major behavior referrals fell 70.6% over the same period—from 35 to just 5—with minor referrals down 21.2%. Those numbers don’t happen on their own. They happen when adults keep showing up, when a school builds a culture of care and partners step into the hard places together.
Every time we go through this process with schools, the same thing proves true: schools are a portal to every need a community faces. When a school and partners seek to build meaningful relationships, the response doesn’t stay abstract. It becomes a repaired freezer, 75 food bags a week, a mentoring program launched, field trips and events supported, staff poured into, and a stronger culture for students and teachers.
Stratton Meadows is still looking toward the horizon and dreaming alongside their partners for a future of flourishing. They are excited to see the outcomes of that work: more student clubs and added science and music initiatives that increase student enrollment and opportunities; a stronger staff experience, with the materials teachers need, that helps retain qualified staff; and a growing pantry with job application support and ESL classes that addresses the growing needs of families and the broader community. They are actively and courageously stepping toward this idea of being a portal to their neighborhood.
Every school needs a village. Not a program, not a one-time event, but a village of community partners who care about the students, families, and educators who make a school. That’s what we want for every school in Colorado Springs. What if we could multiply that? If you’d like to hear Dr. Jared tell this story in his own words, watch the video below.