The first phase of transforming a Colorado Springs middle school into a “community school” launches Tuesday, as a new partnership has formed to bring multiple agencies under one roof to support at-risk students throughout El Paso and Teller counties.

“It’s been in the works for a couple of years and came to the surface as a priority in strategic planning,” SherryLynn Boyles, CEO of Joint Initiatives for Youth + Families, which is leading the project, said Monday.

The nonprofit established in 1989 is creating a new model of working with youth who have been involved with minor crimes such as chronic truancy, drug use or vandalism, and who are primarily referred to the program by the Department of Human Services, the 4th Judicial District Juvenile Court and area school districts.

Students at risk of slipping into truancy or other juvenile delinquency also will work on solutions at the developing Ascend Center at Galileo Middle School in Colorado Springs School District 11.

They’ll set and attain goals using customized plans and receive additional services such as free food, health care and elevated instruction including tutoring, field trips and career-building opportunities.

“Kids here have a history of trauma and are struggling as a result. They act out trauma in different ways,” Boyles said. “They are showing signs of struggling, and we work to get them back on track before they’re entrenched in the system.”

The organization does not accept juveniles who have committed serious or violent crimes, she added.

Old classrooms in a 10,000-square-foot wing of the school near the intersection of Union and Palmer Park boulevards are being repainted, refurbished and repurposed as spaces for consultation with youth and parents, counseling sessions for students and families, individual and group meetings, and offices for partner organizations.

In addition to Joint Families and Colorado Springs D-11, other agencies that have committed to providing employees for at least 15 hours a week at Ascend Center are:

• Diversus Health’s family and child counseling department;

•  Mission Possible, which offers “intensive ongoing family wraparound services;

•  Successful4Life Tutoring Services, which provides daily tutoring for Galileo students and others referred to the center;

•  Peak Vista Community Health Centers, which will provide non-clinical staff on-site;

•  New Horizon Youth & Family Services’ behavioral health interventions;

•  the 4th Judicial District, which refers students and offers family support; and

•  El Paso County Department of Human Services, which helps families exit government systems and maintain that status.

The purpose of what’s shaping up to become a hub of assistance for kids whose lives have taken a wayward turn but who seem to want to correct the course, is to “engage community resources to support students and families both in and outside of school,” according to Boyles.

Remodeling matches the program’s name, “Pathways” and features a color scheme and decorative theme focusing on nature, with greens, golds, reds and browns.

Faux paths and walking trails, artistic trees, a tent for an aesthetic touch and names such as The Outpost multi-purpose room also are coming to life.

Galileo Middle School students have been peering through the windows at one end of the garden-level corridor to try to figure out what’s going on, said Kelly Hurtado, chief operating officer for Joint Initiatives for Youth + Families.

In addition to serving children ages birth to 21 who are referred to the program, the new Ascend Center will be open to all 277 sixth through eighth graders at Galileo Middle School, 53% of whom were chronically absent last school year, according to Colorado Department of Education data.

Holistic services for at-risk youths’ needs pertaining to behavioral and physical health, academic achievement, family matters, peer interactions and other areas are usually siloed and not often coordinated, Boyles said.

Her organization has set out to change that by enveloping youths and their families not only in related services but also an environment of authentic caring.

For example, a student may not have transportation to get to school, or the parent may not have childcare, which limits school hours for an older sibling.

In such cases, a coordinator can set up transportation and childcare for younger siblings, Hurtado said, to maximize the success of a teen’s growth plan.

D-11 Superintendent Michael Gaal said the center is the first step into Galileo becoming a community school, which the state education department defines as “a public school that engages local partners to assess needs, develop a strategic plan and deliver services that support students, families and the surrounding community.”

“The timing could not be better; this framework calls for enhanced educational instruction alongside services that address the holistic well-being of each child and their family,” Gaal said in a statement.

Youth can be in the program anywhere from a few weeks to a few years, depending on the level of intensity needed, Boyles said. Her organization has been offering the Pathways program since 2017, but the co-located offices with partners is new.

About 90% of 400 youths Joint Initiatives serves annually complete their plans, she said.

Before-school tutoring and safe space for kids to decompress will open in a few weeks at the Ascend Center, and after school programs will follow in the fall, Hurtado said.

Partners will move in Feb. 1, and programs such as language learning, guest speakers, cooking classes and a café are unfolding. Officials expect the additions to boost academic interest and performance at Galileo, which saw just 8% of males and 6% of females meet or exceed expectations in math on standardized state testing last school year, according to state data.

“We think the center creates a higher-impact environment,” Boyles said. “We’ll be able to provide more services for more youth.”

Editor’s note: This article has been updated to say Peak Vista Community Health Centers will provide non-clinical staff at the Ascend Center but will not establish onsite medical care.