AURORA, Colo. — The Cherry Creek School District was searching for answers to help more of their students when in a mental health crisis.
The answer that kept coming back to them was if you want more daytime behavioral health facilities, build your own. So, that's what the district decided to do.
What is the facility?
Traverse Academy in Aurora will open this fall as a place where kids can receive both treatment and continue their studies.
There will be three levels of care: More intensive care, transitional care back to school and then a level of care in-between.
The district will help with the education and class side and pair up with Children's Hospital of Colorado and the University of Colorado to provide the treatment side to assure quality of care.
"Ten years ago, there were 77 placement options in the metro area for students with mental health needs," Dr. Tony Poole with Cherry Creek School District said. "As of today, we are down to 16. At any point in time, we have 10 to 50 to 20 kids in severe mental health crisis that we can't get help for. Looking for solutions, the answer that kept coming back our way was want day treatment spots? Build your own."
That is 16 facilities for the 540,361 school aged children in the metro area.
How is it being funded?
In 2020, during the height of the pandemic, Poole took his chances because they'd lost too many people.
"We had lost several students to suicide in that school year," he said. "At some point after the loss of one life, enough is enough."
So, the district ran a bond and voters said yes to paying for the $15.5 million facility.
The district was also able to move money around from other programs to pay for the program moving forward, while also partnering with big hospital systems and fundraising.
How do you assure quality?
"You can't learn if you are sad, you can't learn if you are sick, you can't learn if you are hungry," Michelle Weinraub, the Chief Health Office for Cherry Creek Schools, said. "If we can't keep up with their needs, we aren't doing right by them."
Poole said people should be asking questions about a district helping run a behavioral health facility like this.
"Ten years ago, I would have said school districts have no place in getting involved in therapeutic clinical levels of mental health treatment," he said. "That's changed. The crisis has gotten so severe it's going to take all of us."
That's why the partnership with CU and Children's is so critical to make sure the right professionals are working with the kids.
The program will be open to Cherry Creek School District students and if there are spots left, Poole said they will be open to the community.
They will have 60 spots available.
They're also working to hire more clinicians and teachers for the program.
The district said they've increased pay and hope the innovation behind this program will be enticing to bring in new employees.
SUGGESTED VIDEOS: Next with Kyle Clark