How do you become a leader? For students in Denver Public Schools, leadership is not just something you pick up in a weekend retreat, seminar or class. It's something you can embrace - thanks to Challenge 5280 - throughout your life in high school.
Challenge 5280 - formerly known as The Aspen Challenge - tasks students at every DPS high school with developing solutions to the community's toughest problems. For several weeks at the beginning of the school year, teams of students work to develop innovative solutions to issues like homelessness, police / student relations, water conservation, and racial tension. Through meetings, events and volunteer opportunities, students aim to start meaningful movements with the hope of creating lasting change in their community.
This year, for the first time in the program's history, students taking part in the challenge were able to continue their program throughout the entire school year - meaning seniors could see change develop over the course of their senior years.
The program is sponsored in part by donations to the Denver Public Schools Foundation. During the Foundation's annual Achieve Gala fundraising event, Challenge 5280 teams have the remarkable opportunity to present their projects to community leaders.
Watch this DPS Features to learn more about how the program is inspiring the next generation of community leaders, both in our schools and across our city.
