Data from Youth Power’s PwrHrs expansion shows strong reading and math gains for students with greatest academic need; grant renewed for another year
Eagle County, Colo., Oct. 20, 2026 — A state grant for expanded support in Youth Power’s PwrHrs Afterschool programs at Avon and Gypsum Elementary Schools is producing significant gains for some students with the greatest academic need. In every classroom measured across both schools, at least 82 percent of PwrHrs students increased their STAR (Student Testing And Reporting) reading and math scores over the course of the 2025-26 school year.
The results come from a Colorado Nonprofits Out-of-School Time (NPOST) grant, which funds programs that provide affordable, comprehensive academic enrichment and related services outside the regular school day. Youth Power, the Vail Valley Foundation’s education initiative, was one of only 11 organizations selected statewide. The state has renewed Youth Power’s NPOST grant for the 2026-27 school year and summer 2027.
PwrHrs has been operating in the Eagle County School District since 2000, providing students with a safe, structured environment after school and access to trusted adults for homework help, meals, and enrichment activities. The program currently serves students in six elementary schools, and Youth Power extends it beyond the academic year into a three-week Elementary Summer Camp.
The NPOST grant allowed Youth Power to hire academic interventionists in PwrHrs at both Avon and Gypsum Elementary Schools for the full year to work one-on-one with students after the school day. Every interventionist in the program is also an Eagle County School District staff member, giving them additional paid time to work closely with the students who benefit most from it.
The grant also funded regular PwrHrs Family Learning Nights, inviting parents and relatives to engage in fun, educational activities alongside their children, such as cooking classes, reading and math games, social-emotional learning exercises, and more. Research consistently links family engagement to stronger outcomes for students, including attendance, grades, graduation rates, and mental health.
“The schools were involved from the very beginning,” said Maria Sloneker, Youth Power’s Director of Expanded Learning, K-8. “Principals Dana Harrison at Avon Elementary and Mitch Forsberg at Gypsum Elementary were critical in helping shape this work, and staff at both schools stayed late all year to bring it to life. We are grateful to the Colorado Department of Education and to everyone at the Eagle County School District who have made these students a priority.”
Proven results
At the start of the 2025-26 school year, interventionists identified and worked with students in PwrHrs with the greatest academic need at both schools. By the end of the first semester, PwrHrs students who received intervention raised their STAR scores in both reading and math at rates equal to or better than those who did not. In fourth and fifth grade reading at Avon Elementary, 100 percent of students working with an interventionist increased their STAR scale scores, compared with just 54 percent of the students who were not.
Every student who needed intervention received it for the second semester, and by the end of the school year, 82 percent of those students raised their STAR reading and math scores. Because STAR raises its benchmarks as the year goes on, a score increase means a student gained ground beyond the progress a typical school year is expected to produce. One of the most consistent program attendees moved from the 13th percentile in reading in the fall to the 70th percentile by spring.
The gains were not only academic. Nearly all PwrHrs students who began the year in the emerging or developing range for social-emotional skills finished the year in the proficient or advanced range. These results confirm what Youth Power staff members have long believed: students grow both academically and emotionally when they have a safe place to go, adults they trust, and extra support outside the traditional school day. The NPOST results show that one-on-one intervention and increased family engagement make a measurable difference beyond what PwrHrs already offers.
“Our relationship with Youth Power is invaluable,” said Dr. KC Somers, Superintendent of the Eagle County School District. “Not only do the improved test scores demonstrate what they bring to our students, but their commitment to the overall well-being of our youth is a testament to their mission.”
A foundation to build from
The 2025-26 school year NPOST results reflect similar findings to Youth Power’s summer programs, which provided interventionists in camp from 2023-2025. Students who worked with interventionists for all three summers showed stronger and more consistent gains in literacy and math than their peers. They lost less ground over the summer, recovered faster in the fall, and began to approach the scores of their higher-performing classmates.
“This NPOST grant has already had a direct, measurable impact on nearly two hundred young people in our community,” said Elle Friedle, Senior Manager of Grant Development for the Vail Valley Foundation. “We know the approach works. We also know it takes time and continued investment. Many of these students are still working to meet grade-level benchmarks, and this is likely the final year of the NPOST grant. We are actively pursuing other funding sources to continue supporting these students and bring intervention to more schools that have asked for it. Every child in this valley should have the support they need to succeed.”
Families can learn more about PwrHrs and the rest of Youth Power’s free and low-cost programs at YouthPowervvf.org.
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About Youth Power
From early childhood to college and career, the Vail Valley Foundation’s Youth Power provides programs to help youth reach their goals. Serving local students in Eagle County, Colorado, Youth Power has a mission to inspire, educate and empower youth and families from early childhood to college and career readiness, and aims to be there for youth “Every Step of the Way.” Visit YouthPowervvf.org for more.
About the Vail Valley Foundation
The Vail Valley Foundation (VVF) is a 501(c)(3) Colorado nonprofit with a mission to provide leadership in arts, athletics, and education, and address community needs to enhance our valley as a place to live, work, and visit. The organization’s work in education is through Youth Power, a 501(c)(3) Colorado nonprofit which provides programs from early childhood to college and career to support youth and families every step of the way. The VVF puts on several annual events including the GoPro Mountain Games, Stifel Birds of Prey Audi FIS Ski World Cup races, Vail Dance Festival, and Bulleit Hot Summer Nights and Town of Eagle ShowDown Town free concert series. The organization manages the Vilar Performing Arts Center in Beaver Creek and the Gerald R. Ford Amphitheater in Vail, hosting over 150 events annually. The VVF also operates Eagle River Valley Childcare, a 501(c)(3) Colorado nonprofit focused on enhancing early childhood education and development services across the community.
Vail Valley Foundation is grateful for our cornerstone partners: Town of Vail, Vail Resorts, Beaver Creek Resort Company, GoPro, Nature Valley, Constellation Brands, CELSIUS, Diageo, Lucid, Lifetime Home Remodeling, and Slifer Smith & Frampton Real Estate. To learn more, visit vvf.org.