Educators

When educators – from early childhood through high school – actively engage parents and caregivers, they join the ranks of a family’s most trusted partners. To support families during times of stress, you can guide parents and caregivers toward community-based resources to help ensure children come to school ready to play, learn and grow. School-based programs including free and reduced lunch, before- and after-school child care, and counseling services can also serve as supports that help tip a family’s scale toward positive outcomes. Having these types of supports in place helps ensure kids and their parents and caregivers are ready to actively engage in the education process and provides the foundation from which families can build a stable and secure future. However, when concerns are present, educators – as mandatory reporters – also play an important role in identifying and reporting suspected child abuse and neglect and can do so by calling 1-844-CO-4-KIDS, Colorado’s child abuse and neglect hotline.