Cañon City’s Efforts to Create a Welcoming and Inclusive Learning Environment

Cañon City school district has worked across all rings of the social emotional ecosystem, including their intentional efforts to foster safe and relationship-rich learning environments. Cañon City High School (CCHS) Assistant Principal Ande Davis shared that this work started several years ago, when the school shifted to a “student-centric” vision for teaching and learning that includes internships, career pathways, and capstone experiences for students.  

Recently, as a result of reviewing student climate survey data from Youth Truth @and noticing a lack of relationships between youth and their peers and adults CCHS implemented a student advisory group and a series of student-led clubs to foster connection, both among students and between students and adults; a student-led initiative called No Place For Hate focused on preventing and addressing bullying in the building; and anti-bias training for teachers.  

Students and teachers alike have noted changes in the learning environments due to these efforts. Davis reflected, “Talking about diversity in a largely white, conservative community is hard, but when you center the idea of belonging, that goes a long way.” She recently received an email from a parent who earlier in the year expressed concern about how LGBTQ+ students were being treated at the school. The parent noted that the strong student to student and student to teacher connections are having an impact writing, “students are feeling more supported and adult behavior has changed too. [My student] has seen a huge difference in the climate and culture.”