Residents of Nederland understand how lucky they are to live amongst the many blessings of nature. The ability to enjoy so many recreational activities and exercises right in our own backyard is a major reason for living here and raising families here. And though Nederland may certainly be family friendly, the town center is relatively lacking in things for teenagers to do. Thankfully, there’s TEENS, Inc.
Twenty-five years ago TEENS, Inc. became the face of youth services in Nederland. A group of passionate educators and teens alike raised one million dollars to build what would become more than just a teen center; they built an alternative school, a haven of learning, creative expression, and collaboration.
On January 2, 2000, TEENS, Inc. first opened the doors to their very own facility on 151 East Street in Nederland; and ever since TEENS, Inc. has helped nurture the very future of the community.
“I think our programs connect really well with young people,” Executive Director of TEENS, Inc. Stephen LeFaiver told The Mountain-Ear when asked about the success of the organization. “We do the programs in partnership with the teens, so they create and have a large say in what happens.”
“They’re involved in the governance, the programming that happens within the school, the class selections, the trips that we go on, and help to decide activities,” LeFaiver continued.
“We really work in partnership with the teens to do what they want; and they’re engaged from start to finish.”
TEENS, Inc. recently won “Best Non-Profit” in a public poll for Best of 2023: Peak to Peak, run by The Mountain Ear. LeFaiver and Academic Director and Evaluation Specialist for TEENS, Inc. Bill Pollock both were awarded “Best Administrators” in the same public poll.
“He’s worked with us since 2007 and has played a huge role in the development of the school,” LeFaiver said of Pollock as he spoke of the dedicated professionals on the TEENS, Inc. staff. “He has his Ph.D. in statistics and helps with the evaluation of all of our programs.”
“Our Director of Student Engagement (Andrea Bianchi) has worked with us for 11 or 12 years. She has a Masters in restorative practices, which is a way of working with young people through conflict in a way that involves them and brings them closer in, versus exclusionary practices like suspensions.”
“Our Assistant Director (Alisa Musser) has been with us since 1999; so a lot of us have been here for a long time, which is not always common in non-profits,” LeFaiver said.
“Ariel Gustafson, who does all of our Out of School Time programming, has a lot of program development experience. And then we have a lot of folks on staff who have outdoor experience, like single pitch instructors for rock climbing or wilderness first responders.”
With such a committed team, all with their own expertise, TEENS, Inc. is able to offer many engaging programs, all of which are created in collaboration with area teens. With three licensed Colorado school teachers on staff, TEENS, Inc. offers Chinook West, a contract school that has provided alternative learning for kids in the Boulder Valley School District (BVSD).
“Everyday from 8:30 to 3:30 we have school here and the energy is high all the time, but it’s an awesome community. It really is a collaboration between us and the students and the families to create an environment where the students want to be,” LeFaiver explained.
The Chinook West program began in 2002, and its primary goal has been to support the educational goals and life aspirations of every student by providing them with a non-traditional setting. Students of Chinook West are awarded a BVSD diploma upon graduating. Chinook West became a fully accredited school in 2013.
“I did fine through high school, not great,” LeFaiver spoke candidly about the importance of alternative programs for teens. “My path took a lot of different turns in college; I went to five different undergrad schools and ended up at a very alternative school where suddenly I had a say, I could be involved, I could get in a van and go on a trip.”
“Our staff often come from similar histories of needing to connect in some different way,” LeFaiver said.
Students currently attending Chinook West are preparing for their end-of-the-year school trip. One group of students will be going out to the desert near Canyonlands National Park, while a second group will be traveling closer to the Great Sand Dunes to visit the Mission: Wolf animal sanctuary.
In addition to Chinook West, TEENS, Inc. also administers the high school at the Lookout Mountain Youth Services Center in Golden, a program for juvenile offenders which employs 26 teachers. And in 2019 TEENS, Inc. started the New Explorers Learning Center, a preschool for kids two-and-a-half years old to seven.
“We started right when two preschools were closing, so we kind of connected with the directors of both programs and talked about how we can keep this going,” LeFaiver explained. “In six weeks we went from an idea to a licensed preschool program.”
“We have amazing staff there. Everyone there is licensed and credentialed through the state, and the directors have been doing preschool in Nederland for 30 and 33 years, so you can’t ask for any more experience than that.”
With the end of the school year right around the corner, LeFaiver and the TEENS, Inc. staff prepare for different events, activities, and programs that take place during the warmer months in Nederland.
“We’ll be employing close to 100 teens during the summer throughout the Front Range,” LeFaiver said, referring to the Youth Core summer employment program for teens 14 to 17 years old.
“The building kind of quiets down a little, but we’re out and about with over 80 youth packed into vans all over the place. Logistically we’re working with flat tires and last year we had a couple of catalytic converters stolen…it’s very different,” LeFaiver jokes.
LeFaiver also mentioned the Team-Works summer program, which is a collaboration between the charitable organization Lincoln Hills Cares and TEENS, Inc. TeamWorks aims to assist urban and rural youth of different economic backgrounds in developing useful life skills and educational work experience. Youth work together in crews of 12 on local conservation projects, such as trail building, weed removal, urban farming, and fire mitigation.
“It’s a really unique program different than all other youth cores because it’s all local youth that we hire. They get paid $18 an hour and they get a $1000 scholarship at the end. And the coolest thing is they form really good relationships with each other; they become really great friends,” LeFaiver said.
This summer will also see the return of the Outdoor Leadership program and leadership retreats. The Outdoor Leadership program bolsters learning of the core tenets of TEENS, Inc., which includes perseverance, healthy risk-taking, community building skills, and environmental education.
“After Covid we’re just kind of diving back into summer programs that we haven’t had for the last couple of years, like our leadership retreats. We have three retreats this summer for high school age kids to go away for a week and rock climb and backpack and do things like that.”
LeFaiver added that TEENS, Inc. is open for free for teenagers (12 to 21 years old) in the summer. He also expressed gratitude to the community for voting for TEENS, Inc. in the Best of 2023, while also acknowledging the true honor of the organization being named “best non-profit”.
“Nederland is rich with nonprofits and volunteers, and that’s the amazing thing about Nederland. That’s what Wild Bear Nature Center is doing, that’s what built the skate park…that’s what makes Nederland what it is.”
On April 29 Eldora Ski Resort will host a special event celebrating the 25th anniversary of TEENS, Inc. For more information on this event or on the many programs provided by TEENS, Inc., call 303-258-3821 or go to: https://teensinc.org.
