To: Members of the Youth Commission
From: Kristin Read, Assistant Town Manager
Title
Rising Star Scholarship Communications Plan and Council Presentation
Body
________________________________________________________________________________
Discussion
The Youth Commission at its December meeting approved the 2026 Rising Star Scholarship. Town staff and Youth Commission members have been implementing a communications plan (Attachment A) relative to that program, on which staff would like to provide an update. Jackson Young is the Commission’s lead on this initiative.
A webpage about the scholarship has been established at CRgov.com/RisingStar, and a flyer regarding the opportunity has been uploaded to PeachJar for distribution to local schools on/about February 3. As of the week of January 5, Chaparral, Douglas County, Ponderosa and Rock Canyon high schools had approved the flyer, along with Eagle Academy. Staff was working through questions from Castle View High School, while Cloverleaf Home Education, eDSCD and Legend High School remained pending. Daniel Oakes High and Renaissance Secondary declined to publish the information, which is consistent with their response in 2025.
The communications plan calls for Youth Commission members to sign up to have a table at their schools with flyers and snacks sometime between February 17 and 27. Staff requests a volunteer on the Commission to ask each school (Castle View and Douglas County high schools and Colorado Early Colleges) for permission for this and set a date. If any Commission members are available to volunteer to reach out to DC Oakes High and Renaissance Secondary for permission to conduct outreach at those locations, staff recommends that action. Staff will have the necessary supplies available for the volunteers for pick-up at the February Youth Commission meeting.
Also part of the communications plan is an update to Town Council on the scholarship - and on the Youth Commission’s activities thus far - during the February 3 Town Council meeting. While all Youth Commission members are invited to attend this presentation, it’s most practical to limit the number of presenters. Staff recommends the Commission designate up to four presenters, who can collaborate with staff between now and January 23 to finalize the content of the Council update.
Financial Information
Supplies for the school outreach (Fruit by the Foot and labels) are expected to cost about $150 and will come from the Commission’s Operating Supplies budget, which is $4,000 for 2026.
Recommendations
Staff recommends that a Commission member volunteer to set up a table with Rising Star Scholarship information at these schools sometime between February 17 and 27: Castle View High School, Colorado Early Colleges, DC Oakes High, Douglas County High School and Renaissance Secondary.
Staff also recommends that the Commission designate up to four members to present an update on the Commission’s activities to date at the February 3 Town Council meeting.
Proposed Motion
“I move confirm the scholarship outreach volunteers and Town Council presenters as discussed.”
Attachment
Attachment A: Rising Star Scholarship 2026 communications plan