Ken Ramberg’s letter in today’s paper opens with a question we hear a lot: what does AEF actually do? AEF does its best to share “what we fund” but our goal in the coming months is to explain that in a more meaningful way and why it is so important.
It isn’t just that these programs and positions wouldn’t exist without AEF. We want you to know the benefits and gifts that these programs and positions bring to our students.
Last year, AEF raised over $2.5 million, the most in our history. Ken’s letter covered some highlights: A full-time outdoor education coordinator, Mental health counselors, College Counseling, the IB program, Innovation labs, Aeronautics and Robotics, Free breakfast for students who need it. And that is just a portion of what we do.
Seeing what we fund covers the numbers but not the full story. Our goal in the next few months is to communicate the magic that happens on ODE, or the lightbulb moments in an IB class, the excitement in Post-Secondary when a student realizes their dream, and how a counselor makes the school day easier.
So over the coming months we’re going program by program. Each post will take one item from that list and show you the classroom it lands in – the teachers, the students, the actual work. And the moments that bring an Aspen education to life.
Ken’s closing line is the one we’d underscore: a town that can fund an extraordinary public education, and doesn’t, has made a choice. Aspen keeps choosing otherwise.
Read the full letter here and learn more at aspenaef.org.
