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For fifty years, Keystone Policy Center has worked across sectors to bring people together, bridge divides, and create lasting solutions. Among the most important of these efforts is education because every issue we tackle is ultimately connected to how well we prepare the next generation.
At Keystone, we approach education as a continuum, from early education to the workforce. That means we don’t just look at one stage of learning in isolation. We recognize that the journey begins in early childhood, extends through K–12, higher education, and into career readiness. And at every stage, students need strong systems, engaged families, and supportive communities.
Building a Connected Pathway
Keystone’s education work focuses on strengthening every stage of the learning journey. That begins with expanding access to early childhood education through partnerships like the Denver Preschool Program, which helps families afford and access high-quality preschool. We’ve also helped bring childcare solutions to workplaces, such as Denver International Airport, where 40,000 employees rely on affordable, reliable care for their children.
But children can only thrive when families are engaged as full partners. That’s why Keystone leads the Rocky Mountain Family Engagement Collective, a multi-state effort bringing together educators, parents, and community leaders to strengthen the relationships that support student success. For too long, family engagement was seen as a one-way street with schools sending information home and hoping families will follow along. The Collective flips that script.
Through this initiative, Keystone helps schools listen to and learn from families, ensuring their voices shape everything from classroom practices to district policies. Parents and caregivers are not just supporters of learning — they are experts in their children’s needs, culture, and potential. By creating spaces where educators and families work side by side, the Collective is building trust, breaking down barriers, and showing what’s possible when schools truly partner with the communities they serve.
The pathway continues into higher education. Keystone has recently partnered with the Colorado Community College System to facilitate community listening sessions that shaped its 2025–2030 strategic plan. Community colleges play a critical role in economic development and upward mobility, and by supporting their long-term vision, Keystone helps ensure students are prepared for both college and careers.
Together, these efforts reflect Keystone’s belief that education is not a series of disconnected steps, but a connected pathway that spans from early childhood all the way into the workforce.
Data that Informs Solutions
In addition to facilitation and on-the-ground partnerships, Keystone produces independent data reports that give communities, educators, and policymakers the tools to act. These reports have explored issues like student achievement, rural education, family engagement, and the future of assessments.
One issue, however, has risen again and again as especially urgent: housing affordability for teachers. Keystone’s reports have shown that many educators simply cannot afford to live in the communities where they teach. Through interactive maps and detailed analysis, we’ve made this challenge visible – and in doing so, sparked conversations about how to support educators and sustain strong schools.
Growing Ute Futures
Perhaps the most inspiring example of Keystone’s education work is Growing Ute Futures, a partnership with the Ute Mountain Ute Tribe. For generations, Ute Mountain Ute students, like many indigenous children in the United States, were forced into boarding schools designed to erase their culture and identity. Later, after the boarding school era, students from the Ute Mountain Ute Reservation traveled long distances to schools in Cortez, where they often felt isolated or unwelcome.
Growing Ute Futures was born from a vision of something different: a school designed by and for the community, where students could learn academic subjects alongside Ute language, traditions, and pride. That vision became the Kwiyagat Community Academy, Colorado’s first tribal charter school.
In just a few years, students at KCA have made impressive academic gains — and just as importantly, they’ve begun reclaiming their language and teaching it to their families. The initiative has also launched afterschool programs, tutoring, and digital tools to preserve the Ute language. It is a living example of how education can strengthen not only individuals, but entire communities.
Fifty Years and Beyond
From preschool to workforce readiness, from family engagement to teacher housing, from data reports to tribal-led education, Keystone’s work in education reflects what we do best: bringing people together to solve tough challenges.
As we celebrate fifty years, we remain committed to ensuring that every learner — at every stage — has the opportunity to succeed. Listen to our three-part podcast series celebrating our work in education innovation.
Effective March 1, 2025, Thomas J. Vilsack, former United States Secretary of Agriculture and Governor of Iowa, became the first Chief Executive Officer for the World Food Prize Foundation. In this new role, Governor Vilsack is focusing on expanding the Foundation’s global network, and will further position the Foundation as a leader in addressing global food and nutrition insecurity, continuing his lifetime of public service.
Shelby Coffey III is a distinguished journalist, media executive, and thought leader whose career has helped shape the landscape of American news and public discourse. Over several decades, Coffey has held some of the most influential roles in journalism, including serving as editor of the Los Angeles Times, executive vice president of ABC News, and deputy managing editor of The Washington Post. His editorial leadership extended to key roles as president of CNN Financial News, editor of the Dallas Times Herald, and U.S. News & World Report.
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