Child Care Assistance for Colorado Educators

Behind every classroom is an educator with a life beyond the school doors. 

For those raising young children, that life includes a challenge familiar to many families: finding reliable child care they can afford.

For an educator who loves teaching, the cost of care can put pressure on the decision to stay. That decision matters to their family and to the students, colleagues, and community who count on them.

The John and Janet Buckner Education Fund is working to ease that pressure through the Colorado Educator Child Care Stability Partnership. Our goal is to help educators afford care for their young children so they can continue doing the work they love, while their children have opportunities to learn and thrive.

A Commitment Rooted In Experience

During his years leading Overland High School, John Buckner saw young parents struggling to continue their education because they lacked child care. He brought people together to help establish an on-site child care center. In time, teachers brought their own babies there, too.

That experience reflected a conviction John and Janet shared throughout their careers: supporting education means understanding what families need to participate and succeed.

Today, that conviction guides our work. We see an opportunity to support two generations at once: educators whose experience and relationships strengthen our schools, and their young children whose futures are just beginning.

Help Us Take the Next Step

We are raising $250,000 to fund the first stage of preparation for the Partnership.

Your donation will help turn the program’s vision into the practical foundation families will depend on. It will support the people building district and community relationships, the development of an accessible application process, and the financial and legal groundwork needed to provide assistance responsibly.

It will also help us build learning into the program from the beginning. We want to understand whether assistance eases financial strain, helps children remain in consistent care, and supports educators in staying in the profession. Preparing to listen to families and learn from their experiences will help us improve the program and inform its future growth.

Alongside that evaluation work, we will begin developing a participant learning pathway: useful resources and learning opportunities shaped by the needs of educator families and the expertise of community partners.

This campaign is an early, essential step toward serving families. Additional funding and preparation will be needed before enrollment and child care assistance begin. Your support now will help us move toward that milestone with care and purpose.

Be Part of What Comes Next

We believe Colorado is stronger when educators can build a future in the profession and their children have the care they need to thrive.

If you share that belief, please consider a gift toward our $250,000 goal. Every contribution helps carry this work forward.

Thank you for helping us build something meaningful for Colorado educators, their children, and the communities they call home.

This campaign supports the John & Janet Buckner Education Fund through our fiscal sponsor, The HadaNõu Collective. Donations through this page are received by HNC in support of our work.