Senior Vanessa Leon-Gamez at Roaring Fork High School identifies as Latinx and said throughout her whole life growing up in the valley she has seen separation in the community.
“Like for example, town events or First Fridays or whatever it might be…There’s a definite divide between white people and everybody else. And that’s how it’s been for a long time,” Leon-Gamez said.
As part of the effort to increase equity and conversation around social justice in its schools, Roaring Fork School District partnered with the Aspen Institute to provide a leadership seminar for students at RFHS. There are 10 other students in addition to Leon-Gamez who meet once a week after regular school hours to share experiences and become better listeners when it comes to the discussion of challenging topics.