The Aurora Community Campus at 2260 Dayton St. is a school for justice-engaged students working to complete high school.

Tucked along a block including a dent repair shop and fitness studio on Dayton Street in northwest Aurora is the colorful façade of a school designed to help students get back on track after being involved with the criminal legal system.

The Aurora Community Campus school is one of two micro-schools in Colorado that are part of the nonprofit Generated Schools Network (GSN). In April, leaders hosted an open house and art night to raise money to support programs.

Denver Nuggets forward and school volunteer Spencer Jones spoke to the crowd of community members, staff, and students including Alfonso (left) and his family at a fundraising event.

“There are 23,000 justice-engaged youth in Colorado right now. Once a young person becomes justice-engaged, their odds of graduating high school drop to just 20%. Tonight, you’re in a room that’s working to change that,” GSN Board Chair Cameron DeTello told the crowd.

Classes started in August 2025, with 15 to 25 high school students attending flexible programs designed to support them.

Alfonso, one of the students, said the school “makes him feel more seen” than at his previous school, where students who were doing better overshadowed other kids. He said he has earned better grades since he started at Aurora Community Campus, in part because he’s not allowed to skip class, and he’s able to take college classes.

Dion said there’s more opportunity than at public schools where “there’s a lot more stress and peer pressure.”

Denver Nuggets forward Spencer Jones volunteers at the school, teaching courses like economics using NBA and professional athlete contracts as an example of how to watch spending. He’s also taught a class on learning about the government system.

“Education has always been part of my life, and I want to give back,” Jones said. “Plus, the students tend to listen to me more than a teacher sometimes.”

Wendy Loloff-Cooper, CEO of GSN, has been involved with the National Association of Street Schools for more than a decade. She joined GSN after one of her sons got into trouble, which she discovered after he and his friends showed up on a Crime Stoppers report. Her goal is to customize learning for the students.

“We believe in the power of second chances and the importance of compassionate guidance,” she said. Beyond the cost of a human life, data shows it makes economic sense to get youth through high school and on to a future where they can contribute, be healthy, and self-sufficient.”

The Aurora Community Campus school is part of a pilot program developed in response to a 2024 state law supporting  justice-engaged students and peers ages 14–21 in education. It’s currently funded as a micro-school; Loloff-Cooper is looking for other designations and future funding.

The GSN campuses in Aurora and Colorado Springs are public schools and free to attend. For more information on Generation Schools Network, visit generationschools.org.

Front Porch photos by Linda Kotsaftis