Lacy Miller was attending college to be an elementary school teacher when she was murdered more than three years ago. Now her mother is going to teach in her memory.
"This is all about me teaching for Lacy for free," Wendy Cohen said. "I decided to teach for her because she can't. I'm doing her years."
Next month, Cohen hopes to start taking applications for the 2 Hearts Academy, a program she's designed for kids who have dropped out of school. In 2005, the last year for which statistics are available, Poudre School District had a dropout rate of 5 percent.
Cohen started the program as a way to do her part in ending violence by getting kids the tools and skills they need as well as to honor her slain daughter's memory.
The program, housed out of the office of 2 Hearts: The Lacy Jo Miller Foundation at 3600 Mitchell Drive, will serve between 20 and 25 students, Cohen said, with her at the helm. The office space Cohen and her husband purchased for the foundation is still being renovated, but Miller's smile already greets visitors as they walk through the door.
A certified teacher with 25 years of experience, Cohen worked with at-risk students in PSD for many years.
"I've been doing this for so long," she said. "I know what it takes to keep them in school."
In addition to a standard curriculum including math, English, health, history and civics, Cohen said the curriculum will involve guest speakers from throughout the community and stress hands-on learning through interaction with the business that surround the office.
Cohen will rely on volunteers, including retired teachers and interns from Colorado State University, to supplement her lesson plans.
The program isn't meant to compete with alternative education programs in the district, Cohen said.
"I think we need more programs for dropouts," she said.
Josh Jensen, who was a student of Cohen's at the Poudre Transition Center from 2000 to 2003, agreed and said Cohen is well-suited to the task.
"She's the reason I graduated," he said. "This is what she was meant to do."
Cohen did meet with Superintendent Jerry Wilson and Assistant Superintendent Manny Ortega, but there are no plans for PSD to partner with Cohen's program, said school district spokeswoman Ellen Laubhan.
"We're trying to enhance our alternative programs to meet the needs of students who are at-risk," Laubhan said.
Even if students don't earn credit for their time in the program, it will prepare them for the GED exam and keep them in a safe place, Cohen said. "Hopefully we'll get them on the right path and making good choices," she said.
