APS Foundation president Grimm: Demystify college, costs for Aurora grads

AURORA | When he left Rangeview High School more than two decades ago, Jay Grimm headed off to college assuming he was prepared.

After stints as a philosophy, music and English major -— and a few years beyond that original four-year plan for graduation — he doubted those assumptions.

Then, his dad really drove home the point when, in words famously uttered by Tommy Callahan, told him lots of people go to college for six or seven years.

“I really think having some guidance beforehand would have really helped me understand,” he said.

Today, as the president of the Aurora Public Schools Foundation, Grimm is hoping to help future APS graduates leave school amply prepared to succeed in college — and to pay for it.

Grimm took over as the foundation’s boss back in July. Since then, the organization that doled out more than $1.5 million in private donations directly to APS classrooms last year has set its sights on getting the city’s high school graduates ready for life after high school.

In a sprawling and diverse district where many students are the first in their family to finish high school and, subsequently, often the first to go to college, Grimm said misperceptions about what college life is like, and just how costly a degree can be.

“There is a lot of mysticism around what is college, how expensive is it,” he said.

But through the foundation-backed Future Centers — the first of which opened at Hinkley High School last year, and others are planned at other high schools in the coming years — Grimm said staff cannot only link students with colleges and an abundance of financial aid to help pay for it. They also must make sure those students are prepared to succeed once they get to college.

Mary Spillane, chair of the foundation board, said the foundation opted to focus on college readiness because they found the district had a lot of hard-working, high-performing students who were interested in college but just don’t know how to get there.

“That seems like something we can do, one of the obstacles we can overcome,” she said.

For Grimm, taking the job with the APS Foundation was a good fit. Having been born and raised in Aurora and having attended APS through graduation, Grimm said he understands well the challenges students face. As one of the few American Indian students at Rangeview, Grimm said he learned firsthand the challenges students of color have.

Plus, his background in the nonprofit world, including working as executive director of the Denver Indian Center and as a fundraiser for JVA Consulting, Grimm said he is comfortable reaching out to donors and helping raise money for programs such as the Future Centers.

JulieMarie Shepherd, president of the APS Board of Education and the board’s liaison to the foundation board, said the fact that Grimm is a district alum will be a boon.

“Jay having that direct connection to the APS community, I think, just helps him and lends credibility as he is out talking with community members and potential investors and donors,” she said.