Staff from online schools distribute gifts to students in need
Jan 9, 2026
A Student Support Team will be distributing gifts to more than 100 families this holiday season
In a make-shift Santa’s workshop in Castle Rock, teachers and staff from two statewide online schools came together to organize wrapped gifts for children and families in need.
“We really just want our students to have a great holiday season and make sure that they have what they need,” said Kimberly Ashby, McKinney-Vento Coordinator for Colorado Preparatory Academy and Pikes Peak Online.
This holiday season, nearly 30 teachers and staff members from online education platforms are coming out from behind their screens to work together to hand-deliver gifts to more than 100 students across Colorado experiencing homelessness or housing instability.
The gift giving is made possible through a volunteer program Ashby has been a part of for several years.
Over the course of eight years, Ashby had been a teacher and the Dean of Students at Colorado Preparatory Academy High School, which offers tuition-free online education for kindergarten through 12th-grade students across Colorado.
During that time, she got involved with a group of volunteer teachers and staff who formed the Student Support Team, which is made up of student advisors, social workers, family resources and community engagement coordinators.
“I started working with this team because we saw a need of kids not having anything for the holidays, especially little kids,” Ashby said.
The support team is also made up of teachers and staff from Pikes Peak Online School, which provides individualized learning plans and career-oriented pathways to students seeking a flexible and supportive high school experience through tuition-free online education.
For years, Ashby helped deliver holiday gifts to the students in need, but now, she is in her third year of leading the program as the McKinney-Vento coordinator.
McKinney-Vento refers to the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act, which authorizes the federal Education for Homeless Children and Youth Program.
According to the act, each state educational agency must ensure that each child of a homeless individual and each homeless youth has equal access to the same free, appropriate public education as other children.
The act defines homeless children and youth as “individuals who lack a fixed, regular and adequate nighttime residence” and includes those sharing housing, living in motels, hotels, trailer parks or camping grounds.
Ashby said that the number of unhoused and housing-unstable students has gone up year after year.
“I think part of it is because they move around so much,” Ashby said. “(But) they can do school on a laptop and we are the only constant in their life.”
Ashby added that there are students from the online schools who are unaccompanied youth, meaning they are teenagers who are completely on their own and trying to get their high school diploma.
Although Douglas County is affluent and one of the wealthier counties in the state, there are still many families in need and children who don’t have a steady place to sleep at night.
This holiday season, Ashby said the support group will be serving numerous families in Douglas County.
Going beyond the screen
Last year, the support team provided gifts to about 95 students, and because of an increase in donations, the team will be delivering gifts to 107 students across the state.
In preparation for the gift deliveries, Ashby has been putting together a Christmas list since August.
To identify the students and families in need, she said she starts by looking at the enrollment applications. She then reaches out to the families to confirm their housing status and see if they would be interested in receiving gifts.
If the families are interested, Ashby talks with the family to not only find out what resources the student needs, but also hopes to build trusting relationships with them and assist everyone in the family.
“I reach out to those families to find out exactly what their story is and what they need,” Ashby said. “Oftentimes it’s the basics. It’s socks, it’s underwear, it’s soap, it’s shampoo.”
The support team typically includes basic items such as clothing, but they also include items that will help them be successful in school. Ashby also asks the families for a wish item to ensure that the child will get something fun as well.
Gifts often include shoes, coats, art supplies, hair products, nail polish, bedding and blankets. But Ashby said gifts depend on what the child is interested in, which this year has included “Bluey” and “K-Pop Demon Hunters.”
All of the gifts come from who the support group calls “an angel donor,” as the individual wishes to remain anonymous. Ashby gives the list of favorite colors, sizes and gift ideas to the donor and the individual starts working with their network of people. The anonymous donor puts together a sign-up sheet that then gets shared with people.
Putting together the gifts then becomes a school event as honor students from the two online schools meet with teachers and staff to wrap and label all of the gifts. Just before distribution, the gifts are then organized by region and assigned to volunteers to be distributed.
Ashby said that there have been instances where she has delivered to the same family a few years in a row and it has warmed her heart to see the children grow up.
“When the kids see me, their faces light up,” Ashby said. “It’s the best feeling in the world.”
For the students receiving gifts, it goes beyond the gift itself.
Although the online schools have monthly field trips and offer blended learning opportunities, the gift-giving program offers a more personalized opportunity. Being able to meet a teacher that they may have seen on their screen, Ashby said it gives the student a point person if they ever need support.
She added that making those connections not only assists with the student’s emotional and physical needs, but it also helps them academically in a roundabout way.
“We are in a unique situation with virtual school, so when they meet someone in person, then it becomes more real to them,” Ashby said.