Moffat County School District’s first belief is this: We believe every student can learn.

There are so many ways teachers, staff, administration and programming demonstrate that belief, but one of the most beautiful to witness is the district’s SWAP program.

SWAP, which stands for School to Work Alliance Program, is a state-funded program for students ages 15-24 who experience barriers to employment. It primarily serves young people with special needs or disabilities, and in Moffat County, more than 50 kids participate in the program.

---

---

At MCHS, SWAP was built by Amanda McDermott, who ran the program and grew it for four years. This school year, McDermott transitioned over to special education teacher, a role she’s filled before and one she felt called back to. Under McDermott’s leadership, Moffat County SWAP built the Blue Bark Cafe, a fully functioning coffee shop inside the high school run by SWAP students. SWAP also passionately and compassionately served lots and lots of kids, helping create confidence, training, connections and skills in students who often struggle to find all four.

The next leader of the program is Ashley Simonet, a longtime champion for people like the students she serves, having worked with the Northwest Colorado Center for Independence for many years, later The Health Partnership Serving Northwest Colorado, and as the dedicated mother of a child who has special needs of her own.

---

---

Simonet got good news this month, when the Colorado SWAP, which is a partnership between the state Division of Vocational Rehabilitation and the Colorado Department of Education, announced it would continue to fund the program this year.

“Without that funding, we don’t have a program,” Simonet said.

Simonet’s daughter, Madison, is a sophomore at MCHS and participates in SWAP. Madison is one of the students who helps run the Blue Bark Cafe, and Simonet has watched her blossom both as a mother and a director.

“She opens up more, she shows me that confidence more,” Simonet said. “It used to be I’d ask about the coffee shop and she didn’t open up, but now, seeing her there, she just presents herself differently, more confidently. She’s really communicating with customers. She’s just a different person when she comes into that shop.”

For a mother, that’s powerful. For someone passionately serving people in this space, it’s breathtaking.

“It was a slow start,” she said of her transition into the leadership of the program. “Kids are always apprehensive. But now, on Monday in fact, one student told me this is the safest place in the school for him. ‘This is where I go when I’m stressed, when I need a break,’ he said. ‘You listen, and I can vent and then go about my day.’ They feel better here. That means something.”

It’s more than a relief, though. It’s a springboard.

“People see these kids in, I don’t know, maybe a negative light, or like they can’t do things,” Simonet said. “I see different abilities, different ideas, different thought processes, different ways of looking at the world. We need those ways. They are valuable to all of us. And you try to tell these kids they can do things, but seeing one realize that she can have dreams and can reach them. My daughter, for example, now her dream is to build off the coffee shop and open one in the community. People want to believe this generation isn’t going anywhere. These kids want to go places.”

Simonet gets teary-eyed speaking about these children.

“Watching these kids realize they can do something — so many are raised to believe they won’t amount to anything. But here’s my quote: ‘Tell me you can’t, and I’ll show you how you can,'” Simonet said. “Some need a push or a guide, but they’re going to do big things.”

SWAP serves students at MCHS through GOAL Academy and homeschooled students. This summer, the programming doesn’t stop.

“We’re getting ready to do our summer job club again,” Simonet said. “We take students each week to different businesses and they learn about that career. First up is CNCC. They love that.”

Businesses can reach out to Simonet to get involved via email at ashley.simonet@moffatsd.org.

“It’s an hour or two of presenting about the careers available about the business, maybe some hands-on stuff, showing them around the property,” Simonet said. “I tell you, watching these kids realize they can … it fills my heart. Fills my heart more than I’m filling theirs, that’s for sure.”