By Whitney Bryen

As one class of Longmont "Dreamers" prepares to graduate this spring, another is just getting started.

Boulder County's I Have a Dream Foundation — a dropout prevention program for low-income students — is preparing to initiate 50 second-graders from Rocky Mountain Elementary School into Longmont's fourth Dreamer class on April 29.

The Rocky Mountain Dreamer Class will launch just weeks before the foundation celebrates six Niwot High School graduates who were part of the Casa Class, named for the Casa de la Esperanza housing complex where the students lived. The Casa Class launched in 2000 with students from kindergarten to eighth grade. The graduates will be honored at a completion ceremony May 21.

The new class comes on the heels of the Aspen Class that was launched in May and included students from Spangler Elementary School and Aspen Meadows low-income housing complex.

The Rocky Mountain Dreamer Class is the first for students from the Longmont school, said the program's chief executive officer Lori Canova.

The program supports students and their families across Boulder County, including the St. Vrain Valley and Boulder Valley school districts. Each class is named for the school or housing complex that the cohort shares.

The foundation is still seeking volunteers and funding for the new class.

"We hope to have at least two classes going in Longmont, but we can't do it without the sponsors, tutors and mentors to support it," Canova said.

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