Santa Fe Trail Boces

What Santa Fe Trail Boces does

Santa Fe Trail BOCES is a regional educational service cooperative formed in July 1999 under Colorado's Board of Cooperative Educational Services (BOCES) law. Headquartered in southeastern Colorado, it serves seven member school districts (most recently including Kim, which joined in 2023) by pooling specialized staff and programs that individual small rural districts cannot efficiently operate on their own.

The cooperative delivers shared educational services across the member footprint, with the most material being special education administration (Santa Fe Trail BOCES serves as the designated Special Education Administrative Unit for its districts), speech-language therapy, occupational therapy, physical therapy, school psychology, gifted education, and professional development. It has expanded its product surface beyond pure service delivery through initiatives such as the SEAL Academy (Special Education Alternative Licensure) and a School Health Professional Grant that funds additional school health and mental health capacity. Operations are supported by 30+ professionals and governed through a Superintendents Advisory Council representing the member districts.

As a governmental cooperative, Santa Fe Trail BOCES is funded primarily through per-pupil and program-level cooperative contributions from its member school districts, supplemented by state special education allocations, federal flow-through funds, and competitive grants. The business model is not commercial; member districts simultaneously act as owners, governance participants, and customers, which structurally aligns incentives but caps revenue growth to the underlying demographics and state funding formulas of the seven-member service area.

Name

Santa Fe Trail Boces

Legal name

Santa Fe Trail Board of Cooperative Educational Services

Website

https://sftboces.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1999

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Santa Fe Trail BOCES is a Colorado regional educational cooperative serving seven member school districts in southeastern Colorado with shared special education, related therapy, and professional development services, funded by district contributions and state allocations.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Cooperative Educational Services

NAICS

Educational Services (611), Educational Support Services (611710)

SIC

Services-Educational Services (8200)

akta.pro primary industry

Specialized Inclusive / Co-Taught Special Education Programs (EDAKAAAK)

akta.pro secondary industry

Developmental Therapy / Early Childhood Special Instruction (EDACAFAG)

Keywords

• Cooperative educational services
• Special education administration
• School psychology services
• Speech therapy services
• School district consortium services

Headquarters

HQ city

La Junta

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices4 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Member District Cooperative Funding: Santa Fe Trail BOCES is funded through cooperative contributions from member school districts. Districts pool resources to reduce costs, avoid duplication, and provide a more comprehensive range of services. The organization also receives state funding through Colorado Department of Education.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Santa Fe Trail BOCES operates as a Colorado Board of Cooperative Educational Services, an extension of its seven member school districts in southeastern Colorado. It functions as the Special Education Administrative Unit for those districts, employing over 30 professionals to deliver shared educational services including special education administration, child find, speech therapy, occupational and physical therapy, school psychology, hearing services, autism support, preschool special needs, gifted and talented programming, educator effectiveness, and alternative learning via the SEAL Academy.

Product overview

Santa Fe Trail BOCES (Board of Cooperative Educational Services) operates as a special education administrative unit serving seven member school districts in Colorado. The organization provides a comprehensive portfolio of service programs including Child Find, Autism Services, Hearing Services, Preschool Services, Speech Therapy, Motor Therapy (Physical and Occupational Therapy), School Psychology, Postsecondary Services, SEAL Academy (alternative learning), Educator Effectiveness, School Health Professional Grant, Gifted & Talented Services, COMTSS, Induction Program, and Professional Learning Opportunities. These programs are designed to support students with special needs, provide professional development for educators, and maximize student achievement through cost-effective collaborative service delivery.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• SEAL Academy: Southeast Alternative Learning Academy - A therapeutic and educational environment for students in preschool through secondary level experiencing emotional and behavioral difficulties.

Products and services

• Special Education Administrative Unit Operates as the designated Special Education Administrative Unit for the seven member districts, employing over 30 professionals delivering mandated special education services including child find, hearing, school psychology, speech therapy, physical therapy, occupational therapy, preschool special needs, and day treatment services.
• Child Find Locates, identifies, and evaluates children from birth through age 21 who may have special needs through free community screenings covering hearing, vision, speech/language, educational skills, social/emotional skills, and fine/gross motor development.
• Autism Services Provides specially trained professionals in autism with case managers assigned to children/students diagnosed with autism, offering consultation and direct services.
• Hearing Services Provides services to children with hearing loss through collaboration with students and teachers to ensure successful understanding of classroom instruction, including audiologist services.
• Preschool Services Provides special education services to preschool children ages 3 through kindergarten eligibility experiencing difficulties, with classes held at community locations in Rocky Ford and La Junta.
• Speech Therapy Offers observation, screening, and evaluation services for children from birth to age 21, providing therapy in articulation/phonology, receptive and expressive language, voice, fluency, and functional/social communication, including augmentative/alternative communication.
• Motor Therapy Provides Physical Therapy addressing gross motor skills, postural adaptations, and mobility concerns, and Occupational Therapy addressing fine motor, visual motor, sensory motor, and activities of daily living for students from birth to age 21.
• School Psychology Evaluates students for Special Education Programs through intelligence, achievement, personality, and perceptual motor testing; attends staffings for IEP development; provides counseling and functional behavior assessments.
• Postsecondary Services Supports students ages 15 to 21 in transitioning from high school to adult life through assessments, career exploration, job readiness skills, life skills instruction, and community agency connections.
• SEAL Academy (Southeast Alternative Learning Academy) Provides a structured, therapeutic and educational environment for students from preschool through secondary level who experience emotional and behavioral difficulties, offering individual, group, and family therapies alongside academic instruction.
• Educator Effectiveness Provides an effective system for educator evaluations supporting professional growth, data collection for professional development, teacher/principal evaluation, and instructional decision making.
• School Health Professional Grant Program Provides school health professionals including Bachelor Level Registered Nurses and Masters Level Certified School Counselors offering social emotional and substance use preventative education through the Strengthening Families 10-14 Program.
• Gifted & Talented Services Serves as flow-through agent for member districts' GT Funds, providing leadership and technical assistance in GT identification, programming, and services.
• COMTSS (Colorado Multi-Tiered System of Supports) A prevention-based framework using team-driven leadership and data-based problem solving to improve student outcomes through family, school, and community partnerships.
• Induction Program Supports new educators through mentorship and professional development with guidance documents and checklists for inductees, mentors, and administrators.
• Professional Learning Opportunities Provides summer professional development opportunities for educators through in-person and online formats.

Quantifiable outcome

• Provides services to 7 member districts through resource pooling

Named customers7 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration3 records

Partnerships

Three partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• Colorado BOCES AssociationcoreOthersSanta Fe Trail BOCES is a member of the Colorado BOCES Association, the state organization supporting BOCES cooperatives across Colorado. The association provides advocacy, resources, and networking for member BOCES organizations.
• Colorado Department of EducationcoreOthersThe Colorado Department of Education (CDE) is the state organization providing oversight, funding, and guidance to Santa Fe Trail BOCES. CDE provides funding through various grants including ESSER funds, educator effectiveness programs, and school health professional grants.
• School Health Professional Grant Partner DistrictscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerFive member districts (Cheraw, La Junta, Rocky Ford, Swink, and Wiley) opted to participate in the School Health Professional Grant opportunity, focusing on implementation of Social Emotional and Substance Use preventative education.

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves8 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• Arkansas Valley BOCES: Arkansas Valley BOCES is a Colorado cooperative educational services organization operating in southeastern Colorado — geographically adjacent and structurally comparable to Santa Fe Trail BOCES, with overlapping potential service territory.
• Ute Pass BOCES: Ute Pass BOCES is a Colorado BOCES providing cooperative educational services to mountain and foothill districts — comparable statutory structure, member-district service model, and special education administrative unit function.
• San Juan BOCES: San Juan BOCES serves member districts in southwestern Colorado with cooperative special education and shared services — a directly comparable regional BOCES operating under the same Colorado statute.
• Pikes Peak BOCES: Pikes Peak BOCES is a Colorado Board of Cooperative Educational Services serving multiple member districts in the Pikes Peak region with special education, professional development, and shared services — directly comparable as a same-state BOCES peer with overlapping service lines.
• East Central BOCES: East Central BOCES is a Colorado cooperative educational services organization serving districts on the eastern plains — directly comparable in rural member composition and service breadth to Santa Fe Trail BOCES.
• Northwest Colorado BOCES: Northwest Colorado BOCES is a Colorado cooperative serving member districts in the northwestern part of the state — same statutory structure, rural district base, and special education administrative unit role.
• San Luis Valley BOCES: San Luis Valley BOCES serves member districts in southern Colorado with cooperative special education and shared service programs — directly comparable rural regional BOCES.
• Colorado River BOCES: Colorado River BOCES provides cooperative educational services to western Colorado districts — comparable Colorado BOCES peer with similar special education administration and shared service offerings.
• Centennial BOCES: Centennial BOCES is a Colorado BOCES providing cooperative educational services — including special education administration — to member school districts in northeastern Colorado; same legal structure and service mandate as Santa Fe Trail BOCES.

Others

• Colorado BOCES Association: Colorado BOCES Association is the statewide industry association that advocates for and supports all Colorado BOCES organizations including Santa Fe Trail BOCES — a strategic/ecosystem peer providing funding advocacy and shared services rather than direct competition.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/santa-fe-trails-boces

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles6 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Santa Fe Trail Boces