From a young age, Caden Pratt had a fascination for building things. This rooted from seeing his dad and grandpa constantly doing work around his house and assisting them with it.

At the start of second grade, Caden had the opportunity to see an entirely new building come to life: Mary E. Pennock Elementary School. In 2003, Caden participated in the ribbon cutting ceremony for this new school and transferred to this school after moving with his family to the Pennock neighborhood.

Caden recalls how the staff at Pennock always allowed him to pursue his interests and to be who he was.

“The staff at Pennock Elementary always created value in my learning experiences. They would change their teaching style and approaches to be based on what our interests were. For me it was building, and they always encouraged me to continue to develop this passion.”

It is this encouragement that led Caden to work for electrical companies as a foreman during his high school and college summers, which led him to realize he wanted to go into the administration side of the construction industry.

He attended Trinidad State College for two years and then transferred to the University of Northwestern Ohio to earn his bachelor’s degree in business administration and finance.

After graduating from college in 2018, he was hired as a project manager for Premiere Roofing Company in Fort Collins, Colo.

Premiere Roofing Company is a full service roofing contractor with an emphasis on high quality service, industry-best products, and great pricing. Their services include free roof inspections, free hail and windstorm damage assessments, and roofing restoration for single-family homeowners and multi-family communities.

After working at Premiere Roofing for over a year, Caden was promoted to general manager in 2019 to open an office in Minnesota. Caden led the planning for the office opening and now manages all operations for the office including overseeing about 60 staff.

Caden enjoys working with others and creating a sense of camaraderie at work. He also genuinely cares about serving others.

“I love helping people with their home repair needs and seeing how excited they get with the end results.”

Caden says 27J teachers always cared about him as a person and this heavily influenced Caden and his own priorities as an adult.

Caden makes sure to stay connected with the people that made an impact on his life including teachers. He even stays in contact with his former principal from Pennock who is now the director of the Student Achievement department at 27J Schools.

Over the years, he’s seen the immense growth of Brighton, Commerce City and Thornton. “Brighton is a big town with a small town feel. When you attend school here, everyone knows everyone and you share your values and motivations with others.”

Caden credits Pennock Elementary School for providing him with a new beginning at the start of his second grade year and for motivating and supporting him to pursue his interests in building.

“I believe in 27J Schools because they have a strong sense of community, empathy, and culture.”