The Crested Butte News Serving the Gunnison Valley since 1999
New programs added at the secondary level
By Olivia Lueckemeyer
Back by popular demand this year is the RE1J school district’s Summer Experience Program, which resumed Tuesday, June 28 for its second year of summer course offerings at the Crested Butte Community School, this year with more programs added at the secondary level.
According to program director Julia Kidd, elementary level enrollment jumped to 120 children straightaway when registration opened in April, and since then 30 additional students have signed up, putting the total elementary registration at 150 students.
“The elementary program has really taken hold,” Kidd explained. “The point we are trying to make is that this isn’t babysitting; it’s learning with professional teachers. The central theme is to keep kids learning, reading and focused in the summer.”
This time around the elementary program runs on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 9 a.m. to noon for the first four weeks, and 9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. on Tuesday, July 26 and Thursday, July 28 for a fifth week dedicated to field trips and experiential learning events.
“Last year we had two three-week sessions and once we collected attendance, we realized that the first and last week were pretty low,” Kidd said. “We are trying this model this year to see what works best scheduling-wise and for getting teachers.”
Course offerings for elementary students include Building Blocks for Math Success, Introduction to Computer Coding, Beading/Jewelry Making, Lego Mindstorm Robots, STEM: The Changing Earth, Journey to Harry Potter World, and much more.
New this year is the introduction of courses derived from “Project Lead the Way,” which is the STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) curriculum used district-wide at the secondary level during the regular school year. If the courses are well received, the material may be incorporated into elementary school curriculum.
“We are test driving that curriculum for the elementary level to see if people like it,” Kidd explained. “It’s all about pre-engineering skills and thinking creatively.”
To encourage the practice of reading year-round, Summer Experience has also teamed up with the library to support its Summer Reading Program, which students will be able to participate in while attending their classes.
“We joined with the library and will be tracking reading, celebrating it at the end with the Reading Olympics,” Kidd said.
Kidd has also invested a lot of time and energy into growing the secondary level Summer Experience program, which so far has about 50 enrollees. Course and event offerings for middle and high school students are held throughout the summer and range from “power start” workshops to art classes, backpacking trips, basketball lessons and more.
The power start workshops are available to incoming sixth and seventh graders, as well as incoming eighth and ninth graders, and provide an opportunity for students to learn the skills needed to confidently enter the upcoming school year.
“Even though it’s the same building, going into middle school or high school can be scary, so we are giving them tools, having them walk around the building, and just allowing them to become more comfortable,” Kidd explained.
Summer Experience is also partnering with professional guides from Colorado Backcountry to offer two separate backpacking trips—one for incoming seventh and eighth graders and the other for high school students—so the students can learn backpacking skills, wilderness ethics, basic navigation and map reading skills, leadership skills and leave-no-trace ethics.
“We haven’t decided where they are going yet, but it will be over the course of four days where they will get to learn all of this awesome stuff,” Kidd said.
To learn more about the Summer Experience program and course offerings and to sign up for future events, visit www.gunnisonschools.net and navigate to the “Crested Butte Community School” sub-page.
