For families who have lived in the Roaring Fork Valley for multiple generations, experiential education (ex-ed) programs feel like a joyful legacy and a tradition. What those rites of passage look like varies between individuals who have participated in school-based programs compared to private or summer programs, but the skills and confidence gained are consistent.
Upvalley schools
Ex-ed programs in the upper valley have a long legacy. Aspen School District started its now iconic program in 1968. These programs were closely affiliated with the Marble Outward Bound campus, which hosted the nation’s first Outward Bound course earlier that decade in 1962.
Six decades in, the Aspen programs now start in first grade with day trips. Fourth grade and up take on week-long experiences focusing on place-based learning and specific outdoor skills through middle school. Aspen High School students enter a lottery to participate in one of over 30 different mixed-age group experiences which range from river rafting to community service to arts workshops.
The Aspen eighth grade outdoor ed right of passage is famous Valley-wide, as it still utilizes Marble as a base for team-building exercises after groups of 13-year-olds spend several days backpacking 20 to 30 miles through the Maroon Bells-Snowmass Wilderness at the start of the school year.
The upvalley alternative schools, Aspen Country Day (ACD) and Aspen Community School (ACS), also have highly integrated experiential programs. ACD’s programs start in kindergarten and have multiple excursions per year, introducing 6-year-olds to an overnight trip at the end of their first school year. Mixed-age excursions start in fourth grade, allowing kids to try out leadership roles quite early.
ACS, a public charter school, takes a more integrated approach to experiential ed as part of its alternative educational model. Students go on more frequent field trips, which include immersive arts education and urban community service experiences in addition to outdoor excursions. ACS eighth graders complete their school year with a two-week trip, for which they do fundraising to alleviate the financial burden on individual families.
Carbondale schools
Between El Jebel and Carbondale, the independent K-8 Waldorf School on the Roaring Fork integrates experiential ed into its entire curriculum. Waldorf pedagogy emphasizes creativity, curiosity and compassion in a minimal-tech environment. It centers around a belief in the value of play, individualized pacing for academic skill areas and cultivating a love for learning rather than rigid memorization and regurgitation of information. The education model was developed in 1919 by Rudolf Steiner, and is popular worldwide. The 33-year-old Carbondale school is just one of over 1,100 schools in 60 countries.
Carbondale Community School does not officially subscribe to Waldorf pedagogy, but similarly values play and multiple types of learning. The tuition-free 28-year-old charter school emphasizes the arts, emotional expression and community service in addition to outdoor education and field trips to new environments.
Carbondale’s private high school, the Colorado Rocky Mountain School (CRMS), also is renowned for its experiential ed. The CRMS outdoor program is intensive. Every year, all new students participate in Wilderness Orientation, which involves 10 days in the mountains of the Roaring Fork Valley learning outdoor skills. All students also participate in week-long trips each October and April. The programs heavily emphasize character development, collaboration and empathy. World-famous mountaineer Conrad Anker is among CRMS alumni and a testament to the program’s influence.
Midvalley and downvalley public schools
Basalt schools have more limited options. Elementary school outdoor ed is facilitated by the Aspen Center for Environmental Studies through once-weekly classes and short field trips. Basalt Middle School offers offers one three-day-long trip per grade, between 90 minutes and three hours away from the Valley. The Basalt Education Foundation is working to support outdoor ed and experiential ed opportunities for students. Much of what is currently available to students is optional and via partnerships with external organizations.
Other Roaring Fork School District schools have similar situations with outdoor and experiential ed. Even though experiential ed provides opportunities for different learning styles to thrive and develop confidence, the context of how that has typically been done in the Valley is not universally well-received by families.
The next installment of this series aims to dive into the hesitations of local families. Why the gap in perception of experiential ed and what it can offer children and teens? Are there ways to better communicate the safety of these programs and the opportunities they can create?
