Eighth-graders at Bayfield Middle School got a head start exploring their future options and getting a feel for life on a college campus this fall thanks to a grant from the Colorado Department of Education.
Nineteen students went on a two-day tour of University of Colorado campuses in Boulder and Colorado Springs, which was partially paid for by a School Counselor Corp Grant from CDE, according to a news release on the Bayfield School District’s website.
The students went on facility tours and to dining hall dinners, and they even attended a CU Boulder volleyball match during that part of their trip, the release said.
“The whole purpose of the grant in rural communities is getting college and career readiness exposure at the middle school level,” BMS Counselor Nicole Machallister said in the release.
The grant was submitted by Steve Otter, the counselor corp grant coordinator for San Juan Board of Cooperative Educational Services, which serves multiple smaller Southwest Colorado school districts, including Bayfield School District and the Ignacio School District.
The goal with the grant is to support districts in building a career exploration program for students at the middle school level, allow students to explore career pathways that align with their strengths and interests, and to increase family engagement then to ensure they’re better prepared to explore career and postsecondary options when students enter high school, the release said.
“We like to set our kids up as they transfer from middle school to high school to really take advantage of a variety of options,” Otter said in the release. “We want to give them a jump on learning about themselves and what they are interested in pursuing, and that really helps connect them to their high school program.”
Bayfield Middle School Career Exploration teacher Poul Heminger said in the release the trip helped students understand what the college atmosphere is like and what expectations for college students would be.
“The experience of this trip was very informative and overall exciting for our students,” he said. “I would say that introducing these university field trips to our eighth-grade Career Exploration students is an incentive and motivation before entering high school.”
mhollinshead@durangoherald.com