News
Nearly three dozen students from Breckenridge and Denver graduated the SOS Outreach Learn-to-Ride snowboarding program last weekend in Breckenridge.
Parents, teachers and ski instructors looked on as SOS mentors and volunteers recounted tales of each student’s progression during the 5-day program. In return, students took turns complimenting others in their group, while also thanking their mentors and volunteers.
For Ellie Coakley, a second-grade teacher at Upper Blue Elementary School in Breckenridge, it was her first season working with SOS.
“It was a really great experience, and I definitely want to do it again next year,” she said. “It was really nice to see the kids outside of a school setting, and the ski instructors were great, but to see the difference in the kids’ attitudes and how they got to bond with each other was amazing.”
Coakley said she was skeptical at the beginning of the Learn-to-Ride program when she heard students would be taught a different core value each day, but she saw a difference in behavior.
“It’s hard to single out students who have changed the most, but (Upper Blue Elementary School) student Grady Ritchea is one example for sure,” she said. “It was really a positive experience for him, and I saw his compassion for other members of his group, and he’s just a great student, anyway. Elise Good, (also an Upper Blue student), was another who had a really positive attitude and had a fun time. She banged her knee, and got side-swiped, but got right back up.”
Mike Haugen, an eighth-grade science teacher at Denver’s Kepner Middle School, finished his fifth year volunteering for SOS Outreach.
“I love it,” he said. “Just being able to see the kids develop every year is incredible, but the instructors and volunteers do such a good job, and you can actually see changes in these kids in their daily life.”
Haugen himself has scaled Mount Everest and said the passion of the instructors from Breckenridge and SOS were critical to the success of the program.
“A lot of times, these kids go through life without having passion for anything,” he said. “And at Kepner, a lot of students are coming from the worst neighborhoods in Denver, where it’s really rough. Once they get out here, you can just see their attitude change, they’re having fun, making friends and having the time of their life.”
Coakley and Haugen both said they plan to volunteer next year for SOS Outreach, and Haugen said he would bring a number of the same students with him on SOS wilderness trips this summer.
Parents, teachers and ski instructors looked on as SOS mentors and volunteers recounted tales of each student’s progression during the 5-day program. In return, students took turns complimenting others in their group, while also thanking their mentors and volunteers.
For Ellie Coakley, a second-grade teacher at Upper Blue Elementary School in Breckenridge, it was her first season working with SOS.
“It was a really great experience, and I definitely want to do it again next year,” she said. “It was really nice to see the kids outside of a school setting, and the ski instructors were great, but to see the difference in the kids’ attitudes and how they got to bond with each other was amazing.”
Coakley said she was skeptical at the beginning of the Learn-to-Ride program when she heard students would be taught a different core value each day, but she saw a difference in behavior.
“It’s hard to single out students who have changed the most, but (Upper Blue Elementary School) student Grady Ritchea is one example for sure,” she said. “It was really a positive experience for him, and I saw his compassion for other members of his group, and he’s just a great student, anyway. Elise Good, (also an Upper Blue student), was another who had a really positive attitude and had a fun time. She banged her knee, and got side-swiped, but got right back up.”
Mike Haugen, an eighth-grade science teacher at Denver’s Kepner Middle School, finished his fifth year volunteering for SOS Outreach.
“I love it,” he said. “Just being able to see the kids develop every year is incredible, but the instructors and volunteers do such a good job, and you can actually see changes in these kids in their daily life.”
Haugen himself has scaled Mount Everest and said the passion of the instructors from Breckenridge and SOS were critical to the success of the program.
“A lot of times, these kids go through life without having passion for anything,” he said. “And at Kepner, a lot of students are coming from the worst neighborhoods in Denver, where it’s really rough. Once they get out here, you can just see their attitude change, they’re having fun, making friends and having the time of their life.”
Coakley and Haugen both said they plan to volunteer next year for SOS Outreach, and Haugen said he would bring a number of the same students with him on SOS wilderness trips this summer.
