Mini Grant Recipients

Glenwood High School Climate and Latino Clubs conducted their team building activity between immigrant and established community high school students in April, 2007. This activity was very successful. The purpose of it, which was opening ways of communication, teamwork and understanding between 13 receiving community and 13 Latino GSHS Latino students, was accomplished. The students who participated in this activity were really open to this experience from the beginning. Both groups ended feeling positive and happy about each other and their participation, expressing interest for another activity like this one.

The Peter Westcott class at the Aspen Middle School hosted a social activity between visiting students from Mexico, established community and immigrant students on April 5, 2007. The entire project was bringing 40 people (20 fifth grade students and 20 teachers or administrators) from a rural area of Chihuahua, Mexico, to the Roaring Fork Valley for a week as part of a cultural and educational exchange.  The part of the project that they received a mini-grant for was a party at the Aspen Youth Center in the afternoon of April 3rd which would include recent immigrants (mainly Latino), established residents and the visiting Mexicans. This was followed by a coffee house in which Peter Westcott’s class and the visitors from Mexico shared aspects of their culture such as dancing, songs, stories, and other talents.  The students had a good time together.  It did prove that children are basically children anywhere, and they can get along well, according to Peter Westcott. His class, largely made up of Anglo descendants, had a wonderful and culturally rich experience with the visiting Mexicans.  The parents of his students also showed much more interest in learning about the Latinos – both in this valley and those living in Mexico – after the program.
 

In May of 2007 the YouthZone Girls out `n about  focused on career club and follow up group for Latina and established community high school students. There were two parts to this activity.  The first part was the visit to Paradise Day Spa in Glenwood Springs where they were introduced to the world of cosmetology and esthetics. They learned about the diversity of the business and the benefits of taking good care of their clients. The second part of the activity was a party and discussion at YouthZone about what they have learned over the past several months by doing these activities and how they were feeling about entering high school next year.  All the girls expressed that they developed connections with one another that they otherwise would not experienced. There were a total of 12 girls - 6 immigrant and 6 receiving community girls.

Festival of the Americas, organized by the Club Rotario Roaring Fork, took place on August 18, 2007. The 5th Festival of the Americas was quite effective in bringing together the established and immigrant communities. There was significant participation by members of diverse communities. The members of the Roaring Fork Rotary Club agreed it was the largest and most successful festival over the five years they had been involved, with an estimated 800-1,000 attendees present by early evening, representing roughly a 2:1 Latino-to-Anglo ratio.  The program included a raffle and six musical groups, featuring reggaeton, cumbia, salsa, a festive northern Mexico brass and guitar band and a full traditional mariachi band.  An awards ceremony awarded Jackie Morales Awards of Distinction for Community Service to Giovanny Anaya (student), Walter Gallacher (educator), Mark Gould (professional) and Adriana Ayala (educator).  An especially poignant moment of silence honored Peter B. Jessup, who fell to his death from Maroon Bells just nine days earlier and received a special Humanitarian Award for his work with Catholic Charities and Congregations and Schools Empowered (CASE).

On November 2, 2007, the Thunder River Theatre performed the Day of the Dead Celebration (Dia de los Muertos) - a two-fold event, which started with a Parade down Carbondale's Main St. (elementary through high school students). Back at the theatre, there were educational components helping the audience understand the origins and importance of the occasion; special performances by the Aspen Santa Fe Ballet Folklorico; short play about the celebration (high school students); special readings. The best part of this year’s celebration, different from the last three, was that there were about 50-50 Latinos and Anglos. Three things really stood out. When Fernando Fuentes was singing his last song – the Latino population new the song and all joined in. Then Fernando taught the words to the Anglo population and everyone was singing together in Spanish. This year there was an altar exhibit and a Latino woman explained the altar to a group of Anglos. At the end of the evening, many parents of the dancers lingered over refreshments and enjoyed each other’s company.

Held on November 8, 2007, this was the third in a series of community meetings hosted by the Colorado Department of Justice Community Relations Division and the Garfield School District No. Re-2 discussing race relations in the Rifle area.  The intent was to bring together a diverse collection of people to discuss their perceptions of race relations in the area and what tactics, if any, can we as a community use to facilitate a more collaborative and tolerant community. The dialogue was robust. The two communities gained a better understanding and a higher level of trust. The Latino participants said that one of the things they wished they knew more about were the local laws and traffic regulations. The two groups created an action plan on when, where and how this would occur. 

Sopris Therapy - Teens and pre-teens from the community join together to help with Sopris Therapy's programs for disabled children and adults. The programs involve using horses in a therapeutic program for children, adults and at-risk youth. The students help with barn chores, horse handling, leaf-raking, caretaking of other animals, helping the disabled children with their helmets and safety belts, helping staff during the treatment sessions, keeping equipment in order and helping with the “mini-camp” for 3-5 yr. olds with severe needs. The students learn many things including working together as a team, decision-making, empathy, work ethics, management skills and tolerance of differences. They also learn an appreciation of each other’s culture. Many lunch-time conversations involve exchanges regarding differences of holidays and customs. What the students learned most this year was that they are all the same, just kids. The Latino kids taught their Anglo friends Spanish and they embellished their vocabularies with many words they might not be exposed to. "I was extremely surprised at the leadership skills of some of the students" said Pat Horwitz, Sopris Therapy Executive Director. "During a time when they all were arguing about who would drive the “Gator’ (a golf cart-like vehicle) to deliver hay, a Latino middle-schooler decided to have a meeting and worked out a plan that included consequences for those who broke the rules.  Most of these students were in gangs the previous summer and to see the cooperation between the two groups was amazing. Actually, we no longer have two groups - just 6 kids having a great time together. Students learned how to have long-term goals and 2 kids saved their money to participate in the Garfield County Rodeo", she added.

A small group of students at the Carbondale Middle School, called the Diversity Team, organized and supervised ‘Mix It Up’ lunches once a month for their 3 lunch periods in the cafeteria for the 2008 school year. The idea behind these lunches was to encourage interaction between different groups of children, new immigrant children who speak little English, the Anglo students, as well as the large Hispanic population in the school. On January 15, 2008 the Diversity Team planned and had their second "Mix it up" lunch for 5th, 6th, 7th and 8th graders. The Diversity Team (seven 8th graders) designed and decorated red tee shirts that they wore visiting classrooms promoting the event and on the day of the event. They encouraged students to sit with someone that they didn't know and ask them questions from different themes on the tables. The Diversity Team played music from several different genres. Most students arrived at the cafeteria a little bit nervous but with support of the Diversity Team members they were quickly focused on the interaction with someone new. Organizers believe immigrant and established community are feeling much better about each other. About 80% of the established community and 60% of the newer immigrant population sat with someone they did not know and tried to talk with them.
 
On March 6, 2008 the third "Mix it Up" lunch for 5th, 6th, 7th and optional for 8th graders, took place. The Diveristy Team read the P.A. announcement promoting the event. This time everyone was ready and excited for the "Mi It Up" lunch because it's becoming part of their routine of school activities in the year. The Diversity Team were surprised at how many students were doing what they were asked. The newer immigrant students loved interacting with others who were asking questions and trying to converse with them in Spanish. According organizers, it was so evident how students cooperated so well that both groups, immigrants and established community, were feeling better about each other. Participation in both populations was much higher.

On May 21, 2008, the fourth "Mix It Up" lunch for 5th and 6th graders only took place. The Diversity Team told the students that they need to find someone new to have lunch with and make their own converstions without the Team's prompts. This was a very simple "Mix It Up" lunch and they had been trained to understand what was expected of them. At least 2/3 of the group cooperated and did what they were asked.

By assigning students to different lunch tables once a month, the school Conselor Sue Turner believes friendships will develop between diverse populations which will hopefully encourage parents and other family members to do the same and feel welcomed in our community. She believes that scheduling lunches multiple times during the year builds participation and success.

The Mentor program at Carbondale Middle School is a program designed by the school counselor Sue Turner to foster relationships between older and more mature students (7^th & 8^th graders) and younger students (5^th & 6^th graders)  transitioning from elementary school to middle school during 2008 school year. The idea of the program is to match up pairs of students (cross grade level, cross culture) to meet one to two times a week during the school day for help with organization of lockers, binders, planners, help with study skills, homework, and social issues. The purpose of this pairing of students is to foster support, communication, and relationships between students. During the first half of the year, Sue Turner have recruited, trained, and supervised eighteen mentors who support nearly 60 younger students. Most of them will leave the program at the end of this quarter and as they go on to do other things 3^rd and 4^th quarter. Sue recognized their time, energy and commitment they have taken out of their schedule to support their buddies 1^st and 2^nd quarter. She organized two recognition lunches on January 24 and May 28 2008.

Photo Courtesy of www.davidcliffordphotography.com

The 2008 Roaring Fork Leadership class hosted the Team Story Swap on March 17, 2008. Diverse members of the community were paired together, and each member of the pair shared a personal story with each other. Participants included immigrants from Canada and Russia, various native Spanish speakers (Mexico, Puerto Rico, Argentina, etc.), as well as many other newcomers to the Roaring Fork Valley. The Aspen Writers’ Foundation coached the pairs on creative storytelling. Everyone came with an open mind. Participants were eager to meet each other, engage in the process together, and learn about each other's heritage and life history. Many pairs were surprised by the variety of communalities they shared in their lives—a fact that made the process even more rewarding for the organizers, as many of the participants who might have thought they had nothing in common began to find similarities between each other.  Following the event, each participant wrote their partner’s story, from an alternative creative perspective. The pairs gave the new creative story to the Aspen Writers’ Foundation and their partner. The swap process culminated with a celebration of the stories, at a public event at which the stories with were shared with the community. The stories that came out of the swap were truly amazing. Each participant could not say enough about how much theyenjoyed themselves and were grateful for this opportunity. The experience was  emotional for many and deeply touched each participant's life and made them all feel more connected to the diverse community in which we live.

Congregations and Schools Empowered (CASE) will be holding the first three exploratory meetings designed to begin the creation of a local organizing committee (LOC) within St. Stephens Parish. Within these meetings the CASE staff will be training people of the community the first steps in becoming a leader.

Crystal River Elementary School (CRES) in Carbondale brought award-winning author/educator/performer/recording artist José-Luis Orozco to town on April 11, 2008 to perform for CRES and the larger community. They organized two day-time concerts for the students of Crystal River Elementary School (one for the younger grades and one for the older grades) and an evening concert which was open to the community.  All of the concerts were very upbeat, fun events.  Throughout the concerts Mr. Orozco created a feeling of celebration – a celebration of our diversity, a celebration of our coming together as a community, and a celebration of each child for whoever he/she is.  He switched back and forth between English and Spanish, words and animals sounds, his professional performance and the participation of volunteers – young and old.  In addition to bringing audience members up on stage to sing and dance, he continuously invited audience members to join in on his easy-to-learn songs and movements. The audience seemed very comfortable and happy to be there. 500 people attended the evening community concert.  

Aspen Public Radio will utilize the mini-grant to partially fund a Spanish translation position to assist their Carbondale based reporter. The translator would assist in reporting and producing effective stories on the Latino community in Carbondale, Glenwood Springs and Rifle as well issues that confront the immigrant (both documented and undocumented) community. 

On May 6 the Colorado Mountain College is hosting the Latino Youth Summit, organized in response to the suicide of 15-year-old Dayan Diaz.  This event is specifically relevant to the Latino community and will provide students with important educational information related to intervention and prevention strategies that will not only connect the students with their community, but also their families with the community. Workshop topics include Immigration, Suicide Prevention, Healthy Relationships, the effects of Drugs and Alcohol, STD’s, and Teen Pregnancy Prevention.  The event also offers a Pre-College workshop that supports and encourages juniors and seniors to achieve their higher educational goals. The Latino Youth Summit is a collaboration of efforts between Colorado Mountain College and eight local high schools from two school districts.

Academy of Western Slope Artists and Musicians (AWSAM) featured a classical Spanish vocal and piano concert on June 17 as part of its 2007-2009 St. Mary Concert Series in Rifle. Jennifer Carr performed in the second season and was well received by the mostly Anglo audience. Since this was a listening situation there was not much interaction between the two communities during the concert. One unusual experience for the Anglos was that the program had the English translations of the songs since all of the music was in Spanish. After the concert the organizers provided a time for the audience to meet the performers. One Latino family stayed and interacted with the performer and others in the audience. The audience of 75 consisted of  approximately 10-12 Hispanics - 99% increase over other concerts.

During the weekend of June 7-9th the Buddy Program took 11 Buddy Pairs to outward Bound in Leadville for a very successful event. The three day weekend in Leadville is designed to create trust, foster better communication and build confidence for the Little Buddies through a variety of activities. On Saturday, the group participated in a number of team-oriented activities to get to know each other and create a team environment. On Sunday the Big and Little Buddies rock climbed with Little Buddies learning to climb as well as belay their Big Buddies. On Monday the Buddy Pairs conquered the high ropes course. Throughout the weekend, Big and Little buddies from different backgrounds interacted together as well as with the group as a whole. Eight of the Little Buddies were Latino, three were anglo; so 72% were from an immigrant community. One Big Buddy was Latino and ten were Anglo. 

Basalt Middle School held a family orientation Potluck on Tuesday, August 19th - bring together the students, parents, staff and other community members before school officially starts. They are targeting the families of their students enrolled in Basalt Middle School’s new school within a school entitled “The WIT Academy” (WIT stands for “Whatever it Takes” for the World, I and Team” and will instill in students the desire to do whatever it takes to make a positive impact on community at all levels (personal, local and global).  It is a new school-within-a-school for about 40 7th and 8th graders, aimed primarily at "apathetic learners" who have become or are starting to become, disengaged in school and learning). "The potluck was one of the most rewarding experiences of our teaching careers as we were able to interact with our students and their parents in a friendly, fun and inclusive atmosphere", said Ashley Carruth, 8th grade advisor. " It helped start the year off on a positive foot and enabled us to get to know our students and their families outside of school before classes even started.  Moreover, it enabled parents of various cultural and socioeconomic backgrounds to interact in a welcoming environment. During the potluck, all parents and kids interacted with each other despite language barriers as we were able to translate with the help of other bilingual parents and students", Carruth added. The WIT Academy plan on having a potluck once a quarter this year to keep building community amongst the participants in their program. 
   

On October 15 Family Visitor Programs held their 5th Annual Community Birthday Party at the Glenwood Community Center in celebration of the agency's 25th anniversary of helping families with newborns in the Aspen to Parachute.

 

 

 






Basalt High School hosted a Non-Violent Communication Training on October 20-21. They had 26 students participate over the course of the two day training and they learned some valuable skills.  They got to know each other in a much more personal manner and were able to practice new ways of communicating with each other. They went from the language of judging, blaming, labeling, obeying, comparing, being right and assuming to fostering understanding and partnership thru observing, acknowledging feelings and needs and clarifying what they heard. The group worked very well together. Both cultures learned that everyone’s voice is important. Students acknowledged that all individuals want to feel understood and connected. The workshop offered students the opportunity to choose how to respond to a comment, either by taking it personally and feeling under attack or by showing empathy to the other person. They practiced using a new vocabulary of support.

The Roaring Fork School District RE-1 is organizing Intercultural Training for Secondary Students and Teachers. In March 2008, fifteen Roaring Fork School District teachers, administrators, and staff  (representing all seven secondary schools in the school district) completed a three-day training of trainers for facilitating student workshops related to intercultural understanding and acceptance within our schools. After this training, all participants agreed to form a district-wide leadership team focused on diversity issues in our school communities. They named their group Teachers Empowering Agents of Change (TEACH) because their mission is to empower youth to become change agents in a global world, working with allies toward eradicating society’s –isms in our communities.