The Fall Soccer Tournament Wraps Up a Fantastic Season!

The morning of October 22^nd fourteen local soccer teams, seven girls and seven boys, gathered on the field at Freedom Park in Edwards. It was a beautiful, clear day Parents were out in full support, despite the early hour, and there were plenty of Community Coaches to act as referees. It was the perfect day for a tournament!

The Youth Foundation Power Hours After School Program

 This year, The Youth Foundation will be delivering fun, active, and healthy programs for your children. When your child participates in Power Hours, they will be learning some important things about health and fitness. During the fitness time in after school, The Youth Foundation staff will be engaging your children in discussions and activities that explore the importance of making healthy choices and participating in healthy behaviors so that they may grow and learn to their fullest potential. Obesity and health issues related to diet and daily activity levels are growing at an alarming rate. Through our efforts, and your support, we can change the future of our children.

A Life After PwrHrs; High School with The Youth Foundation

The Community Coach program gives high school students that have either gone through The Youth Foundation programs or that have shown the inspiration to help younger kids, the opportunity to work with children throughout the valley. As Community Coaches they have the chance to help the Power Hour after school programs, help with Copa Edwards, The First Tee program, and also tutoring middle schools students. They all develop great leadership skills and learn how to be really passionate about giving back to their community. The Community Coaches volunteering efforts are greatly appreciated and they are rewarded with field trips and incentives throughout the year.

The Beginning of Some Seriously Cool Robotics

“If you talk to a man in a language he understands, that goes to his head. If you talk to him in his language, that goes to his heart.” – Nelson Mandela

Children everywhere have a need to feel known. A need to feel not just understood but cared for. That is our exact intentions at The Youth Foundation and what influences the success of our after school program, Pwr Hrs. Being a new member to The Youth Foundation I was so excited to start a program and find my own niche. This school year we added robotics to PwrHrs’ mix of academics, fitness, martial arts, nutrition, art, music and culture. This new program became my responsibility. After the trial and error of finding a product that would be of best fit elementary school children, I came across the perfect match. Using a Lego robotic product “WeDo,” children ages 7-12 are able to follow a plan, use their imagination, problem solve, and create a program specific to the needs of their robot, which are all useful life skills.

TYF Celebrates Staff, Volunteers, Teachers and SDG Dancers!

Thanks to the generosity of Rupe and Lisa Sidhu, The Youth Foundation staff, volunteers, Star Dancing Gala dancers, and Power Hours teachers got to enjoy a night in the wild west! The group of 80 enjoyed barbequed vittles, country music, s’mores by the fire, and vast expanses of the open sky at 4 Eagle Ranch on October 14.

Kicking Back with Middle School Soccer!

The fall middle school soccer league is on a roll this year! We have more kids than ever and it has been very fun and exiting! Berry Creek and Gypsum Creek Middle School’s are playing great and they have about 40 to 50 players each!  In the league, we have a total of seven boys’ and seven girls’ teams, that play a full 11 vs 11 game while still putting a special attention on learning the sport and the fundamentals of the game.

Why you, and everyone you know, should vote Yes on 3B

I am not a proponent of higher taxes—who is?  But 3B is more than a tax increase, it’s a vote of confidence in our future, and knowing we did the right thing for our children. 3B, the Board of Education’s initiative to raise taxes, would increase funding that goes directly to Eagle County Schools. I know times are tough, that the economy is still struggling and that most people’s pay has not increased. I know that first-hand—my husband and I both work at non-profits. We are hardly raking in the dough. However, we budget, plan and put money towards what we feel is important. Education is imperative to us.

Most everyone probably has heard the stats: 9 million dollars have been cut from the school district’s budget over two years and unless the school district receives more revenue, much tougher cuts are coming.

We already have lost teachers and have furlough days this year. It’s hard to be a leader in education when there are mandatory furlough days, isn’t it? The scary thing to me is just what more cuts mean: it’s not ‘specials’ like music and art—never mind that music and art should be an integral part of education. More budget cuts aren’t about cutting sports or field trips. These cuts will impact students, which will affect adults. Skimp now, and we will have to pay later. I have been told assuredly that class sizes will increase. Can you imagine a kindergarten with 29 students? A 4^th grade with more than 30?

If a student starts behind in kindergarten, how will she ever catch up when the teacher is dealing with 30 other kids?

I hear complaints about America falling behind other countries with our education system. It’s time for Americans, Coloradoans and those of us in Eagle County to put our money where our mouths are. Do we want our kids to have the best education? Or do we want them to flounder to save 92 dollars a year (based on an assessed value of a $500,000 home)? That is the price of 20 lattes a year.

I love a grande vanilla non-fat latte as much as anyone else, but I would rather give my money to the schools, education and future successes. I want to set up my girls for success. I want them to love going to school, not to get lost in the shuffle and to have one-on-one time with their teachers.

While I have been researching 3B, I’ve learned that Eagle County Schools is a national leader. I am proud of that. I am proud that we have so many great schools in our district, it’s hard to decide which one to send our kids to. Our school district is one of the first districts in the country to abolish the lock-step salary schedule and successfully implement a pay-for-performance system nearly a decade before it became fashionable. ECS has also:

•   Established a record of high student achievement (with data to support this claim).

•   Made significant and measurable progress in closing the achievement gap that exists between minority students and non-minority students.

•   Emerged as a national leader in instructional development and teacher practices.

•   The proposed $6 million mill levy override will address impacts at two major levels, offering support for extra-curricular activities, arts and athletics, replace buses and computers that have exceeded their useful lifespan, maintain buildings and grounds and mitigate state budget cuts. At the class level it would prevent further cuts to core programs, restoring some of our most critical classroom positions, retaining quality classroom teachers and reinstating teacher/student classroom days. 

(the above is from yeson3b.com)

I agree with accountability, belt tightening and an end to frivolous spending. I think Eagle County Schools have already done all of that. Now it’s time for all of us to come together to keep Eagle County a leader in education. Vote yes on 3B.

Heather Hower, The Youth Foundation's Volunteer Coordinator

New Blog!

Hello all!

So as a new school year starts and fall quickly heads towards winter, The Youth Foundation is getting a new blog! Here you will be able to find all sorts of articles and stories from staff, Coach Across America members, Community Coaches, and our teachers and students. If you have any stories from your amazing experiences with The Youth Foundation, please don't hesitate to let us know and your story might be featured here!

Hope everyone's Monday is flying by!

Alyse Oneto, fun facilitator (but really, AmeriCorps VISTA member)