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The AmeriTowne On the Road program wrapped up another successful school year this week! Having reached 2,374 students since September, this year set a new attendance record. Plus, the traveling Towne made its first ever stop in Fort Collins last fall.
As the Townes were cleaned and packed away for summer camp, Directors Chris O’Reilly and Susan Stenhaug sat down for a quick Q & A about their recent sessions:
Question: What stood out during your recent On the Road session?
Chris: I loved the passion we encountered in Durango. When the teachers are passionate about the program, then the students really buy into the program,
AmeriTowne On the Road visited the Student Life Center at Ft. Lewis College in Durango
too. We also had amazing volunteers from Fort Lewis College and Alpine Bank who helped us set up and facilitate the town.
Susan: We had so much community support at On the Road in Denver including parents and other corporate volunteers from State Farm, Vectra Bank, US Bank, UPS, just to name a few. I think the students can feel that support when they visit AmeriTowne On the Road and it validates their day.
Question: The students make up laws every day in Towne. Were there any laws that you’ve never seen before?
Chris: One of the laws I saw was that you had to shake hands with a staff member every time you saw him/her. The staff and I really got to know the students because we interacted with them so much that day.
Susan: A group had decided that no one could eat lunch by themselves. I thought this was a very thoughtful way to ensure everyone in the class was being included and felt like part of the AmeriTowne community.
Question: Can you share one of your favorite student stories?
Chris: There were a few days when two schools combined to run AmeriTowne. This was such an accurate representation of the real world because when you start a new job, you don’t know anyone yet you have to come together to run a successful business.
Susan: One day in the Sign and Print Shop, the students made thank you signs for their teachers. They colored the signs and wrote really thoughtful messages, and it was a wonderful reminder about the impact of a great teacher on a student’s learning.
Question: What are you looking forward to next?
Chris: We’re taking AmeriTowne on the Road to New Mexico for the first time this summer for a camp! It will be set up at Central New Mexico Community College.
Susan: I’m excited to bring this program to Aurora for two summer camps at the Moorhead Recreation Center. We’ll be running a Young AmeriTowne camp and a Junior Money Matters camp for 2nd-3rd graders.
Young Americans is grateful for the support of CoBank and KeyBank who have made possible the continued expansion of this program to schools throughout Colorado.
