Contacts: Leslie Emerson. Director (970) 384-5967
William Rosas, Administrative Assistant (970) 384-6071
Diana Sirko, Superintendent (970) 384-6001
Address: Roaring
Fork High School Glenwood Springs High
School
2270
Highway 133 1521 Grand
Ave.
Carbondale,
CO. 81621 Glenwood Springs, CO.
81601
Schools served: Basalt
Middle and High Schools, Carbondale Middle School, Roaring
Fork High School, Glenwood Springs Middle and High
Schools, Bridges and Yampa Mountain High Schools.
Grades served: 7th
through 12th
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Pre Collegiate Program Information
Roaring
Fork School District Pre-Collegiate Program offers an incredible amount
of opportunities for students wishing to continue their post-secondary
education. If you are interested in learning more about this program,
contact the director or stop by and talk to them at any of their two
offices; one at Glenwood Springs High School and another one at Roaring
Fork High School.
For certain
students, postsecondary education is the next logical, expected and
tangible stage in the natural passage toward personal and professional
attainment. These students typically come from families for whom
college entrance is a familiar process; they know “the ropes.” For
others, however, college entrance is a foreign practice, so it
represents a deliberate attempt to improve their social, economic and
professional footing. These students are typically the first in their
families to enroll in any educational institution beyond high school.
This attempt could be both, opportunity and risk since it is an exodus
from family traditions.
For first-generation college students, the risk for attrition is
greater since they typically come from low-income families, have lower
degree aspirations, are usually older than their peers, have a need to
work longer hours off campus, take lighter academic loads due to lack
of financial resources and/or time, and receive less support from
family and friends for their enrollment. Consequently, the period for
this process is a time of great upheaval.
The Roaring Fork School District Pre-Collegiate program is an academic
enrichment and support program designed to guide academically motivated
middle and high school students and their parents to successfully
complete their secondary school career, on a timely basis, and
matriculate to a choice postsecondary institution with the necessary
academic and interpersonal skills needed to succeed and graduate from
that institution. It also guides parents on how to plan financially
for college and how and where to apply for help. The program consists
of three main components: Mentor Program, Saturday Academies, and
Summer Academic Camp.
The mentor program is a year-long series of bi-weekly meetings that
happen during the school day. Mentors are typically professionals from
the community who know the importance of giving their time to
positively influence young lives. The curriculum for these meetings
include life skills, keeping abreast with current events, setting and
coordinating community service, ACT preparation, personal goal setting,
field trips, and guest speakers. The following are the words of one of
our Pre-Collegiate students when referring to his mentor, “Bill is not
only my mentor, but my best friend. I can always count on him for
advice and support...he has encouraged me to set goals for myself…now I
know I want to become someone important in this life.” Giovanny Anaya,
sophomore student at the University of Denver.
Saturday Academies cover: basic study skills, communication skill
development, college entrance preparation and registration, career
exploration, college fair visits, ACT preparation sessions, etc..
The Summer Academic Camps consist in a one-week residential program
hosted at Colorado Mountain College for freshmen and sophomores, and a
two-week long program at the University of Colorado at Boulder for
juniors and seniors. During these weeks, students experience living on
campus while being expose to the rigor of academic courses designed to
augment their requirements in math, writing and another area upon their
return to their host high schools.
The Roaring Fork Pre-Collegiate program has the following staff: a
program director, an administrative assistant, and a board or
directors. It also has 23 volunteer mentors. The program in its
seventh year and provides services to over 200 students from the
Roaring Fork Valley. So far, the program has been successful in the
placement of its graduating seniors into higher education at a rate of
95 percent or above. All seniors enrolled in this program have
graduated high school.
The program is a partnership between the Roaring Fork School District,
the University of Colorado, Colorado Mountain College, and the Aspen
Community Foundation, and takes its model based on the CU Boulder
program with more than 25 years of Pre-Collegiate program experience.
The program is accepting volunteers for future mentors. For more
information or to volunteer as a mentor or as a participant in one of
our Saturday Academies, please call Leslie Emersonat 384-5967 or by
email at lemerson@rfsd.k12.co.us
