Vail Mountain School celebrates its 28th class of SummerQuest graduates
The month-long summer program introduces local public school students to different academic, community and fun opportunities
Vail Mountain School/Courtesy Photo
Vail Mountain School wrapped up the 28th year of its SummerQuest program on Friday, July 26, as 10 Eagle County eighth graders graduated from the month-long summer program aimed at allowing local middle schoolers to gain confidence and additional academic support despite certain barriers.
“SummerQuest serves as a vital connection between Vail Mountain School and the broader Vail Valley community, offering distinctive opportunities to students from the public school system,” said Aspen Ives, the program director for VMS. “The future of the Vail Valley shines brighter with each of these students, and we recognize the importance of helping them reach their potential.”
The program was founded in 1995 by former VMS Headmaster Peter Abuisi and former school English teacher Michael Morris. The program’s initial goal and vision was to aid Eagle County public school students whose native language and socio-economic barriers may have diminished their ability to achieve and compete academically in their respective school environments, according to the school.
“This program continues because it addresses a need within our local community, meeting each student at their current academic level and inspiring them to achieve beyond their expectations,” Ives said.
Today, fifth-grade teachers at Homestake Peak and Edwards Elementary School nominate students who may require summer social needs as well as academic and language support.
Support Local Journalism
“It is not limited to students who need to practice their academics, and primarily serves an as opportunity for summer programming for students who may not otherwise have access,” Ives said. “It allows students to take advantage of the VMS resources, free of cost.”
Nominated students are then given the chance to attend the program from sixth to eighth grade.
“This continuous system allows for a deeper sense of inclusion, more opportunity to build on leadership skills, and the promise of continued support each year leading up to an awesome graduation ceremony for our students entering eighth grade,” Ives said.
Thalia Ortiz was one of the eighth-grade students who graduated from SummerQuest on Friday. In a speech at the ceremony, she talked about how the program has impacted her the last three summers.
“When I started, I was a nervous sixth grader who had never been to Vail Mountain School before, but it didn’t take me long to realize that I was going to have a lot of fun,” Ortiz said.
Ortiz went on to share the various skills she had gained through SummerQuest. This included building leadership skills, learning self-advocacy, the power of collaboration and friendship as well as the importance of overcoming fear and having fun.
“(Our support teachers) also reminded us all the time that we can do anything we want to do, as long as we give our best, support each other and believe in ourselves. And finally, SummerQuest reminds us that we are important members of our community, and have so much value to add to our world,” Ortiz said.
Gloria Perez and Fabian Jimenez, a mother and son duo who are both Boettcher Scholars, were guest speakers at Friday’s ceremony, sharing the value of education through their stories.
Connecting students to the community
This was Ives’s first year overseeing the program, telling attendees at Friday’s ceremony that her goal was to expand SummerQuest’s community engagement this summer, “both in how we serve the community and how the community can support and serve our students.”
“The families of SummerQuest students are cornerstones of our community, serving the Vail Valley in countless ways, and making it possible for our community to thrive as a resort destination and beautiful hometown,” Ives said in her speech.
This summer, the middle schoolers engaged with the community through swim lessons with the Avon Recreation Center, connecting with the Vail Fire Department, rafting with Timberline Tours and working with the towns of Avon and Vail for a community service day. On the service day, students helped clear unwanted weeds from both the Gore Creek shoreline in Vail and the Nottingham Lake shoreline in Avon.
In addition to these community engagements, the program also spends time each day supporting students academically. Each day, students take math and language arts classes as well as participate in electives (including things like STEM, cooking, dance and 3D printing).
The program is supported by teachers, college-aged mentors and upper-school students from Vail Mountain School. This year, Ives said this group included three former SummerQuest students (who now attend VMS) as well as alumni who returned to teach (including a former VMS student who now teaches at the school).
While Ortiz shared her appreciation for the academic support, it was the field trips that stood out to her.
“From high ropes courses to college tours, our field trips have always pushed us to try new things and see new opportunities. The rafting trip is always a highlight of our summer, too, and spending our last day on the river with our friends and teachers is the best way to end our time in SummerQuest,” Ortiz said.
This year, the field trips included a trip to the Breckenridge Outdoor Education Center for the sixth graders, climbing at Camp Hale for the seventh graders and a tour at Colorado Mesa for the eighth-grade class.
“It is always a challenge to try to pack as much learning, fun, and growth into four weeks as we can get, but the effort this year was well worth it,” Ives shared in her commencement speech.
