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St. Vrain Education Foundation honors teachers with Eleanor Venture travel grants; mariachi students perform
Summary
The St. Vrain Valley Schools Education Foundation presented Eleanor Venture travel grants at a St. Vrain Valley School District No. Re1J Board of Education meeting, with teachers reporting on trips to Spain and Mexico and Skyline High School mariachi students performing.
The St. Vrain Valley School District No. Re1J Board of Education heard presentations Thursday from recipients of the Education Foundation’s Eleanor Venture travel grants, which fund teacher travel to bring new curriculum and experiences back to students.
Tammy Palumbo, program manager at the St. Vrain Valley Schools Education Foundation, said the grants honor founder Eleanor Flanders and are intended to “re-energize” teachers so they can bring experiences from travel back to students. Palumbo noted the foundation will celebrate its 40th year and said two grants were awarded last year.
Andrea Hellmas and Jen Lamy, both teachers at Mead High School, described a trip to Spain they used to develop bilingual video vlogs and classroom materials. Hellmas said the pair routed visits through Madrid, Ávila, Salamanca, San Sebastián and Barcelona and planned curriculum elements including a spring mini-unit on tapas and a year-end mock trip in which students plan a seven-day itinerary and use the target language to navigate a city. Lamy, who teaches video production, said the trip gave her practical experience she will bring to a new video-production class.
“Thank you so much to the Education Foundation. This truly was a trip of a lifetime,” Lamy said.
Brian Krem, orchestra and mariachi teacher at Skyline High School, described a Mexico City trip focused on mariachi education and Spanish-language immersion. Krem said he took five hours of daily language-immersion classes, spent time at Plaza Garibaldi, and met instrument and costume vendors in Aguascalientes. He said those contacts improved the district’s access to authentic mariachi instruments and outfits and helped expand mariachi opportunities across the district; he noted that this year the district hosted the first-ever Colorado honor-mariachi event with three high schools represented.
Krem’s students performed a mariachi piece for the board following his remarks.
Presenters said they have produced bilingual video vlogs from the trips for classroom use. Hellmas mentioned an unexpected travel problem: her luggage did not arrive and, based on the air tag, remained in Morocco; she said the experience nonetheless yielded classroom-ready material. Presenters also said the foundation supports classroom technology and other professional-development opportunities.
The board meeting included brief acknowledgments and a photo with award recipients after the presentations.
The Education Foundation’s presentations were delivered during the regular board meeting; no formal board action related to the grants was recorded in the transcript.
