District 11 to give all fifth-graders a rocket-launch 'peak experience' in April

Colorado Springs School District 11 announced a new systemwide "peak experiences" initiative and detailed a fifth-grade rocket-launch learning sequence that will culminate in public launches at Memorial Park in April.

District 11 Superintendent Gull and staff described peak experiences as competency-based demonstrations of learning designed to connect classroom standards to real-world application. Nicole Otmer, chief of strategy for District 11, said the district has audited existing activities and is formalizing and scaling them so "students are both acquiring the skills and applying them, transferring those skills to unique applications." Otmer said the district plans to expand such experiences across grade levels over three years.

Jennifer (presenter), Lana Flinniken (principal on special assignment) and a teacher-design team outlined the fifth-grade Rocket Launch pilot. Jennifer said the district built the Rocket Launch program through partnerships with University of Colorado Colorado Springs (UCCS), Lockheed Martin, Colorado Springs Rocks and Estes Rockets. "Students will not only launch the cosmic ray rocket provided by Estes Rockets at Memorial Park, but they will also engage in a really rich standards-aligned learning arc that has been co-developed by a teacher team in D11," she said.

The learning arc includes preparatory classroom investigation of physical science and engineering concepts, class activities led by classroom teachers and a public launch day. Melissa Madsen, STEM coordinator and member of the design team, and District 11 staff said teachers from Bristol Elementary helped pilot lesson materials. Five Bristol students spoke to the board and invited the community to the launch; Avery McGee, a fifth grader at Bristol Elementary, and other students described the project as an opportunity to "ignite curiosity" about rocketry, forces and engineering.

Administrators said the rocket launches will be coordinated on successive days at Memorial Park to allow for weather backups and to limit drift of launched rockets. Director Hafely asked about weather contingencies; staff replied that backup dates are scheduled and families will receive communications if a session must move. Superintendent Gull said the district aims for an initial rollout in April and expects the rocket launch event to be the first of many elementary-level experiences to be systematized.

District staff emphasized that peak experiences are meant to complement core instruction and to create pathways from early exploration (elementary) through more focused experiences (middle school) to capstone, interest-based experiences in high school. Otmer said the goal is that "when all of our students graduate, we want them to have a plan as they walk across that stage." The district also plans to track implementation and return to the board with data on participation and outcomes as the program scales.

The Rocket Launch program will be offered to all fifth-graders; parents and community members will receive invitations with a QR code linking to build-and-launch resources. The district said teachers developed the lessons and the district will support schools with logistics and safety protocols for field launches.

District officials said this program is one element of a broader effort to ensure every grade has an organized, standards-aligned off-site or applied learning experience in coming years.