A Place of Our Own!

Students in Ms. Tracy Countryman’s fifth/sixth grade class at Gilpin K-8 were stuck on graffiti and vandalism as a pressing community issue...until they decided to dig a little deeper. The issue may end up looking like graffiti and vandalism, but what was the root of that issue? When they looked closer at the problem, students decided they wanted a place to call their own at their school. They called their project "A Place for Kids."

Researching this issue was an intense process! Students surprised Ms. Countryman by inviting two experts in to talk to the class about youth programming at the Denver Public Library and a local recreation center.

Students discovered what programs were already in existence and thought about what programs were still needed. However, the class didn't just rely on what they themselves thought. They wanted other Gilpin students’ voices to be heard too! A survey was created to do just that. Students were surveyed throughout the school and at the Youth Summit. Once the results were in, students discovered that their peers wanted sports, games, video games, and a variety of other things. Most importantly, they wanted a place to call their own.

The class realized this was only the beginning. With the school year wrapping up, students pitched their proposal to the principal. They were interested in using an open classroom space within the school as a place just for the students. Although the space is not officially in place, the students have planted the seed and are planning to revisit the issue in the fall.