What We Can Bring To Your School

What We Bring To Your School

FrontRange Earth Force helps educators throughout the Metro Denver area implement the Community Action and Problem-Solving (CAPS) service-learning process in their classes and after-school groups. Specific activities we bring to your school include:

• Extensive professional development opportunities and on-going support to teachers and others who work with youth. We offer regular trainings in the CAPS process, service-learning professional development, access to experienced service learning mentors, and networking opportunities for Earth Force practitioners.
• Co-teaching and assistance facilitating the CAPS process. This includes a great Earth Force Kick-Off, a Wrap-Up Reflection, and any help (in class and out) an educator might want in between.
• Assistance meeting content standards through Earth Force projects. Our staff will plan with educators to ensure that implementation the CAPS process is academically rigorous, well-integrated and meets content standards.
• Mini-Grants for students. Earth Force classes can write grants to FrontRange Earth Force to help them carry out their carefully researched and planned service projects. We can give classes up to $100 for materials and supplies to make their projects a success.
• Earth Force materials. We provide a Teacher Manual, Student Manuals and Student Tip-Cards (available in both English and Spanish), and classroom visuals.
• An invitation to the awesome Annual Youth Summit. Every Earth Force class, Youth Council and after-school group is invited to join us at the Denver Zoo for our huge Annual Youth Summit. Hundreds of kids host presentations about their service projects, enjoy the zoo exhibits, and participate in the Speak Out Competition!
• Help to make field trips happen. We can assist with transportation and other details to ensure that Earth Force students get full access to great hands-on learning opportunities. We have numerous community partners who would be happy to host a tour of their facility or business, to enrich students' learning experience.
• Expert speakers and guests in the classroom. Our extensive community partnerships also allow us to offer educators excellent community resources to bring into their classrooms. Once a class has selected an issue, students can invite guest speakers and experts from among our community partners to learn about that issue from all angles - and hopefully become experts themselves.
• Pre- and post-surveys of students participating in the Earth Force process. We are committed to quality assurance through evaluation, to ensure that our programming is providing the necessary academic rigor and making an impact on attitudes about civic engagement. We can make survey information available, when requested, for educators to use in class activities, or for their own tracking purposes.

Earth Force in the Classroom: Special Applications of CAPS

The Community Action and Problem-Solving (CAPS) model is a great, flexible tool that can be used in many subjects and disciplines. Our Earth Force educators have facilitated the CAPS process for students from elementary through high school, during class and in after-school Youth Councils, and in biology, chemistry, natural science, art, English and social studies classes! While our specific focus is on students from fourth through ninth grade, we can provide some assistance in making the CAPS process meaningful for students outside this age range.

The CAPS process is the perfect model for hands-on learning, emphasizing community engagement, social responsibility, and civic participation. Earth Force students come to understand that young people can take an active role in their communities, and can be vocal actors in the world around them. CAPS introduces young people to important basic democratic principles, too, making it an excellent experience in civic learning! Above all, the process is flexible and easy-to-integrate. Teachers of English, Social Studies, Geography, Government, Literacy, Math and other subjects are making the connection between classroom lessons and real-world issues by using CAPS.

We offer special assistance to educators who want to use our service-learning model to teach science classes, and to provide youth leadership experiences for their students:

Many teachers of Biology, Chemistry, Environmental and Natural Science, General Science and Math have used Earth Force to enhance even the most structured curriculum. We encourage Earth Force science classes to adopt a nearby natural area - perhaps a river, wetland or open-space grassland - as a focus for their CAPS experience. Studying the site's ecology, the youth gain first-hand knowledge of local plants and animals, water quality, and other environmental issues. As with all Earth Force experiences, the process culminates in a service project of the students' design. That project specifically addresses the needs of the adopted area, allowing the students to apply classroom lessons to a real-life situation in their community. In addition, the students' connection to this nearby natural area builds an on-going relationship between the school and its surrounding environment. Each year, new students can build on what students have done before them, creating a legacy of environmental stewardship and service.

The CAPS process provides a perfect framework for fledgling leaders in Student government, Student council, Leadership clubs, Service clubs, and other extra-curricular youth development activities. Several of our Earth Force sites have formed Youth Councils, to act as the voice for students in their school. A Youth Council uses the Earth Force CAPS process to address important school issues, as well as issues in the community around the school. Youth Councils typically meet outside of regular classes under the direction of an advisor, and maintain a strong relationship with school administration, to ensure that student concerns are being heard. A Youth Council can be an important step in developing a democratic school culture that honors youth input, community service and youth leadership.

For more information about FrontRange Earth Force, our programs, and how your school might bring CAPS into your classrooms please contact our Director of Programs, Ana Soler, via email or by telephone at 303/433-0016 x2#.