Days after starting their summer vacation, 25 Selah students saw the pages of their textbooks come to life. Students taking part in this year’s D.C. Bound program just returned from a seven-day trip last week. The group spent four days in Washington D.C. and three days in New York City.
D.C. Bound is a program that allows students living in Selah to visit the nation’s capital and the Big Apple following completion of eighth or ninth grade. Students sign up for the program during their seventh or eighth grade year and spend about 18 months raising the $2,800 apiece needed for the trip.
"If a kid has an interest and a desire to go back East and visit our nation’s capital, I can help them," said Nicolai Kreger, D.C. Bound administrator.
This year’s D.C. Bound group raised funds through events such as a bowl-a-thon, rummage sale, bake sale, and selling Krispy Kreme doughnuts and cookie dough. Fundraising teaches the students goal-setting, accountability, organization, financial responsibility and teamwork, Kreger said.
Students also performed 236 hours of community service to thank Selah for its support of the program.
"Everyone worked really hard," said ninth grader Adriana Colmenero. "In the end, we were all really proud of ourselves."
Months of hard work were well worthwhile to Colmenero and her fellow travelers.
Highlights of the trip for ninth grade student Shannon O’Malley included watching the Broadway show "The Lion King", seeing the White House, and touring the Library of Congress.
"One day of learning all that would have been worth all that time," O’Malley said. "The experience was exponentially worth it!"
Partnering with WorldStrides, an accredited student travel organization, D.C. Bound packs the daily agenda full from dawn to dusk. Students saw all the major memorials in Washington D.C., as well as the Pentagon, Smithsonian, Arlington National Cemetery, Iwo Jima, and many more historic sites. The group also met with Congressman Doc Hastings and listened in as lawmakers discussed proposed legislation during a House of Representatives session.
The students’ time in New York City included stops at the United Nations, Empire State Building, and Statue of Liberty, in addition to Times Square, Rockefeller Center, Ground Zero, NBC Studios and Central Park.
"It was amazing," said ninth grader Erika Wilson. "We saw a lot of stuff that I don’t think I would have had the chance to see if it weren’t through the D.C. Bound program."
For sophomore Kayla Peterson, the Holocaust Museum was one of the most memorable parts of the trip.
"You really got a feel for what happened. It really made you think," Peterson said.
The experience, meant to be an extension of traditional classroom education, provided students with participatory learning that they say will help them better relate to history.
"This was more hands-on stuff and you could actually see everything as opposed to just reading it in a book," said sophomore Donna Davis. "When we learn about the Revolutionary War, I’ll be able to say I saw where George Washington lived. I’ll be able to grasp it more."
"They don’t even know they’re getting educated because they’re having so much fun," Kreger said. "You can take a student who might be struggling academically and take them on a trip like this, and you can light their fire!"
Kreger started the program in 2000 when her daughter, Jennifer, was in eighth grade as a way to be able to give Jennifer and her classmates an opportunity for a field studies course.
"When I went with the first group I went, ‘wow!’ I watched these kids come to life," Kreger said.
"It’s fun to watch students relate to their studies in the classroom when we’re touring," Kreger said. "I try to help them appreciate what it is to be an American and what makes our country so great. I think it really helps them to open their eyes and their hearts to America."
D.C. Bound trips take place biannually. In the past, groups have gone to Washington D.C. and Philadelphia. This is the first year students spent time in New York City instead.
Kreger will be meeting with seventh and eighth grade students this fall in preparation for the next D.C. Bound trip scheduled for June 2011.