The Peru Gazette

Peru School District Program 

When the last period bell rings for the day, several students in Peru’s Middle and High schools stay afterward to participate in a variety of programs. 

Peru After-School Career Exploration (PACE), a five-year competitive grant, was presented to Peru Central School in 2021. The grant awarded Peru CSD $350,000 annually to fund programs, field trips, and student supplies. 

Since 2021, student involvement and the different types of opportunities for students have grown.

THREE MAJOR GOALS

Starting in September, there are six 6-week sessions for students to attend. There are three major goals through the programming. 

One goal is to increase students’ core academic knowledge and skills. During the 10th period, students utilize the time for homework and tutoring, where they can receive help from their teachers. PACE is free and available to any Middle and High School student, but they must be passing all their classes to attend programming.

“We have educational liaisons that check grades weekly,” PACE Director Rachel Ribis said. “If students aren’t passing, they must stay in the library with a tutor to work on missing assignments. Students enjoy their programs and field trips, so it’s a huge incentive to get good grades.”  If students want to attend the field trips, they must also be passing all of their classes.

“We keep track of attendance, and the attendance of our students has drastically improved if they are in PACE,” Ribis said. 

Another major goal of PACE is to improve key behaviors and attitudes, such as attendance, engagement and aspirations. Students must be in school the day before attending programming. 

“Students are so content with their phones and gaming, so to see them not only socialize but come out of their comfort zones is good,” Site Coordinator Tricia Thurber said. “They’re so anxious, and anxiety levels have increased trifold since COVID. They’re so afraid to be wrong and to try anything new. So getting them to PACE helps that and broadens their horizons.”

Students also get out of their comfort zone by interacting with students from all grades or learning a skill they’ve never tried before. 

“PACE is fun because it gives you a chance to socialize outside of school,” Seventh-grader Miriella Lumb said. “I had very high social anxiety before, and now, it’s not nearly as high.”

The final goal is to foster career-specific knowledge and skills. For students to gain this, programs incorporate critical thinking and problem-solving, effective communication, teamwork, and collaboration. Programs encourage peer-to-peer collaboration.

“In PACE, we have to hit different areas of focus,” PACE Site Coordinator Tracy Modlin said. “We cover computer technology and communications, environmental conservation and agriculture, advanced

manufacturing and engineering, and education, health and human services.”

The various and diverse programs instill “early career pathways awareness,” giving students hands-on learning experiences with different career opportunities.

PROGRAM OPPORTUNITIES

In order to keep the grant, PACE must reach 240 students in a year, and those students must do a minimum of 15 hours. Over the summer, they reached 104 students and are on track to reach their

goal soon.

“We did a lot of outdoor activities because we didn’t have any constraints about the school day,” Ribis said about summer programming. “We did things like teaching kids how to can vegetables or make their own salsa. We maximized the program with a farm-to-table aspect, where we brought students to farms to pick their vegetables.”

PACE took advantage of the warm summer by bringing students outside. Some students went on a ghost tour in Plattsburgh, where they learned more about local history.

“We learned a lot about what happened during the Civil War around here and how they first discovered Champy,” Eighth grader Jackson Ribis said.

Students went on hikes, learned how to cook, and explored different fitness regimes. This school year has welcomed a slew of fun programs for students to participate in, such as basic electricity, photography, agility workouts, podcast production, welding, virtual reality, yoga and mindfulness, drone soccer, anime art, and so many more.

Boat Building was a program where students took pieces of wood and built a boat from scratch. Art Teacher Greg Badger worked with the students to build a functional 16-foot wooden boat. Students were part of every creation step, from sanding to epoxying it. Another great program is podcast production.

“We are going to make our own podcast, which we’ve been working on for a while with Mr. Mitchell. Once we are done, we can put it on Spotify so other people can listen to our work,” Sixth grader Juliana Beaudette said.

Technology Coordinator John Mitchell is helping students write, produce, and record their own podcasts. This program teaches them how to use different equipment and gain insight into the field.

“We are really just trying to do the very best we can to build the program and give students rewarding experiences,” Ribis said.

Thanks to the grant, they have purchased equipment to improve the activities. Peru CSD now has some hydroponic sets, which involve growing plants without soil using water-based mineral nutrient solvents.

Last spring, students grew lettuce with these sets. They were so successful in their crop that they had to send bags of lettuce home with the kids.

‘ONWARD & UPWARD’

The PACE grant is slated to run until June 2026. Students have just started Session 3, and they have many upcoming field trips and opportunities to continue growing.

Students will attend programming Tuesday through Thursday for six weeks. They work on academics first, enjoy a healthy snack and then participate in their chosen activity for an hour and a half.

“It’s a long day for some of these kids,” Ribis said. “But they are learning something new and forming positive relationships with peers and adults.”

“PACE is great as an after-school activity, and it’s very social. I love being able to come to it,” Sixth grader Sawyer Gearhart said.

He has attended several of the activities, field trips and summer programs offered to students. The PACE team currently encompasses over 35 faculty, staff and employees. PACE partnered with SUNY Plattsburgh to bring interns in to aid Enrichment Leaders.

“We are pushing onward and upward,” Ribis said. “We’re just trying to expand as much as we can. Any new experiences we can get these students is a win.”