An important milestone was reached at Riverview School last week when it bid adieu to its very first class of kindergarteners and sent them off to high school.
For most of this year’s eighth-grade class, the June 2 promotion ceremony was the fruit of nine years of labor as dual-language students at the unique K-8 school, where core academic instruction is given in both English and Spanish throughout each school day.
The school’s founding principal, Adam Volek, got teary eyed when reflecting back on the students he got to know as kinders when the school first opened on the picturesque east bank of the Roaring Fork River in 2017.
They were the class that designed and built a disc golf course on campus, and the first to camp out on the school lawn as part of their end-of-year celebration this spring.
More importantly, though, he said they are as prepared as ever to go on to high school — and beyond — as true bilingual students.
“It is incredibly exciting to see what they have accomplished … They’ve become a family, and they will always be remembered as a special class at Riverview,” Volek said. “This amazing group has created a path forward for all who follow in their footsteps.”
Students like Yoselin Oseguera Zeron, who hopes to someday put her bilingual skills to use in a professional capacity.
“I think it can help me in being able to translate for other people who maybe are not from here and don’t know English,” said the Glenwood Springs High School-bound student.
Same for Kassandra Montanez Palacios, who said she enjoyed her experience at Riverview making friends and soaking in the unique school culture.
“I think the teachers have really helped me prepare for high school,” she said, adding she can also use her bilingual skills to help other people in the community to understand things better.
Student Dylan Swann said his experience learning two languages at Riverview sets him up to expand his language learning.
“It was hard at first, but it was worth it because I am fluent now,” he said. “I will be starting high school in a pretty high Spanish class, and in the future it will hopefully allow me to get a better job and go further with my career.
“I think it would be cool to learn another language and become trilingual; like Korean maybe,” he said.
Courtney Rangel was a founding kindergarten teacher and former assistant principal at Riverview.
“From the very beginning, it was clear that this group was special,” she shared in a school district news release before the promotion ceremony. “Seeing them now as confident eighth graders, I am filled with joy knowing that the 5-year-olds I taught nine years ago have grown into such capable, brilliant and bilingual young leaders.”
Suzannah Mikol, who teaches seventh and eighth grade Spanish and English, added, “I have been so impressed by the way these students developed not only their language and critical thinking skills, but also their compassion and open-mindedness.”
Parents were also asked to reflect on their students’ learning experience at Riverview.
“It has been a source of pride to see my son finish strong and to witness the support he received from the school throughout his entire time at Riverview,” Veronica Geronimo said of her son, Aiden Martinez. In particular, she said that the school’s family liaison, Missael Urtiaga, and her son’s teachers consistently kept in touch to address any needs in his schooling.
Lindsey Brooks, mother of student Lois Brooks, shared that her daughter has grown into a “compassionate, bicultural, confident young woman with a deep love and appreciation for both Spanish and English language culture and celebrations.
“The dual language program at Riverview has inspired Lois to become a curious citizen of the world and to seek out additional cultural understanding,” Brooks said, adding that her daughter is also now teaching herself to speak Korean.