It’s easy to notice the vibrant, multi-colored Rocky Mountain Kid C.L.U.B.S. (RMKC) RV rolling through town; it’s even easier to spot the dazzling smile of RMKC co-founder, Maureen Thompson, behind the steering wheel.
“I can’t even believe it,” Thompson, M.Ed., enthused. “Look at this thing! I did it! Another dream has come to life.”
For years, Thompson dreamed of taking her social-emotional wellness programs to schools around the Western Slope, and with the acquisition of “Rocky” the RV, that dream is becoming a reality.
As a long-time special education teacher and behavior specialist, Thompson saw a significant need to support kids who struggled to cope with life’s challenges; whether that be a low test score, friendship drama or family separation, kids needed guidance, she said.
To address this demand, Thompson, alongside School Counselor and Prevention Specialist Lindsay Selig, started RMKC — a nonprofit that provides a safe space for local youth to navigate their stress while fostering meaningful relationships with themselves and their peers.
At RMKC, kids practice these skills in a variety of programs, like the popular FabHERlous — a girls-only group full of crafts, journaling and skits that help normalize talking about problems.
“These are skills that every single person in the world needs, these are life skills,” Thompson said. “All kids need these skills. This is like learning math — you need to learn these.”
In December 2019, Thompson bought the RV to take her programs mobile, but the RV collected dust while she figured out her next steps.
“When the COVID hit, I thought, ‘I can’t sit here anymore, I have to take control of this, I have to do something’,” Thompson said. “I was very concerned that schools were not going to open up; and I knew if I had my own thing I would be able to help out in some because I was a private situation. I knew I could do something differently.”
With her inspiration ignited, Thompson spent the entire summer of 2020 renovating the RV with help from a few close friends, and by the start of the school year the RV was ready to receive students.
“We came out of the gate in September full bore. We were a full bore distance learning program,” Thompson said. “We had 20 kids out of the gate — that’s a need, and the teachers needed to have the time, and the school district said they will pay us to monitor the distance learning.”
During the 2020/21 school year, RMKC operated multiple distance learning cohorts in the RV for students from the Roaring Fork School District (RFSD). While traditional learning happened via Zoom, Thompson incorporated educational games, outdoor experiences, and peer interaction to enhance the learning environment and reduce pandemic-induced stress.
“They learned a lot, I don’t think any of those kids skipped a beat,” Thompson said. “They were able to be with other kids and also continue learning. It was a privilege for them.”
In addition to the learning cohorts, RMKC was also supporting two students who struggled with emotional instability and behavioral issues.
“The kids called it Mo School, which is my pride and joy,” Thompson said. “They were the biggest, highest behavioral kids in two school districts. This isn’t new, but things are coming out now that are showing that kids are having a hard time dealing with stuff.”
At Mo School, Thompson took an “unschooling approach” that prioritized a student-led, project-based curriculum and Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT).
According to Thompson, DBT is an incredible resource that helps people practice mindfulness, emotional regulation and stress tolerance using specific strategies to identify, understand, and accept intense emotions.
“Nobody is able to learn unless they are emotionally stable,” Thompson said. “There’s only so much our schools can do because our schools are driven by test scores, and it’s constantly a competition.”
Without the demand of testing, Thompson’s students were able to thrive in a low-stress environment, and in December 2021 they graduated from Mo School and were integrated back into the school district.
Looking toward the future, Thompson hopes that Mo School and the learning cohorts will become permanent programs for RMKC. Emphasizing that this type of learning goes beyond textbooks and test scores, she believes this type of education can change the way our children operate in the world.
“These kids are our future community members and leaders,” she said. “It’s critical for the future that we teach these kiddos how to manage emotions and how to be inclusive to all around them.”
For more information about Rocky Mountain Kid C.L.U.B.S. and upcoming summer programs, visit www.rockymtnkidclubs.org or check them out on Facebook.