On May 29th, Questar III students at Red Mill Elementary School in East Greenbush visited STRIDE Adaptive Sports’ newly acquired SCORE Center in Chatham. The SCORE Center is an accessible camp facility, with hiking trails, a pond, a campfire area, and other outdoor activities.
STRIDE is an adaptive sports program for people with disabilities, founded by Mary Ellen Whitney after teaching adaptive physical education at Questar III for 23 years. STRIDE offers a wide range of activities for people with special needs, most at little or no cost to participants.
Special Education teachers Jeannette Hallock and Emily Bluhm reached out to Whitney about a way to get their students involved in the programs STRIDE offers.
“Our goal was to allow students to experience an accessible camp setting and engage in hands on learning,” Hallock said. “For students with significant disabilities, hands-on learning is critical to acquiring and generalizing skills.”
There is also a bit of history that fits into this partnership. Two of Whitney’s good friends and fellow teachers at Questar III (who have since retired) were Sally Hallock and Carol Bluhm. Their daughters are special education teachers, and are the ones who organized this field trip.
The day began with a brief camp history lesson, followed by a hike to the pond. Students were able to observe and explore the pond area and found a snake skin, a newt, various frogs, fish, birds, and other animals. They also saw an area where beavers are building a dam.
After their time at the pond, students explored a tent used by overnight campers, something Hallock and Bluhm may look to do with their students in the future, and had lunch and s’mores around a campfire.
Whitney took small groups of students to the centers certified US Para-Olympic archery range for a short lesson.
Hallock and Bluhm are already planning more events with STRIDE in the future- and both teachers say the trip was enjoyed by staff and students.
“I hope that the experience for the students of the two special education classes opens doors for them and their families, and to know that our organization exists to help kids lead more full, healthy and active lives,” Whitney said.
For more photos of the trip, visit our Facebook page.
For more information about STRIDE, visit their website, www.stride.org.
