News Release

Rising Educators creates opportunities for local LatinX high school youth

A ranger works with a child at a Rising Educators Event.

NPS Photo

News Release Date: July 21, 2021

Contact: Denise Germann, 307-739-3393

Contact: CJ Adams, 307-739-3431

In recognition of Latino Conservation Week, Grand Teton National Park is celebrating the work of local young and emerging LatinX leaders. Grand Teton National Park in collaboration with local education organizations have started a new program, Rising Educators, to create opportunities for local LatinX high school youth to pursue leadership and career development through teaching in their own community. 

Rising Educators, local teens ages 16 – 18, lead summer camps around the valley and help young campers explore, play, discover, and learn in Jackson Hole and the Teton Range. Grand Teton National Park and Teton Science Schools kicked off the program in June, conducting place-based training for the youth. With that completed, the participants became and are assistant educators at summer camps with Jackson Hole Children’s Museum, Coombs Outdoors, Teton County Parks and Recreation, and Teton Science Schools.

Every other Wednesday throughout the summer, the interns come back together for professional development nights. Grand Teton and Teton Science Schools staff expand on their place-based education skills, build a sense of community among the educators, and explore career paths. Participants learn from each other and share skills they’ve used while working with the summer camps.

Rising Educator participant Sarahi spent a week in Grand Teton National Park leading Pura Vida, a program designed to connect local LatinX high school and middle school youth to the park and their community through outdoor education and recreation. She came ready with her personal art materials to help with sessions about nature art. Before the program, she had little experience recreating in the park and was excited that it gave her a chance to teach outdoors. Interns like Sarahi are great role models for the middle school campers who are also trying new things all week long, from hiking to nature journaling.

“The park is actively working to welcome our LatinX visitors all year long; it’s incredibly important work for us. We are thrilled to live in a community where these unique collaborations can open doors of opportunity,” said Grand Teton Superintendent Chip Jenkins.

The program is in direct response to feedback from Systems of Education, a collective of local organizations who serve the community through educational opportunities. LatinX families wanted paid career development opportunities for their children and the local education organizations needed staffing programs.

The new program also enhances a multi-year Systems of Education effort to increase access to and equity in summer learning. The first stage was increasing summer camp enrollment among the LatinX elementary students, and Rising Educators now helps recruit instructors, leaders, and educators who are representative of the students in the camps. To make sure the experience is more than “just a summer job,” the park and Teton Science Schools the place-based education training and professional development nights to qualify the interns for school-to-career credit with the high school. The educators also get certified in CPR. 

The benefits of their work at summer camps is multi-fold. Local organizations gain valuable, trained staff, several whom are bilingual, and the Rising Educators become role models for the kids.

The team of partners hosted an equity and inclusion training for all staff who would be working with the Rising Educators in an effort to assure the teens came into supportive work environments. The youth had training in self advocacy to help them speak up and address problems or personal needs.  

Grand Teton National Park Foundation and Teton Science Schools are providing support to pilot these unique school-to-career training and professional development nights. Jackson Hole Children’s Museum, Teton County Parks and Recreation, and Coombs Outdoors are all paying and supervising the Rising Educators field experience as members of their own staff.