Join the ‘Club Fair’: Aspen Middle School promotes student well-being through bolstered participation in academic, social circles
Ray K. Erku/The Aspen Times
There are so many ways to improve student life.
Amid post-COVID 19, Aspen Middle School is exploring the power of positive student engagement to promote well-being and prevent kids from taking wrong turns.
One of the ways is through what’s called Club Fair, and on Tuesday, the middle school gym filled with students signing up with one of at least 16-20 academic and social circles run by their fellow peers. Dungeons & Dragons (D&D), chess club, math club — you name it.
“I am a dungeon master,” said eighth grader Charlotte Case, 12. “I make the campaign, I tell the people who are my players what’s going on, and then I help people learn how to be a dungeon master.”
According to the Aspen School District, the middle school has always had clubs. But after the pandemic, staff noticed it was harder for students to connect and engage with one another.
The noticeable traits prompted the middle school to create as many clubs as possible. Teachers and counselors collaborated with Aspen Family Connections — the on-campus family resource center — to reach out to community partners, staff, and students to make it happen, according to a district news release.
The clubs were an instant hit.
“This is our (D&D) club’s second year, and this year, we have grown an insane amount compared to last year — we had, I think, 10-15 players,” Case said. And with the help of the Club Fair? “This year, we’ve got 35.
“I think the Club Fair is definitely helping with student engagement,” she added.
While she referred to her time as a student during the pandemic as “socially isolating,” Aspen Middle School Counselor Andrea Williamson said the issues brought on by COVID-19 inspired the idea to emulate Aspen High School’s club program.
And attempts like this to bolster face-to-face interaction are proving successful in improving student mental health. According to a recent 2023 Healthy Kids Colorado survey, Aspen Middle School students’ self-reported mental health and well-being has significantly increased from 2021 to 2023. For example, the percentage of students who reported feeling sad or hopeless almost every day for two weeks or more in the past year decreased significantly, dropping from 40% in 2021 to 20% in 2023.
Williamson said “we are seeing an increase in self-esteem with students” who continue to join clubs.
“We’re seeing kids connected,” she said. “We know when kids are connected to each other or with adults, that they feel a connectedness to the school, and so the school becomes a hub of the community.”
Meet some of the clubs
The spirit of connectedness and enthusiasm for their receptive clubs was palpable Tuesday.
- There’s a Latino club, Roots, which aims to connect more students to Latino and Spanish-speaking cultures. The added participation is already getting praise. “It makes me feel happy because it’s like they want to learn about our culture,” eighth-grade Roots club member Nataly Navarrete, 13, said of students joining the club.
- There’s an environmental club, Climate in Action, which aims to spread environmental awareness. It also conducts campus cleanups. “The president of this club actually started it,” said eighth-grade club member Sam Striegler, 13. “He started it because he noticed the playground was getting dirty with trash, so he then just wanted to get people aware that we need to take action.”
- The Club Fair has also inspired some healthy, friendly in-house competition. The club “Shining Quill” hosts school-wide competitions in various subjects like the arts, English, math, and more. “But then you can also enhance your skill in each of them,” said seventh-grade club member Bella Maupin. “So let’s say your subject’s math … you can come in, and we can help. Or, like art … you can learn how to sketch and draw.”
- Eighth-grader Sloane Alexander, 13, leads the Young Leaders of Aspen club at the middle school. She said the club encourages student participants to have a deeper connection with their community and volunteer for various organizations. “It’s important because they’re gonna be the ones who have to make decisions on how to help the community when they’re older,” she said.
A better future
In addition to improving mental health, Aspen Middle School Principal Amy Kendziorski said in the release that student ideas and student club leadership have been valuable in creating the club rosters and planning club activities, and that the clubs help create an inclusive and safe environment at the school.
She said staff and students alike have shared the positivity that spreads through clubs, and “the friendships built are so rewarding for our students” and that they “make new friends, and associate school with fun.”
For eighth-grader and D&D participant Will Emberson, 13, he agrees more student participation in academic and social clubs through the Club Fair has made a positive impact.
“Now that COVID is over, I think that a lot of people can be a bit more socially awkward and not exactly know how to express what they like without embarrassing themselves in some way,” he said. “And I find that this helps, personally.”
Ray K. Erku can be reached at (970) 429-9120 or rerku@aspentimes.com.
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