Adventure Rope Team

Vision Statement
 To provide high quality outdoor ropes
course program to students using a well
organized trained staff of your faculty and
volunteers.

Kerry Beth Bane

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 Adventure Rope Team (ART)
Mission Statement
 The mission of our organization is to promote a sense of
community between students, community members,
teachers, parents, and school administration through
the use of safe outdoor ropes course adventure
activities. Working in conjunction with parents and
school districts we seek to educate all participants in
an inclusive setting promoting individual and team
development. We strive to instill our core values of
collaboration, responsibility, respect, and commitment
while maintaining and developing self-esteem in all
participants. Our trained staff will facilitate your
faculty in developing (C)
these core values and provide
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training on the equipment to ensure safe experiences.
 Why ART is Essential

According to Epstein & Salinas (2004), a school

learning community is an organized program of
family, school, and community partnerships
intended to increase student achievement, by
using school goals that are facilitated by activities
amongst all participants. According to Attarian
(2005), there has been moderate effects of
increased personal growth, teamwork and self-
esteem, and leadership development from
participation in ropes courses.
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What is a Challenge Ropes Course
 “A course is defined as a series of activities, sometimes on or close
to the ground (usually referred to as a low course) and sometimes
built on utility poles or trees, or in the rafters of a building (a high
course).
 Challenge courses are installed in wide variety of places –
schools, camps, park districts, and outdoor education
centers, as well as in corporate training centers. Each
course can serve a single group, such as students in a
school, or multiple groups, such as a park district course
which might serve student and adult groups. The single
identifying feature is that most often, it is an intact group
which comes together to share the challenge course
experience, and that a curriculum is designed for the
specific outcome desired by that group.” (
http://www.uccr.org/ChallengeRopesCourse.htm, 2009)
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 Photographs
 Collaboration  Courage

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 Photographs
 Teamwork  Self-esteem

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 Photographs
 Responsibility  Adventure

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 Why ART is Essential
 Organizations have used ropes courses to
allow people with disabilities to focus on
leadership development, cross-cultural
exchanges and disability rights training.
(Attarian 2005). According to Attarian
(2005), ropes courses have been in use
since the early 1960’s, but have become
more popular in the 1980’s as an
instrument to enhance personal and
professional growth developmentally,
educationally, and therapeutically.
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 Why ART is Essential
Our program is a well organized union between
community members, family and school
administration to increase students:
 Physical Activity
 Teamwork
 Responsibility
 Adventure
 Self Esteem
 and Collaboration with community
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 Why ART is Essential
 According to
http://www.uccr.org/ChallengeRopesCourse.htm,
individuals who participate do so because:
 it is a thrilling and fun thing to do.
 Commitment to perform where there is uncertainty of
results is a healthy decision-making process.
 Proving to oneself that a seemingly insurmountable
problem can be overcome is enlightening and satisfying.
 There is evidence that there is a significant positive carry
over from the experience of successfully completing a
demanding, fabricated problem as compared to
overcoming everyday problems.
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 How we can be of Assistance
According to Epstein (2004), activities to enrich students’ skills
and talents may be conducted outside of the classroom
and by family, community and school.
We facilitate activities to promote a positive
outdoor ropes course experience that encourages
the following:
 Teamwork/collaboration – students, teachers and parents
would work together to complete goals on the ropes
course. Parents, community members and teachers
would be the trained volunteers at each station.

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How we can be of assistance

 Physical Activity – Students would increase their

physical stamina and strength while working
with the volunteers and building relationships.
 Social Skills/responsibility/respect – Skills can
be encouraged and broadened by selecting a
wide range of volunteers to represent the
diversity of the student population (ethnic and
socioeconomic) Henderson & Mapp (2008).

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How we can be of assistance
 Leadership/commitment/self-esteem – Teachers,
students and parents can increase their abilities
in learning how to take an active role to solve
problems and overcome barriers. They will have
to commit to the team and work together.

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How we can be of assistance
 Adventure– adventure activities can bring
out trust, teamwork, and communication.
The idea of a new adventure can spark a
students interest to participate.

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 About the Program
This program is geared to students 6-12 grade.

According to Henderson (2008), communities are

looking for a place that is safe for children to come

and learn and sometimes families find it difficult to

find positives learning experiences for their children

to explore.

 Our program is a safe environment that encourages

parents, teachers, community members and

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students to work together to form a partnership.
 About the Program Cont.

School administrators, family members and community

volunteers would have a two four our training period
prior to the onset of the program and then ongoing
training for additional volunteers would be held every
other month.
Training information would be translated into multiple
languages depending on the diversity of the students.
 According to Cheng-Ting, Kyle, McIntyre (2008),
positive, respectful and necessary involvement of
families in support of student learning and academics
is necessary for students who’s second language is
English. (C) 2009, Bane
 About the Program Cont.
 The ropes course would be constructed on or near the
school property, or in a park with in close proximity.
 It would follow the ADA guidelines and be accessible
to students and volunteers who have special needs.
 Instructors would be knowledgeable in assisting with
special needs individuals and on instructing your
volunteers in this area.

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 About the Program Cont.
 ART is economically feasible due to
the use of volunteers sustaining the
program as staff members, available
grants and funding from the
government for school learning
programs and use of volunteer
community members in the
construction and maintenance of the
facility.
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 Needs Assessment
 Interviews with parents, students, faculty, and
community members would be conducted to establish
the need for this program in this district.
 Surveys would be constructed and distributed during
the program to establish any deficiencies and
improvements to be implemented.
 Results would be analyzed and presented to all
stakeholders quarterly.

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Why Adventure Ropes Team?
“Parent involvement, or a lack thereof, can be a
source of frustration for families, teachers,
administrators, and districts (Henderson, 2008).
We incorporate families, community, and school
faculty into our program to increase the
relationship to benefit the student.

 According Epstein (2004)

school learning community programs increase
student achievement, strengthen families,
invigorate community support, and improve
schools.
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 Closing
 Our goal is to promote our school learning
program using a ropes course to increase
relationship bonds between community, family
and school and encourage the students to strive
to accomplish achievement and success.

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 References
Epstein, J.L., Salinas, K.C. (May, 2004). Partnering with
Families and Communities. Educational Leadership , 61(8)
12-18.

Cheng-Ting, C., Kyle, D.W., McIntyre, E. (2008). Helping

Teachers Work Effectively With English Language Learners
and Their Families, The School Community Journal, 18(1) 7-
20.

Henderson, A.T. & Mapp, K.L. (2008). Building the parent-

teaching relationship: part 1. Teacher Magazine Retrieved
March 27, 2009. From
www.teachermagazine.or/tm/articles/2008/05
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 References
 Attarian, A. (2005) The Research and Literature
on Challenge Courses: An Annotated Bibliography
2nd Edition,North Carolina State University.
Retrieved April 30, 2009 from
http://acct.affiniscape.com/associations/5266/files/atta
 Challenge Ropes Courses, United Camps,
Conferences, and Retreats.retrieved April 30,
2009 from
http://www.uccr.org/ChallengeRopesCourse.htm

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 References
 Embrace the Challenge. Retrieved on (N.D.) From
http://sail2.ext.usu.edu/ropes/team.cfm
 Adolescents and Young Adults. Physical Activity and Health.
Retrieved on (November, 1999) From http://sail2.ext.usu.
edu/ropes/team.cfm
 NASP Resources. Social Skills: Promoting Positive Behavior,
Academic Success and School Safety.Retrieved on (2002).
From http://www.nasponline.org/resources/factsheets/
socialskills_fs.aspx
 ADA Homepage. Retrieved on (N.D.) From http://www.ada.
gov/
 National Staff Development Council. Learning Communities.
Retrieved on (N.D.) From http://www.nsdc.org/standards/
learningcommunities.cfm
 The Quotations Page. Success. Retrieved on (N.D.) From
http://www.quotationspage .com/subjects/success/
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 References
 Ropes Courses. Retrieved on (N.D.) From http://
wilderdom.com/ropes/
 Concepts of Leadership. Retrieved on (N.D.) From
http://www.nwlink.com/~donclark/leader/leadcon
.html
 Wikipedia. Adventure. Retrieved on (February,
2008) From
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adventure

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