by Felicia Fonseca
Daily Lobo
More work and less play for the participants of Natural High.
The Natural High program is moving. On May 15, it will have a new home at Special Programs, and the focus will be narrowed to mentoring students, said Tim Gutierrez, director of Special Programs.
"Will we still do some of the same things? Yes," Gutierrez said. "Will we do as many field trips and the fun things? Probably not."
Natural High is a program that mentors Albuquerque Public Schools students through UNM. The program had two components: Education and recreation. It is run out of Recreational Services.
"The intensity on college awareness will increase, and we'll drop the intensity on the recreational aspects," he said.
But the recreational aspects are what motivate Becky Midkiff's students at East San Jose Elementary, which is a target school for Natural High.
She said she uses the program to reward her students, the majority of whom have poor social skills, come from low-income families and have trouble doing homework.
"It's wonderful for kids," Midkiff said. "You are helping kids who have really little in life. It's not like the kids in the Heights."
She said her students have been on rock climbing, swimming and hiking trips. They have visited volcanoes, Jemez Springs and acequias.
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"It's just an absolutely wonderful teaching tool," she added. "If that goes away, I can't help but be extremely disappointed."
Natural High is a state-funded program that runs off soft money, which doesn't guarantee its continuation year to year. The program is funded through June 2006.
Although Natural High is moving, Recreational Services staff members are drawing up a plan that will provide the same services for a fee. UNM students, staff and faculty will get the best rates, and the cost to APS will be higher.
Midkiff said she heard transportation for field trips will not be covered when the program makes the switch. She said her students have no money, and she can't afford to cover the costs.
"Basically it means my children are no longer going to be able to participate in Natural High," she said.
Natural High thrives off the number of students who participate in the program. The goal is to get as many students to participate as possible, Gutierrez said. Natural High will be grouped with programs aimed at recruiting students to the University.
Mentoring, arts and crafts, poetry and stage production and field trips are all components of Natural High.
"Common sense tells you if you're involved in something like that, they're going to be better students," Gutierrez said. "But people on the business side, they want to see data that proves it."
Natural High doesn't have a way to track students, but Gutierrez said through working with cohorts of students at APS, the program should be able to track and document students' successes in about a year.
"How are you going to mentor all these kids?" Midkiff said. "Are they going to send out a million people to mentor a million kids? How is that going to work? Because it doesn't sound to me it will be much of a teaching tool or much of an incentive."
Gutierrez said the recreational aspect won't be completely eliminated. It will be reflected through mentors who have the flexibility to come up with ideas they think will benefit their students best. Those ideas have to be approved by an academic adviser in the program.
All employees in Natural High will have to reapply through Special Programs.
Gutierrez said he's looking forward to working with students broadly in elementary school and more intensely as they move up to high school.
"It's a difficult time whenever you have change," he said. "It is going to be personal. The ones that have been through it will miss it. The ones that are coming in are still going to have fun."
