If it's your teen's routine to sit at home after school instead of learning a new skill or exploring their passions, then Denver educator Maggie Dering has some help to offer.
She launched the website Involve Board last October. It acts like a virtual bulletin board with “flyers” from organizations around Colorado. The flyers advertise opportunities like an outdoor adventure program that takes students hiking, rafting and backpacking for free.
Dering, an internship coordinator for DSST schools, said she got the idea for the site when she realized there was no centralized place for students to find activities in the state. And the extracurricular programs themselves were having trouble finding enough kids to keep going.
It was then she set out to create a one-stop shop for parents, teachers and teens to find activities they could get excited about. With over 500 users on the site, Dering hopes to turn Involve Board into a nationwide resource.
She spoke to Colorado Matters about why it’s so important for teenagers to learn outside the classroom.
