The Rodeo Education and Character (REACh) program is coming back to Salinas next week. This course has been a part of the California Rodeo Salinas’ community outreach for years and recently moved from July to May in order to reach more students. In 2016 almost 4,000 elementary school students will experience the Cowboys & Kids program which takes the concept of the Cowboy Code into the classroom. Using a western theme and highlighting the American cowboy’s traits, Cowboys & Kids engages the young audience through visual, auditory and hands-on teaching methods. By using different tools they are able to meet the needs of the student’s different learning styles and maintain their interest throughout the presentation. In addition, the forty five-minute REACh assembly touches on areas required in the states’ curriculum: math skills, vocabulary, memory recall and more.
The program will take place in Salinas Monday May 23rd-Friday May 27th. Maria Martinez, the Superintendent of Salinas City Elementary Schools, approved the assembly to be held at all of the 13 schools in the district and the district also sponsored the program. The almost 4,000 students will learn to be strong and not be led by others into drugs, gangs and bullying activities. “Kids have always been fascinated by cowboys, so we try to use that to motivate them to adopt high ethical and moral standards that are associated with the rodeo,” said Penny Conway, who developed REACh 25 years ago while she was an elementary school teacher in Payson, Arizona. “Adopting these standards can help kids battle all of the dangers they face today.”
All children will receive a printed magazine style program about the Cowboys & Kids values with information about and coupons for Rodeo events in July as well as a ticket voucher for free admission into the Rodeo July 21st or 22nd. Visit www.carodeo.com for more information about the California Rodeo Salinas, which takes place July 21st-24th, and other events. For a schedule of Cowboys & Kids classroom presentations, please contact Lydia Miranda at
lmiranda@salinascity.k12.ca.us or 831-320-5939. Media coverage can be arranged, but permission is required and will need to be planned in advance.
About the California Rodeo
The 106th California Rodeo Salinas will take place July 21st-24th, 2016. The California Rodeo Association is a non-profit organization that strives to preserve and promote the traditions of the California Rodeo Salinas and the West. We support the community and other non-profit organizations through the staging of the annual California Rodeo Salinas and other year round operations of the Salinas Sports Complex. Through donation of our facility, vending and fundraising opportunities during Rodeo and other events, the California Rodeo Association returns over $300,000 annually to local non-profits. For more information about the California Rodeo Salinas, log on to www.CARodeo.com or call the California Rodeo Office at 831-775.3100. ‘Like’ the California Rodeo on Facebook at www.facebook.com/CARodeoSalinas or follow us on twitter @CaliforniaRodeo for updates, photos and more.