The Rodeo Education and Character (REACh) program is back in Salinas this week today through Thursday, June 2nd. This course has been part of the California Rodeo Salinas’ community outreach for years. Almost 1,000 elementary school children will experience the program this year after taking 2020 and 2021 off.
Cowboys & Kids is the non-profit that developed and funds the REACh program which engages the young audience highlighting the American cowboy’s traits through visual, auditory, and hands-on teaching methods. By using different tools, they can meet the needs of students’ 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 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 29 years ago while she was an elementary school teacher in Payson, Arizona. “Adopting these standards can help kids battle many dangers they face today.” The California Rodeo Salinas thanks Macy’s for funding part of this program which helped to provide educational booklets along with the assemblies this year.
Visit www.carodeo.com for more information about the California Rodeo Salinas, which takes place July 21st-24th, and other upcoming events.