The Discovery Program of Rapid City says thank you to city street workers

Kaitlin Brown, the Education Coordinator of the Discovery Programs in Rapid City, talks about a special service project that is happening this summer.

Brown explains about the Discovery Program. “We’re under Black Hills Special Services. We have four elementary schools and a middle school program in the Rapid City School District.” The Discovery Program is found at Knollwood Elementary, Rapid Valley Elementary, Valley View Elementary, and General Beadle Elementary. The program is also at South Middle School. “We do after school programs during the school year and then a six week long summer camp, if you will, in the summer at all of our programs.”

Brown says that the idea came about in 2020 when we were planning our summer. “My boss wanted us to do like a service project to get out in the community. And COVID happened and it kind of took a backseat last year when we got back into the program and there was just a lot of moving pieces, we all felt like fish out of water. So this year I said, ‘No, we’re going to do it. It’s going to be my baby.’ So I have been going around to all of our schools, bringing a couple of kiddos there, writing thank you notes for the city street workers. Just thanking them for keeping our roads safe in the winter, fixing them in the summer. So our kids made thank you cards, all handmade. 

“We gave the workers some popsicles because it’s hard, hot work in the summer, took a couple of photos, and then we went around the grounds getting a tour. The kids got to learn about what goes into plowing the roads in the winter and also what goes into fixing our roads in the summer. So it’s good for them to see kind of what makes our city work.”

“So it’s nice for the kids to come here, see the behind the scenes, get to have a feel, get to sit in the vehicles and the trucks and and see what it’s like. And they pass these vehicles in the winter more times than they think they do. So it is good, real world, hands on learning experience. You know, it just goes to show that all our people deserve a thank you and we’re very glad that they do the work that they do.”