Celebrating 20 Years on the Ropes Challenge Course!
Tisbury 7th Graders Kick Off the 20th Season on the Dukes County Sheriff’s Ropes Challenge Course!
Dukes County Sheriff’s Office is celebrating the 20 Year Anniversary of the Ropes Challenge Course! DCSO would like to thank and recognize the many students, teachers, community members, and volunteers who come together every year on the course. The first week of our 20th year has seen Montessori School students K-8th Grade, staff from MVCS, and Tisbury School 7th grade students, kicking off the 20th season with style! Sheriff Ogden joined the groups in celebration, alongside Major Sterling Bishop, returning to his roots as “Deputy Bob”, Regional Drug Abuse Resistance Education Officer.
Original Construction Circa 2001
The Ropes Challenge Course program, located in the Airport Business Park since 2001, provides a forum for youth to learn life skills in conflict resolution, communication skills, problem solving and healthy response to stressful situations during social interaction with peers and adults, connecting to 6th and 8th grade lessons taught through DCSO’s LEAD program during the school year. With a goal of providing a healthy outlet for fresh air, physical activity, and socialization (while respecting social distancing), and developing youth leaders in the community, this program involves icebreakers, games, team-building exercises and ropes challenges.
A Morning of Teambuilding for Staff from Martha’s Vineyard Community Services
“We have had almost 10,000 youth participate in Ropes Challenge Course programming over the past 20 years, including my own daughter.” Sheriff Ogden reminisced. “We have students who are in their 30s now who remember their time on the course as a kid, and what they learned then still impacts them today. From the beginning, we knew we wanted to provide experiential education for students, especially to prepare 8th grade students for the vulnerable time of transition between elementary and high school. If you build self-worth and self-esteem in a child, they are more likely to think for themselves when it comes to drug and alcohol use. That’s really the goal; to have kids thinking about the consequences of their actions and give them the tools to feel confident about making healthy choices.”
Teambuilding on the course is reflected by the collaborative effort behind the scenes. Community Support ranges from the Oak Bluffs Police Department, who co-wrote the original Governor’s Alliance Against Drugs funding grant in collaboration with DCSO in 2001, to the Dukes County Sheriff’s Association who now provide funding for Youth Programming, to the volunteers from both Tisbury School and Tisbury Police Department who have trained through Project Adventure and volunteered as Challenge Course Facilitators alongside DCSO’s instructors; to the National Guard who flew in and prepared the lot for original construction. “We are so proud to participate in our community, and so grateful for all of those who have given their time and passion to our Youth Programming.” Sheriff Ogden says. “Adventure based counseling provides experiential learning and teaches children how to communicate while under stress, while overcoming fears and developing confidence. It is a joy to witness a child’s evolution from a background participant to playing a vital role in the group’s success.”
Safety First! Sheriff Ogden helps a student with their harness.
Ropes Challenge Course programs are available free of charge to Dukes County youth, schools, teachers, coaches, and certain non-profits for during-school and after-school visits during the 2020-2021 school year. For more information, contact Major Bishop at sbishop@dcsoma.org.