Junior high students of Sandpoint Middle School are hitting the slopes with the ski and ride program. This new program began on the 8th of January and will end on the 26th of February. Every Wednesday, SMS students who meet the requirements have the chance to participate in the eight trips to Schweitzer where students receive free rentals and training if needed. 

Adam Tajan, SMS Teacher made the arrangements along with a fellow teacher from the Sandpoint Junior Academy, Linda Rossman. However, the program would be incomplete without the participation of Schweitzer. Mr. Tajan was able to coordinate with members from Schweitzer and the school district to establish transportation and the resources necessary for all the participating students. The student body of SMS has shown a strong interest within the program itself indicated by the number originally estimated, which was roughly 20 students but resulted in 106 students joining.

“It’s a little bit loose but the idea is that the students have C’s or above in their classes. In different situations, depending on the individual teacher if you’ve shown you’ve put forth significant effort, you’re obviously doing what you can to improve that grade… that teacher will make that call,” clarifies Tajan concerning the requirements to allow participation. When asking students involved within the program about their thoughts on the opportunity, they all concluded the program was beneficial to their academic involvement and to some extent, improvement in their grades.