Education Legacy Fund
of Custer County Colorado
The Latest ELF News!
ELF is excited to help fund The Caregiver Cafe located at The Pines Ranch. The Caregiver Cafe provides support to three parallel groups. Children aged 2-12 years old who have an opportunity to enjoy supervised educational enrichment programming and social interaction on Fridays when they are out of school. Parents/Caregivers who have an opportunity to participate more fully in work-related experiences on Fridays because their children are safely occupied. Older teens and young adults who have the opportunity to participate in a paid childcare internship and earn a certificate of completion as well as receive direct supervision and job experience with references. The interns participate in babysitting/childcare training and infant/child CPR certification. This significantly increases the number of trained and vetted babysitters and childcare providers in Custer County. This Friday program fills a large need in the Valley for families.
More ELF News!
The fifth graders at Custer County School enjoyed outdoor education at Camp Jackson on October 1st and 2nd. This is the third year that ELF has funded this important program. The students took hikes, enjoyed campfires and also learned important cooperation skills and resilience through many activities. Fun and learning was had by all!
ELF continues to partner with the West Custer County Library to offer STEM activities to the students of Custer County. On October 17th, over 50 students and their parents joined us at the Smokey Jack Observatory to view Saturn and Neptune through the large telescope. Dark Skies of the Wet Mountain Valley graciously hosted us for this fun family event! Be sure to follow us on Facebook to keep up with “Everything ELF!”
Dream Big. Then Make It Real.
Supporting breakthrough educational endeavors for students and educators, the Education Legacy Fund consists of experienced individuals with expertise and passion for innovation (see “Our Team”).
Our focus is on transformational programs and initiatives that are evaluated and monitored for long-term effects — a legacy to increase access to knowledge and the development of life skills in the Valley.
Expanding Horizons
The Education Legacy Fund supports out-of-the-ordinary educational journeys for students to expand their horizons, curiosity, and interaction with fresh ideas and experiences.
2025 ELF-FUNDED PROGRAMS:
COSTA RICA TRIP, MARCH
For the third time, The Education Legacy Fund has offered scholarships for 18 students to go on an international trip, for a total of 60 student trips in these three years! Custer County Schools Educator Heather Ramer, along with Education First planned a great trip to Costa Rica! These students, from both the Custer County School and the homeschool community, were immersed in the culture of Costa Rica for 9 days in March. In the words of one student:
“On these trips when you are done you take something home with you. One of the things that I took home is how I view things… It changed how I see things and think of things now. I want to live my life to the fullest. I enjoy learning, I enjoy stepping out of my comfort zone.”
This is a wonderful example of how the students are broadening their horizons! Hear how international trips have impacted the students by watching the Student Impact Statement.
CALIFORNIA TRIP, MAY
The Education Legacy Fund was a partial sponsor for eight students from the Gifted and Talented program at Custer County School. Educator Shelley Green planned an immersive learning trip to Santa Barbara, CA, catered toward the students' interests. Some of the places that they visited were the NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory, the La Brea Tar Pits, The California Science Center and the Los Angeles Museum of Natural History. One student, who has a dream of becoming a veterinarian, was even given a behind the scenes tour of the veterinary facility at the Santa Barbara Zoo which she found very impactful.
Expanding Horizons
EVEN MORE 2025 ELF-FUNDED PROGRAMS:
SUMMER LEARNING PROGRAM, JUNE
The Education Legacy Fund provided the financial support for the Summer Learning Program for the students of Custer County. MaryCarol Maxam developed an innovative educational pilot program to address summer learning loss and to help struggling students. She, along with lead teacher Kelly Klingler and a teacher assistant offered this free program June 9th - June 27th, 2025. The program featured mornings filled with enrichment activities in Math and Language Arts using neuro-education driven techniques. The students and their families were provided with brain training resources to assist in building up foundational, pre-academic skills to enhance learning capabilities. MaryCarol envisions the program to expand in scope in future summers and during the school year to enable more students to reach their full potential. Follow us on Facebook to keep up with “Everything ELF!”
NASA ASTRO CAMP, JULY
ELF partnered with the West Custer County Library to offer a FREE NASA Astro Camp® during the month of July. This camp was available to all children and will brought NASA’s STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) activities to students. The program aims to inspire future generations to learn about space exploration and STEM. We had guest speakers from the Dark Skies, Inc. and even former employees of NASA who live in the Valley!
Professional Development
for Educators
The Education Legacy Fund aims to seek out unique programs that challenge educators to think out of the box and encourage creativity and innovation. ELF assists in raising educator skills and knowledge by identifying and funding key professional development programs that would have been out of reach otherwise.
Technology for Learning
TECHNOLOGY is a critical component of modern education. The Education Legacy Fund has initiated and funded multiple technology initiatives in support of Custer County Schools. These programs support student readiness for the digital world and IT requirements in the workplace.
“With the extraordinary support from the Education Legacy Fund,
we have been able to serve our students better than ever.”
— Mike McFalls, Former Superintendent, Custer County Schools
Contact
Project ideas you’d like to see us fund? Want to help out on a specific project? Just curious about ELF and how you can work with us? Let us know, we’d love to connect!