Disney’s YES program teaches local students how to work—and play—hard
It’s a kid’s dream come true: Students from Orcutt Junior High and Pacific Christian schools recently got to make Disneyland their classroom.
In April, middle-schoolers from Ernest Salinas’ journalism class and Rachael Frederick’s science class traveled to “The Happiest Place on Earth” to participate in the Disney Youth Education Series (YES) program.
YES program classes are taught each day and cover arts and humanities, leadership, career development, natural and physical science, and more—and most of them take place in and behind the scenes of the Disneyland and California Adventure theme parks.
Salinas, who teaches Orcutt Junior High School’s journalism class, said he used to take his students on field trips to the Los Angeles Times until the paper’s Costa Mesa office closed to tours. He learned about the YES program after some of his students researched educational opportunities online.
Usually, Salinas said, the class goes on field trips every other year, “but [the YES program] was so affordable and the kids worked so hard, so I thought, ‘Why not do it again?’”
The students got to choose between a leadership course and an animation course.
“It was a lot of fun,” eighth-grader Cheyenne Wiley said. “We got to draw Pluto and we learned about the history of animation. We also learned about Walt Disney and his life and how he created each of his characters.
“The class was all about creativity and not holding back. Like when we were drawing Pluto, they told us not to hold back, not to worry about whether or not it looked like Pluto,” she continued. “It’s the same when I’m writing articles [for the newspaper]—don’t hold back, don’t worry if [Mr. Salinas] will like it, just write.”
Wiley’s classmate, eighth-grader Michelle Grahame, said the leadership course offered its own special attractions and lessons.
“When we went on Pirates of the Caribbean, we had to go through the whole ride asking another person questions,” she explained, “and then we had to remember all the answers. It taught us that even when there are a bunch of distractions, we have to learn to listen to people.”
As part of the program, each of the students also received a park hopper pass.
Students in Frederick’s class got to take part in the program’s physics course.
“They walk you through Newton’s Laws and how they apply to all the rides,” Frederick said.
Program instructors used California Adventure rides—California Screamin’, Mulholland Madness, and Maliboomer—
to teach the students about friction and kinetic energy.
Afterward, Frederick said, “I let the kids go explore the physics of Disneyland,” meaning she let them run loose in California Adventure.
For more information about the Disney YES programs, visit DisneyYES.com or call 1-800-603-0552. m
School Scene is compiled by News Editor Amy Asman. Information should be sent to the Sun via fax, e-mail, or mail.
This article appears in Jun 3-10, 2010.