By Mike McKenna
We could all use a little help every now and again. The hardest part is usually asking for it.
It takes courage to ask for help, but the great thing about showing some courage is that it’s usually rewarded. That is definitely the case if you’re lucky enough to go to a place like The Space for help.
The Space was founded as an official nonprofit in 2020 with the simple goal of providing local students of all backgrounds a space to go where they could feel comfortable getting individualized help with school. Numerous studies have shown that providing individualized educational support, or tutoring, not only has positive academic impacts, but also helps build confidence, self-advocacy skills and general well-being—attributes we all need to lead healthy and fulfilling lives.
“Our goal is to help students feel more confident in school and life,” said Aaron Bronson, The Space’s executive director.
The Space is located in the Marketron building on North River Street in Hailey. It was founded by longtime local educators Naomi Runkel and Kate Ristow, to help assure tutoring services were available to all local students, regardless of economic background.
Originally focusing on high school students, The Space now provides services to students throughout the Wood River Valley, from 11 years old through their post-graduate transition. The Space offers personalized tutoring and post-graduate guidance in its “Launch” program as well as innovative after-school and summer programs on a sliding-scale tuition.
“We are trying to close the gap and make sure everyone has access to the same quality of educational support,” Aaron said. “We try to cover the spectrum of needs.”
The Space has a strong working relationship with local schools as well as other nonprofits. Sometimes students are connected via their school, sometimes their friends tell them about The Space.
“We definitely have a community hub component and we have really great relationships with lots of community partners,” said Laura Schaff Calvert of The Space. “We want our students to become academic influencers.”
Hundreds of students have benefited from The Space over the years and their impact keeps expanding. Nearly 300 local students were involved with The Space last year alone, a 27% year-over-year increase.
All of these courageous students are also sharing lots of success stories.
“We love to hear students say things like, ‘I did well on a test!’ ‘ I passed a class I never thought I could!’ ‘I got offered my dream job!’” Aaron explained. “We help reduce stress for parents by empowering the kids.”
The Space offsets costs through grants and fundraising efforts like the upcoming “Forever Young” Adult Prom fundraiser at Whiskey’s on Friday, April 25.
For folks who love education, supporting The Space is a no-brainer as the impacts it is providing for individuals and our community are invaluable.
“We want students to raise the bar for themselves and their classmates,” Aaron said. “As Naomi says, our goal is to make what’s possible visible.”
Find out more or get tickets to the Forever Young Adult Prom at TheSpaceIdaho.org.
