Lake Placid Elementary School’s fifth-grade class attends a matinee of “Annie” at Proctors Theatre in Schenectady in January. (Provided photo)

LAKE PLACID — Lake Placid Central School District students are now guaranteed two completely free, life-changing trips in fifth grade, thanks to a $125,000 endowment through the Educational Opportunity Fund, a local nonprofit dedicated to enriching LPCSD students’ lives.

“We set this goal of saying, ‘How do we make this a lasting trip?'” Lynn Magnus, the fund’s treasurer, said. “How do you provide something at the elementary school that creates this impact at an earlier age? Gives kids these opportunities to experience the world in a way that’s completely free?”

The two fifth-grade trips — one to see a Broadway show at Proctors Theatre in Schenectady and one to the New York State Capitol and James T. Foley U.S. Courthouse in Albany — were inspired by the LPCSD’s eighth-grade class trip to Washington, D.C., which is endowed by the Lussi family.

“We came up with this idea — we knew that eighth grade has the D.C. trip. Senior year, they have their senior trip they do together. So, each level of their schooling, they’ve had a culminating experience,” said Jon Fremante, LPCSD fifth-grade social studies teacher and trip coordinator. “Let’s give them something in fifth grade to give them something to look forward to.”

The Educational Opportunity Fund set a goal of endowing the fifth-grade trips a few years ago, back when the fund was small and mostly funded teacher and student grants, Magnus said. After receiving an $80,000 grant from the North Elba Local Enhancement and Advancement Fund in April 2022, the fund had been working toward a $125,000 goal for the trip endowment. It reached its goal this spring.

Joeseph Carlson, left, and Axton Manning, both fifth-grade students at Lake Placid Elementary School, practice their firefighting at the Children’s Museum at Saratoga in January. The trip to the museum was endowed by the Educational Opportunity Fund of the Lake Placid Central School District. (Provided photo)

Magnus said the fund’s annual “Night at the Races” fundraiser at the Golden Arrow Lakeside Resort has largely contributed to the endowment’s success. The party is hosted by the Holderied family, who own the resort, allowing all of the ticket sales and proceeds to go straight to the Educational Opportunity Fund. This year’s event is on May 18.

The Educational Opportunity Fund’s main goal is to address the opportunity gap. That is, the economic, social and cultural gaps that students in Lake Placid face. Offering a trip that’s free to everybody is one of the many ways to close this gap.

“We have kids from all different socioeconomic backgrounds here in Lake Placid, and some kids are exposed to more than others,” Fremante said. “The idea is, we’re in a position where we’re able to provide kids with a unique experiences. … If we provide it at no cost, everyone gets to share the same experience.”

The trips help expand the students’ worlds while teaching them life skills. During the Proctors Theatre trip, students learn about etiquette in the theater and at restaurants. They also get to experience a piece of art that’s likely new to them; for example, this year, they saw “Annie” and many of the students had never seen it before.

The second trip teaches the students about civics and history. They tour the federal courthouse in Albany with Mae D’Agostino, a district judge for the northern district of New York who has visited Fremante’s classes in the past. They also tour the Capitol and meet with Assemblyman Billy Jones, D-Chateaugay Lake, who brought the students onto the floor of the state Assembly last year.

Lake Placid Elementary School's fifth-grade class poses with Assemblyman Billy Jones in the state Capitol last year. The trip to Albany was endowed by the Educational Opportunity Fund of the Lake Placid Central School District. (Provided photo)

At the Latham ’76 Diner, the kids learn restaurant manners. For some of the kids, this is their first trip to a sit-down restaurant, Magnus said, and the experience is invaluable to their growth.

“One of the best (experiences) we ever had was a year ago. We had one of the kids say to one of the teachers, ‘This is the coolest thing I’ve ever done. Probably I’ll never be able to do this again,'” Fremante said. “When they tell us this is the coolest thing they’ve ever done, you know you’re doing the right thing.”

He added that these trips help the kids realize that they can have these cool experiences again, whether as a job, hobby or a day trip. It’s about exposing the kids to “something new and different,” he said.

“We want the kids to know that they live in a beautiful area but there’s also more out there for them to experience,” Fremante said. “It’s important for the community to know that we, as a school, are trying our best to expose our kids to as many different opportunities in the world as we can.”

The fund does this in other ways, too: sponsoring college visits for LPHS students, funding a summer reading program to sustain student learning over summer break and funding individual requests from teachers and students.

“(We’re) teaching kids to dream and see what’s out there,” Magnus said.

Fremante said the Educational Opportunity Fund is one of the most unique things LPCSD offers to its students.

“I don’t think people realize how unique this is. We’re this small school in the Adirondacks, and we have these opportunities to send our children on these trips at no cost,” he said.