Gone Boarding is a Cross-curricular program.
Engineering
Students will learn some basic engineering concepts and principles that can translate into deeper knowledge and springboard them into engineering career pathways.
Marketing
Once students begin the design and build processes, a natural byproduct will be their curiosity about the world of product and event marketing in the action-sports industry.
Communications
Gone Boarding will become a point of pride in your school and your community as a whole. Students will be given opportunities to present to small and large groups of people and develop their communication skills.
Physical Education
Our desire is to instill fitness habits that will last a lifetime. Everyone needs the physical and mental benefits of exercise. Board sports can be enjoyed for many years and passed down for generations.
Business
Through our partnerships with many of the most dynamic brands in the action-sports industry, students will have opportunities to interact with some of the most talented minds in the business world.
Mathematics
Gone Boarding is a great capstone mathematics course as it allows students to use the concepts they have learned in previous courses such as Algebra, Geometry, and Trigonometry to solve complex problems involved in board design.
Woodshop
Students will learn to safely use a variety of hand tools and learn woodworking skills that will last a lifetime.
Industrial Arts
Gone Boarding provides so many opportunities in working with many materials as well as, in some cases, learning technical skills such as CAD and graphic arts.
Design
Gone Boarding seeks to allow students a safe and super fun entry into the world of product design. Students will take part in the design process from start to finish and ultimately create a product they can use for the rest of their lives!
Project-based Learning
As we prepare students to thrive in the 21st century, we need to challenge them with complex problems. In Gone Boarding, we take project-based learning to the next level in a way that engages our students to be the driving force to take charge of their future. Every board created is unique and will provide unique learning opportunities.
Identifying Problems
The first step in the Design Process is to identify the problem. Our students start this process right away as they start to "Dream it".
Finding Solutions
As students get a bit further in the Design Process, they start to find possible solutions as well as potentially some "impossible solutions" because, hey...we are still dreaming right!?!? They create sketches, take photographs, and start to compile information.
Receiving Credit
Gone Boarding is a unique course in that it can be very flexible for awarding certain credits. Current schools are using Gone Boarding for the following credits: Math, Visual/Applied Arts, Physical Education, Science, CTE, and elective. We seek to give our students a broad view of their educational experience and equip them with many skills across the curricular spectrum.
Class Time
There is never a dull moment in a Gone Boarding classroom. No two days are alike and we seek to empower students to be active participants in their learning. There is a great deal of flexibility within the curriculum that allows both the instructor and the students to be proactive with their learning outcomes. Allowing students equal voice will engage students in a way educators often never attain.
Meet the Staff
Creatives. Scholars. Leaders. Athletes.
Bill Curtis
Bill is the founder and president of Gone Boarding LLC. He is also still currently one of the instructors for the Gone Boarding program at Forest Hills Public School District in Grand Rapids, Michigan where he has been teaching since 2003. He is passionate about engaging with young people and empowering them with opportunities to pursue their future with passion. He loves to ride all types of boards year round. He is married and has two young groms that are quickly shredding circles around him!
Scott Kemperman
Scott is the Director of Curriculum for Gone Boarding LLC. He also is one of the lead instructors for the Gone Boarding program at Forest Hills Public School District in Grand Rapids, Michigan. He has been teaching since 2004 and loves building relationships with students and then challenge them to be the best version of themselves. He is married and has 3 active boys that keep him on his toes.
