COLORADO SPRINGS — A new outdoor classroom at Rockrimmon Elementary on Colorado Springs' West Side carries the name of Melissa Joffrion, a mother of four and Parent Teacher Organization president who died following an oral cancer diagnosis.
What began as an idea for a bench or two near the walking path where parents drop off and pick up their children grew into a full outdoor classroom after community donations reached $30,000.
Melissa's son Jake Joffrion is a student at Rockrimmon Elementary. The outdoor classroom is a reminder of his mother when he passes it on his way to and from school.
"Yes, every day — I usually cry," Jake said.
"I also really like it. I'm glad they made it. I mean, I love how they're putting grass around it. I feel like they're really respecting it," Jake said.
Melissa was deeply involved at Rockrimmon Elementary. She served as PTO president, led fundraisers, and helped teachers apply for grants.
"She just wanted to do everything she could to, to help the teachers be successful and be involved with the school," Justin Joffrion, Melissa's husband and Jake's father, said.
Melissa's cancer was discovered after a persistent sore on her tongue. Her diagnosis was unexpected.
"She was young and didn't have the, the sort of lifestyle that might contribute to a diagnosis of oral cancer," Justin said.
Even as she faced her illness, Melissa focused on the school community. When she died, she asked that memorials take the form of donations to Rockrimmon Elementary.
"Even in her time of passing, she wanted people to donate money to the school instead of to expenses that they had, or flowers, and that was really important to us to make sure that she was honored in that way," current PTO President Chelsey Tyndall said.
"Her husband and family wanted something to both honor her and really bring the school community together," Rockrimmon Elementary Principal Amber Izzo said.
Justin said the location of the outdoor classroom reflects how Melissa chose to bring her children to school and connect with other families.
"She didn't like to kick them out of the car. She liked to walk them down and gave her a chance to meet people and visit, and so we thought it would be nice to have a space where people could gather and socialize before and after school," Justin said.
Justin reflected on the level of support from the community.
"When someone is gone, you learn what the scale of the impact that they had on others and so that was very touching to us because we miss her tremendously, of course," Justin said.
"We really decided we wanted to think outside the box and what could we do that would create more community," Tyndall said.
The outdoor classroom also serves the school's educational mission. Rockrimmon Elementary is an IB school, and teachers had been considering an outdoor teaching space.
"There are so many reasons for an outdoor classroom. I feel like it gives our students the opportunity to really put their learning into action," Izzo said.
"Any time we can find a way to, you know, change the scenery for the students and get engagement levels back up in a new way is always, you know, something a teacher's looking for," 3rd-grade teacher Makena Wims said.
"Being in IB school we really consider the whole child and being outside and the positives of nature and its effect on children we know how positive that is," Izzo said.
3rd-grade teacher Briona Dice described one planned use of the space.
"An example is our upcoming weather unit we're studying the types of clouds and we can come out here and get students to actually look at the clouds and be truly engaged in their learning," Dice said.
Jake turned to his father.
"She was amazing," Jake said.
"She was amazing," Justin said.
The PTO continues to raise money to add landscaping around the outdoor classroom space.
This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.___
Right to Hunt and Fish? Amendment 83
____
Watch KOAA News5 on your time, anytime with our free streaming app available for your Roku, FireTV, AppleTV and Android TV. Just search KOAA News5, download and start watching.
