CARBONDALE, Colorado — When Emily Gentry saw some of her fellow Bridges High School students falling into the kinds of cliques that turned her away from the traditional high school, she decided it was time for a little campus organizing.

After serving students in a variety of locations for several years, the Roaring Fork School District Re-1 alternative high school program for the past two years has had a physical home in the former Carbondale Middle School building, now called the Bridges Center.

So, it made sense that students should be the ones to start organizing fundraisers to spruce the place up a bit and generate some school pride, said Gentry, a Bridges senior from Glenwood Springs.

“This school has never really had anything in the way of student organizations,” she said. “Bridges has done so much for kids that they can't get from other schools, so I thought it was about time we did something for the school.”

Gentry put the word out that a student council was forming, and after a half dozen or so meetings there's a core group of about 10 to 15 students involved. There's no formal offices or elections.

“That's so not Bridges,” she said. “The kids here like to be individual, but we do have a lot of free time to do things like this.”

Among the projects Gentry said the group would like to raise money for are a school greenhouse, field trips and an effort to install student art around the school building.

“Now that we have a building, we've definitely noticed some areas that could use some TLC,” Gentry said. “And, we have a lot of artists here.

“There is a perception that Bridges attracts kids who don't want to be in school, but we want to show that we do have proactive students who want to be able to give back,” she adds. “This is just a good way to change the public perception of the school.”

Bridges Principal Lyn Bair is all for any type of student-driven project, especially ones that put a positive light on the school and what it offers.

“If they can get three or four people together, we'll support it,” Bair said. “We're excited for the students to step up and do this, but it will be what they make it. I do look forward to hearing what they have to say about the school and how it can improve.”

A lunchtime student council meeting earlier this week started with a little pep talk about a rise in student absences, and the importance of being at school and being involved.

That was followed by some brainstorming about some possible fundraisers. Ideas included some of the usual — bake sales, a spaghetti dinner, a dance — and some not-so-usual, such as challenging fellow students from other local high schools to a dodge ball tournament.

“I think it's great,” senior Gina Odom said of the group. “I've been here four years, and this is the first year anyone's taken the initiative to take up anything like this.”

Anya Whittier, also a senior, said she tried to start a Key Club for Bridges to work on community service projects, without much success.

“This makes sense because it's about coming up with some fundraising ideas for our own school,” she said.

Another student, Nathan Ulrych, said he likes Bridges because it's less structured. But that's not to say there isn't room for student involvement.

“It's nice, because we can still be extremely independent, but have some organization to get things done,” he said.

jstroud@postindependent.com