Former Lil' Explorers student gives back to early childhood program

DECEMBER 22, 2023       

COMMUNITY EDUCATION NEWS —  Luke Fulton, a freshman at Chandler Unified School District’s (CUSD) Hamilton High School (HHS), knew he wanted to do something special for his Eagle Scout Service Project. For Fulton, this project was more than just a chance to earn his Eagle Scout rank; he wanted to use the project to give back to a program close to his heart.

As a former student at Lil’ Explorers, Fulton thought it would be meaningful to do a service project that gave back to the early childhood program he was once a part of. Fulton attended Lil’ Explorers at Chandler High School (CHS) from the time he was an infant all the way through the program. He spent his last year in the program as a five-year-old and attended Tarwater Elementary School as a kindergartener the next year in their inaugural Mandarin dual language immersion (DLI) program.    

Fulton worked with scouts and leaders from his troop to make mobile gardens and storage cabinets for Lil’ Explorers students at CHS. Students in this early childhood center are using some of the mobile gardens to grow plants and others to play with as sensory bins. The storage bins are being used to store some of their toys.

While Fulton knew Lil’ Explorers could benefit from the projects he built, he felt a sense of gratitude actually seeing the kids around the planters and bins.

“It means a lot [to be able to give back to the program],” explained Fulton. “It feels great to help out the preschool that helped me out so much when I was younger.”

The Eagle Scout rank is the highest rank achievable with Boy Scouts of America. Fulton’s project at Lil’ Explorers is part of his Eagle Scout Service Project that will be a step towards obtaining his Eagle Scout rank. The Eagle Scout Service Project is meant to demonstrate leadership and service of others.

Lil' Explorers is CUSD’s licensed early childhood program. In this program, 0-5-year-olds learn through play with age-appropriate curriculum on campus at the following CUSD high schools: Basha, Chandler, and Perry.

For more information on Lil' Explorers, contact Pat Berry, CHS site coordinator, at 480-812-7846 or berry.patricia@cusd80.com.

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