In Craftsbury - Curiosity is the Compass
By Laurie Anne Kozar
The Craftsbury School provides a wide range of experiential, place-based and adventure-based learning opportunities that enhance and compliment learning within the classroom. “As a new principal last year, it was immediately apparent that staff, students and the Craftsbury community value out-of-class learning, stated Lisa McCarthy.
Out of Class learning includes programs like, WOW! (Aka, Wednesday Without Walls). Lisa says that staff foster a climate of curiosity as students begin to orient their academic learning to their interests outside the classroom. WOW! also allows students to become co-creators of their learning, and with support from adults and mentors students learn to become agents of change in their own lives. By switching up the environment, moving outside the structure of a classroom, changes in social dynamics appear: students are able to make new connections within the school and across age ranges with new connections extending out into the community. “We have different opportunities through the program and we learn about who we are as people outside of school,” expressed seventh grader Zariah Decherd. Often students see they are learning right alongside their teachers. As students and teachers learn new things together it helps students to feel connected to others and to feel seen and known by their teachers and their peers.
“WOW! allows my student to learn new things and learn more about classmates when outside of school”
Students, staff, and parents love ‘Wednesday Without Walls’. The program is dynamic and changes with various hands-on opportunities that link kids to their wider communities. Activities include skiing, hiking, biking (physical education) but also activities can include service learning, such as Green Up Day. By creating a hands-on learning activity students connect with their community. One parent shared that what could have been a boring and tedious activity on a rainy spring day became a fun activity as staff engaged students and participating community members through shared goals - and they ‘gamified’ the experience by creating awards for different categories such as “most bags collected,” and “funniest item found.” This sort of shared activity bonds students, parents, and educators together as they explore themes such as accountability, responsibility, and pride, as well as environmental topics such as pollution in watersheds and other climate and environment topics. “We get to do stuff for our community, like Green Up Day,” commented seventh grader Evie Patch.” Classmate Zariah Decherd added, “The community gives a lot to make this school possible, so we like to give back to them.”
Craftsbury School students spend a fair amount of time in the great outdoors as the NEK abounds with opportunities, including Nordic & downhill skiing, canoeing, rock climbing, and hiking. The school also has a woodlot where students spend time learning about a working forest. These outdoor learning activities often are undertaken with partner organizations like, Craftsbury Outdoor Center, and the Craftsbury Library, among others.
“My child comes home eager to discuss what they’re learning, and they understand their role as active participants in their education and in their world.”
Activities with community partners leverage different talents, interests, and connections of the wider community that builds a stronger relationship between the school and community.
The connections are a giant hit for many kids as the students enjoy learning with other adults beyond the school as mentors. In these out of class activities teachers sometimes become learners with their students as the group collaborates on problem-solving activities. “These outdoor activities are appreciated by students and parents and staff alike”, reflects Ollie Burress, of the Craftsbury Outdoor Center, “Kids learn the valuable lesson of grit and tenacity required when mastering a new skill. They also understand the value of delayed gratification: having to climb back up a hill to take another exhilarating run down, be that on wheels or on skis. It is a lesson that can extend well beyond outdoor activities!” Ollie takes students Mountain Bike riding at Craftsbury’s trails, brings riding to the school for younger grades, and takes high school students to other bike trails further afield. Students respond especially well to experiences where they have visible impact and can take ownership, like building or creating something together, or giving back to the local community. “I learned how to ice skate and snowboard last year. I like to try new things I haven’t done before,“ shared eighth grader Dustin Sargent.
Peer to peer learning, and/or mentorship of younger students through many inter-grade activities helps students expand their self perception, as they share their knowledge, skills or passion. The variety and assortment of activities gives everyone a chance to excel at something and to practice resilience at the things they have not yet mastered. Regardless of the fun factor, these activities all share important learning: critical thinking skills, collaboration, and resilience. Activities foster real-world problem-solving and allow students to develop a deeper connection to the environment. Students make connections and understand that their out of class learning connects to and expands upon academics.
“Not only have their test scores improved, but their confidence and sense of community have flourished.”
It is no secret that place-based education enhances student engagement, improves retention, and encourages higher-order thinking skills (Powers, 2004; Sobel, 2005) Opportunities for field-based science, environmental studies, community service projects—like local agriculture, watershed studies, or partnerships with nearby conservation organizations are also part of the extended learning. Programs such as guest speakers and community experts that can lead interactive workshops in the arts, civics, and trades have been floated by some parents and students.
In a time when social connection and a sense of place or belonging can be a bellwether of mental health, opportunities outside-the-classroom allow for relationships, friendships, and connections to flourish as kids are exposed to different teaching styles, and communication styles - this builds fluency and flexibility in communications as learning happens across a spectrum of contexts and environments and across a diverse range of social systems.
WOW! breaks down social barriers as it encourages teamwork in novel situations and allows students that may not always thrive in a traditional classroom setting a chance to shine.
“My students are more engaged, more curious, and more invested in their learning than ever before.”
Students make friendships through these experiences that tend to also strengthen student-teacher relationships that otherwise might not be present in a classroom setting. Activities also present a common lived experience, and that is the soft social and emotional learning that builds and deepens relationships and a sense of belonging within a community. “Kids like school more because they look forward to the activities we do outside of school. I think it helps kids want to come to school and they like to learn about new activities, expressed 8th grader Jonah Wolfberg.
Student-influenced activities are especially powerful. Activities outside the classroom fall into three main categories: physical recreation (skiing, biking, hiking, climbing, paddling); culture (plays, museums, towns and cities, foods); service learning aka, work projects (rebuilding a memorial, green-up day). Those interconnect with the social learning as children respond to a blend of adult guidance, student autonomy, and familiar community partners. When students are invited to co-design the experience, the buy-in and enthusiasm increases tenfold.
Principal Lisa McCarthy expressed her strong commitment to working parents, teachers, community members and students to evolve a shared vision of a school even more deeply integrated with the natural world and the local community—where the classroom boundaries are fluid and learning happens in the forest, at a local farm, or around a community issue. A Craftsbury School where every student feels part of something bigger and curiosity is the compass and the destinations are limited only by limits of imagination.
