We partner directly with schools to build student-run outdoor programs that are responsive to the strengths, needs, and goals of the school/organization community. Our goals in working with schools is to build programming that:
How We Work With Schools:
- Maximizes student leadership opportunities
- Builds a safe, inclusive community particularly for students of color and low-income students who are marginalized by the outdoor education industry, and provides opportunities for success to students who are not always successful in an academic setting
- Is sustainable for teachers/educators to oversee,
- Is low-cost or externally funded, and
- Survives teacher/educator turnover and student leaders’ graduation/aging out
How We Work With Schools:
- First, we meet with administrators, organization leaders, students, teachers, and/or educators who are interested in building outdoor programming at their school or organization.
- We use these meetings to better understand their objectives for outdoor programming, the needs and strengths of the young people they work with, and the pre-existing assets of interested teachers/educators and potential student leaders. We also discuss examples of pre-existing outdoor programs to see what structures and desired outcomes make sense for this specific school.
- We then craft a proposal tailored to the partner school that outlines a proposed structure for outdoor programming at their school and training we can provide for teachers and students.
- We will then facilitate the necessary training for teacher- and student-leaders, create any systems, structures, or documentation the program needs, and continue to consult with them during the initial phase of their program’s implementation.