National Outdoor Leadership School - Index

National Outdoor Leadership School - brochure - Index

Introduced by Senator Jack Reed (D–RI) and
Congressman John Sarbanes (D–MD), the No Child
Left Inside Act (NCLI) is an amendment to the No
Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) that seeks to reconnect
more children with nature and address critical environmental
changes by providing stipulations for
what is viewed as an unintentional oversight of the
original bill: a de-emphasis on environmental science
and outdoor education (see related article in the Issue
Room on page 5). Schools nationwide, many with
close relationships to NOLS, are either expanding
their existing environmental and outdoor education
programs or just planting the seeds.
ALBUQUERQUE ACADEMY
Albuquerque Academy is among several institutions
with the same goal of “getting kids out globally and
locally,” said Mike Shaw, a teacher at the academy and
a NOLS instructor.
On a scenic 312-acre campus in New Mexico, Albuquerque
Academy is an independent college
preparatory day school offering grades 6 to 12. The
academy, along with four other independent schools,
founded the Independent School Adventure Network,
which aims to bring together schools with adventure
leadership and experiential education programs. Albuquerque
Academy’s Department of Experiential Education
was developed in 1975 to offer students new
experiences that allow for self-reflection.
“The mission is to develop a sense of place at Albuquerque,”
said Shaw, explaining that in order for students
to value their surroundings and be involved in the
local community, they must experience their environment.
“It’s an introduction to the environment to create
a sense of place that they’ll want to come back to.”
As a NOLS instructor, Shaw says that he utilizes
many of the teaching methodologies and texts that students
experience on a NOLS course. “I use similar
teaching methods in the field as a NOLS instructor,
but I have to readjust to teaching in a classroom, which
restricts time,” he says. “There are many variables in a
classroom that make me rethink my approach to teaching.
I can teach more in-depth in the field.”
PROCTOR ACADEMY
New Hampshire’s Proctor Academy formed a wilderness
orientation that all students have to attend every
September, according to Charles Will, the director of
communications. “This school feels that the best college
prep is more holistic and experiential, therefore
being outdoors,” he said.
Proctor Academy is a traditional college prep
school for grades K–8 with a curriculum that offers
trimester electives: ocean and mountain classrooms.
Mountain classroom offers 10 students between the
ages of 16 and 19 the opportunity to gain firsthand
experience in Western culture and landscapes, examining
the connections between nature and culture.
NOLS instructors facilitate these 35-day expeditions
that aim to integrate outdoor education and academics
to provide a framework for understanding concepts
ranging from wilderness ethics to the utilization of
natural resources.
“Anybody learns better in an immersion experience.
This is most obviously seen through kids with ADHD
because they are stimulated through all their senses in
alternative learning,” said Will, noting that many former
Proctor students become future NOLS students.
CATE SCHOOL
Ned Bowler, director of the Outdoors Sports Operation
Program for the Cate School in Carpinteria, California,
also notes that NOLS curriculum plays a role
in their outdoor education program. “We send kids on
summer courses with NOLS,” he said. “Our teaching
methodologies complement each other because NOLS
takes kids on extended trips and really helps overall
with not only wilderness skills, but leadership skills that
we value in our senior students; it helps them grow and
build confidence in other career paths.”
The Cate School is a private secondary boarding
and day school for boys and girls grades 9–12 nationand
worldwide.
“We’re a private school so we can create our own
curriculum and aren’t bound to curriculum standards
that public schools are,” said Bowler. “Kids are really
fortunate to go on trips, and we’re taking kids out who
have never done this before.”
A big part of the outdoor education program at
the Cate School, according to Bowler, is their recycling
program consisting of a compost project where
students help in sustainable gardens.
“On our outdoor education programs, we separate
compost and recycled food and bring it back to
campus, but we also do low-impact camping so there’s
not much to bring back,” he said, noting that they use
sustainable foods on trips from local vendors to support
sustainable agriculture.
FREMONT COUNTY SCHOOL DISTRICT #1
While these schools, and many others, can operate
more freely outside a standard curriculum, even John
Metcalfe, assistant superintendent for the more traditional
K–12 Fremont County School District #1 in
Wyoming, says that environmental education is alive
and well in Lander. “We are a bit more sophisticated
than other [public schools] because [much of the] staff
are NOLS graduates and share similar interests and
SPRING 2008
7
With kids spending over seven
and a half more hours on academics
each week than they did
20 years ago…there is a need
for more alternative institutions
and programs that provide a
level of environmental and outdoor
education that is missing
in standard curricula.
experiences; they have motivation and desire to do
such curricula,” he said.
Lander schools partner with the Teton Science
School, Yellowstone National Park, the Bureau of
Land Management, and the Forest Service for various
trips and visits. NOLS instructors also volunteer their
time to speak in classes when passing through town.
“We like to keep it grassroots and let individual
teachers make arrangements based on what they feel
they can add to their curriculum,” he said.
As a NOLS graduate himself, Metcalfe said his
experience helped develop his way of approaching
teaching. “The NOLS experience resonates solidly in
classrooms by developing a sense of leadership. It
helped shape the way I schedule and conduct myself,”
he said. “My experience helps to encourage other faculty
members to support missions like developing
ropes courses in a simulated risk environment.”
While technology and culture continue to evolve, we
are progressing toward a social framework that values
the environment and our connection to it. These institutions,
and many others, are part of a movement
that is reminding children and educators of what it is
like to breathe the fresh air.
For more information about the programs mentioned in
this article, visit the schools online:
Albuquerque Academy: www.aa.edu
Proctor Academy: www.proctoracademy.org
The Cate School: www.cate.org
Fremont Country School District #1: www.fre1.k12.wy.us
1 Swanbrow, Diane. U.S. children and teens spend
more time on academics. The University Record Online.
2004. The University of Michigan.
www.ur.umich.edu/0405/Dec06_04/20.shtml