School takes learning to open air classroom

Step out into one of two outdoor courtyards at Pocahontas Elementary School and the sight is basically the same four brick walls and some concrete, benches and bushes.

But a group of teachers, parents and volunteers plan to make the courtyards more than just a place to walk through or step outside for a breath of fresh air.

They are working to transform the spaces into outdoor classrooms that foster learning, a sense of responsibility and fun for students in a way that adds to what they already are experiencing in their classrooms, Deborah Putney, third grade STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) teacher, said.

"We have been trying for 15 years to get this project off the ground," she said. "Our point was we had this beautiful courtyard out here with usable space but plants that werent usable."

The courtyards have been kept up and are a great space, but they have never been really accessible to children or used for teaching purposes before, Ella Helms, assistant principal, said.

"I thought it would be a great space to actually use for a classroom," she said.

The Outdoor Classroom Project committee isnt limiting the project to a few flower beds, Dan Hymel, project manager, said. The scope of the project includes different zones with features such as ponds, gazebos, a weather station, live animals and gardens.

The committee formed this year and has steadily built steam as members worked out details and gained the approval of school officials, he said.

Now they are ready to act by taking out the old and preparing the space for the new, he said.

The school district had trees that hindered the plans removed on Friday, Nov. 28, he said. The trees root systems, which go under the buildings, werent removed entirely, so plans for the next few years in those areas will have to focus on the surface.

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School takes learning to open air classroom