Seven hours a day, five days a week, staff and students alike are stuck inside often windowless classrooms and offices. As the warmer months start to swing around, the desire to be enjoying the sunny weather is hard for many to ignore. But starting in the fall of 2024 at ELHS, a potential solution was proposed to fix this problem: the introduction of an outdoor classroom.
On the occasional Fridays the student population has off, the staff of the building convene for Professional Development (PD). Within their PD group, “Diversifying Learning Spaces,” science teacher Audra Francis and math teacher Amy Sayers have being used this time to develop ELHS’s outdoor classroom—something that’s been a long time dream for them.
“We decided to take the leap this year and see what the interest [for an outdoor classroom] was like,” Francis said. “We’re very lucky to be able to put in first base.”
The creation of this formal outdoor classroom was first inspired by similar learning spaces located at the elementary schools.
“An outdoor classroom is a space that teachers can use to bring their classes outside to enjoy the environment while learning material,” Sayers said.
Located in the courtyard of the 700 wing, the classroom is currently equipped with wooden benches and a freshly planted tree, courtesy of help from Students for Environmental Action Club.
But for Francis, the ideal for this space is something much more than just a few seating arrangements.
“This is not the final product, but we wanted to have something that teachers could use in the coming weeks as it’s getting nicer,” Francis said. “We would eventually like to have seating for 30 and are hoping to have a shed out there to store whiteboards, markers and clipboards so that kids can get out there and do class.”
While this space will be available to all classes, the staff of the science department, including Francis, are especially eager to use this outdoor space to better apply their classwork to the natural world.
“It’s a lot easier to learn about the lesson that we’re talking about when you can see it,” Francis said. “Wildflowers grow out there, which is nice when we’re looking at things like photosynthesis.”
Alongside these educational benefits, learning outside has shown improvements in mental health from kids engaged in such environments. According to a study by Harvard University, “students are often calmer and better able to focus when learning in nature, and teachers have reported better behavior and social interactions with fewer disciplinary issues,”— something Sayers finds to be a notable driver behind the creation of an outdoor classroom.
“People who spend more time outdoors have better mental health,” Sayers said.
Next year, the plan for the classroom is to implement a checkout system for its use, similar to how the hub is run today. No matter if it’s used for full class discussion or small group work, Francis is eager to see this project become a known asset to the staff and students of ELHS.
“This is something we’ve been working on for a really long time, so to see it finally coming to fruition is exciting,” Francis said.“That being said, a lot can change over the course of a year. [Right now,] we’re in a good spot.”
