The outdoor education school provides the 6th grade level student with a resident experience in the exploration of the natural environment and of man’s relationship to the environment.

The outdoor education school services as an extension of the indoor classroom, utilizing skills the students  have learned in the indoor learning environment, but exposing students to activities and experiences which cannot be duplicated within the four walls of a school.

During the week before spring vacation, students will participate in direct learning experiences in the out-of-doors at Fort Flagler. They will learn to meet some of the challenges of our time – ecology, conservation, sociability, and academics.

The outdoor school will be paced to the communal needs and desires of the children. It will be a practice in democratic living and will include elements of adventure essential to a child’s growth and development.

The outdoor school will provide a total living experience for the children and adults, and give them occasion to come to grips with their immediate human and natural environment through direct learning experiences.

The outdoor school provides a number of specific learning objectives and opportunities:

1. 24 hour-a-day social living experience that implements the democratic process of  working together.
2. Opportunity for teachers to observe student interaction and natural learning situations. Children can experience opportunities for the development of desirable personality traits of self-initiation, self-reliance, creativity, and thoughtfulness of others.
3. Instructional curriculum based on the ecological study of the natural environment and  interrelationships of natural resources.
4. Enrichment of the existing curriculum with relevant and significant learning experiences.
5. Opportunity for students to develop “discovery skills” using all senses.
6. Group work experiences that develop student responsibilities through the interaction of  the democratic process.
7. Participation in single interest recreational skill activities that enhances the use of a  person’s leisure time.
8. An opportunity to begin development of the proper attitudes and behavior about  conservation of our natural resources.