During the summer, the teacher leadership team of Village School had the opportunity to visit the Ecology School and River Bend Farm in Saco for their Annual Leadership Retreat. The team had the chance to participate in the “Ecological ABC’s of Leadership” and engage in place-based learning activities. The team was so enthusiastic about what was learned that they couldn’t wait to share it with the rest of the staff. This training inspired them to embrace creativity and take the teaching outside of the classroom.
When the Village School community began to deal with the tragedy in Lewiston, it was heartwarming to see how the partnership with The Ecology School and Meg Rogers, the Relationships Manager at the school, became a source of support. Meg generously offered to bring her team of twenty educators to Village School for a whole week to present their amazing schoolyard ecology program. The response from the administration, dedicated classroom teachers, and staff members was truly inspiring. Within just 48 hours, the teaching staff came together, got creative, and rearranged schedules to ensure that each and every classroom could participate in these valuable lessons.
When talking about the weeklong program, Rogers shared “I often say programs like The Ecology School are like the grandparents of education – we come in, present a different experience for kids to be learners, maybe rile them up in the best ways possible, and then we say goodbye. We provide an opportunity for teachers to see their kiddos in a different light, and maybe give them a chance to breathe. But those experiences stick with kids, and this week we hope that the joy of being outside and learning with their peers was joy they can hold on to.”
Witnessing these wonderful educators enter classrooms, one could sense the amount of passion these teachers had for their program. Village students were engaged, they were outside breathing in the fresh air and learning about their ever-changing environment. I watched as teachers sat beside their students. As they collected leaves to determine the level of decay or pretended to be chipmunks using all 5 senses for survival.
The experience of learning in a new way, outside, alongside their peers is truly something that students and staff members will always cherish. The staff and students of Village School are incredibly grateful to Meg Rogers and the amazing team of educators at the Ecology School for providing the school with this inspiring place-based learning experience.