Shopping CartTeacher Testimonials
Rich Guenther – Monarch Grove School
There is nothing better to build a love for learning, curiosity and an appreciation of our planet than four days at the Outdoor School. The staff here exudes enthusiasm and energy to bring learning alive. We, at Monarch Grove, will continue to engage our students in this fantastic outdoor education program.
Anne Harris – Miller School
My students are mostly apartment-dwelling latchkey kids who rarely, if ever, leave Santa Maria. This is such an enriching experience for them. It is often the first time our kids have interacted with other schools/socio-economic groups and they come away with not only new friends, but the desire to expand their horizons.
My students gain a clearer understanding of the concept that everything in life is connected and all in a delicate balance. I can talk to (or at) them for hours about all of these concepts, but classroom learning is not really the same as this. At the Outdoor School, the students receive contextualized instruction of the concepts and we all know the value of this is far, far greater.
Karen Nale – Poinsettia School
The lessons learned at Outdoor School last a lifetime. Besides all the scientific knowledge, they gain an authentic view of just how strong and able they are inside. All this knowledge and self-perception percolates around in their heads and it comes out little by little as they grow and mature. I love talking to my past students because they always talk about some adventure at camp and their faces just glow. A classroom just can’t compare.
Jean Stiles – Poinsettia School
It is difficult to put into words what this program has done for our special needs students. It stretches them way beyond what they thought they could ever accomplish. They emerge with an inner strength they’ve never had and it stays with them forever. Even as adults they continue to look back on this experience as the greatest thing that ever happened to them.
Brian Willis – Junipero Serra School
This page does not provide enough space to explain what our students gain at Outdoor School. The curriculum hikes provide what a textbook could never provide. They gain independence, responsibility and teamwork skills that will only grow when they enter middle school and beyond!
Brian McCarthy – Cleveland School
I honestly think they gain a greater understanding of how they fit into the bigger picture. They truly get to see nature in a new way; not from a book or a lecture, but by being immersed in it.