What do outdoor classrooms, live animals, project-based learning, agriculture and experiential education all have in common? They are all a part of the Koshkonong Trails charter school in Cambridge.
Laura Emrick, lead teacher at Koshkonong Trails, shares more about what the school and education looks like and the type of agriculture based learning they provide.
Koshkonong Trails is a project based learning public charter school for seventh through twelfth grade. It is located on an eighty acre farm that was donated by Oscar Severson in 1989 to the Cambridge school district. Severson, who lived at the farm with his wife, Mabel, designated in his will that it be used for agricultural education.
“Koshkonong Trails differs from other schools in that our curriculum is project based, and it’s really student driven,” says Emrick. “We allow for a lot of student voice and choice in their learning. We have personalized pathways and our students, by the time they are juniors and seniors in high school, are really planning almost all of their projects independently.”
While the school may differ from other public school classroom settings, students still meet all of the state standards and graduation requirements. The education extends onto the eighty acre property, out into the community of Cambridge, and as far and wide as the students’ projects take them.
“Students practice on a local to global scale within their projects. So they dig deep into a concept, but then try to also find more information on how that impacts other communities, our state, our country, and then worldwide,” adds Emrick.
Koshkonong Trails has only three teachers for the entire seventh through twelfth grade. They rely on mentors that are professionals from the community that can share and provide learning opportunities for students in different areas. They have had artists teach lessons, FFA alumni and local farmers help to maintain the property and educate students on how to grow their food, and are always open to creating new mentor relationships.
Also on the property is the Severson Learning Center. The center contains farmland, forest, wood plots and ponds with trail systems throughout. Students work alongside center director Adam Gould to plant native prairies.
“We also have chickens, guineafowl, llamas, and goats that our students learn from when they’re here. They also, at times, develop their own projects and can house animals in the barn to raise,” adds Emrick.
In the past Koshkonong Trails has had students that were really interested in learning and raising pigs and also learning about the farrowing process. They had piglets born on site as a part of student projects and have a strong farm to school connection.
Students grow raspberries, have an orchard, potato boxes, tend gardens, do soil testing, evaluate ecosystems, and donate produce to the local food pantry. They take field trips to farms, visit with experts, or attend events in the area to explore new technologies. This knowledge is then put to the test as they host a farm day for kindergarten through fifth grade students to highlight their projects and educate the younger students about agriculture.
“We understand the direction our students are hoping to go after high school. We explore all post secondary opportunities for them and then we help identify their passions and let that drive their projects throughout high school,” says Emrick.
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