Teacher & Principal Quotes

Kristie Elliott, teacher —  After working with Out Teach, I saw how easily different lessons could be combined.  It was easy to include science into my writing and math lessons.  Linking subjects together created this continual learning experience, where we would just keep expanding into new standards, not stopping one thing and then starting up another. The Outdoor Learning Lab was a natural place to extend learning, and it was easier than I expected to have subjects taught partially indoors and partially outdoors for labs and experiential learning.

Gaby Lopez, teacher  — At first, I was hesitant about joining the Out Teach program. I have never been a “Science” person, or an “outdoorsy” person, but I wanted to challenge myself to try something new. I’m so grateful I got the opportunity to Out Teach. With all this new knowledge, I’m never looking back.  Now when I plan lessons, I will allow students to explore for themselves and develop their own conclusions, all while I serve as a support. A new journey awaits, and I cannot be more eager to begin! Thank you Out Teach for guiding me through this process.

Maisha Riddlesprigger, principal– By providing students with alternatives to “Sit & Get” in the classroom, we’ve increased student satisfaction, made students feel more connected to the school, and made learning fun.  Now, our kids want to come to school and learn, even if their parents are discouraging them.  And when students are able to apply what they’re learning in a real-world environment like the Outdoor Learning Lab, the content sticks, they understand it more deeply, retain the information longer, and are able to apply it to different situations.  That shows up on their evaluations.

Lisa Lovato, principal — Experiential learning outdoors completely transformed our performance. Having and using the Outdoor Learning Lab changed the way children approach science.  The kids love being outside and learning while working on projects outdoors.   About 50% of our kids live in apartments and have no outdoor space of their own to really dig in and explore.  Now they can really explore and understand the real world in a whole new way.

Lila J. Walker, principal — With any class, the children are so much more engaged when they’re not just sitting in their classrooms.  With experiential learning, they get to see and touch, they get to move around, and there’s something different to discover every day.  And that kind of full engagement really pays off.  I had one teacher tell me “I get better answers and better thinking when the children are in the Out Teach Learning Lab.” That’s because experiential lessons outdoors make everything more real, relevant, and relatable.

Mr. Gibbons, teacher —  I learned how to use the outdoor learning lab, and took the class outside for a “forms of energy” lesson. At first, this one student, who was always a handful, said ‘Ugh! I don’t like going outside.’ But then I asked her to find an example of sound energy in the outdoor classroom, and she was immediately engaged and interested. It was like she had flipped a switch! Outdoor lessons finally unlocked what had been there the whole time — intelligence, curiosity, and wonder. The outdoor lab gave  her the chance to be herself because there was always something new to do and investigate outside.

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