Oregon State University
IN-24: Innovation A

Outdoor school is a transformative outdoor education experience for Oregon’s 5th and 6th graders in the world’s greatest classroom. Immersed in Oregon’s natural landscape, students learn about themselves, their peers, the environment and natural resources, and leave with skills to prepare them for their future. The OSU Statewide Extension Service, part of OSU's Land Grant designation, runs the OSU Extension Service Outdoor School program and houses its staff. Extension provides program administration, curriculum, assessment and other core functions. As Extension employees, outdoor school staff engage leaders, educators, and community members across the state. The Outdoor School team each year hosts workshops and presentations. They also partner with or participate in the Intertwine Group, Straub Environmental Education Center, Confederation of Oregon School Administrators, annual Educational Service District conference, Extension Service gatherings, and school district Meetings. In the program startup year, Outdoor School staff worked with the outdoor school advisory committee to craft mission, vision, and values statements, as well as a “Principles of Outdoor School” document that reflects the spirit of the state legislation (SB 439). Along with OSU Extension Service, a group of dedicated volunteers works diligently to provide resources to outdoor school providers, school districts, ESDs, and teachers to successfully implement outdoor school. The opportunity to provide every 5th or 6th grade student in the state of Oregon an outdoor school educational experience became a reality in July 2017 when the Oregon Legislature formally approved $24 million for the statewide Outdoor School program over the next two years. This followed Oregon voters’ approval of Ballot Measure 99 in November 2016, which designated funding and adoption of Senate Bill 439 codified into law as ORS327.390 by the 2015 Oregon Legislature. This law directed the OSU Extension Service to assist Education Service Districts (ESDs) and school districts to provide a statewide outdoor school program. Oregon is the only state that fully funds outdoor school for every 5th or 6th grader in the state, with impressive first year results: in the 2017-18 school year, Oregon’s 30,739 participating Outdoor School students spent a total of 115,131 days outside. That's three-quarters of Oregon’s eligible fifth- and sixth-grade students. According to the OSU Extension Outdoor School 2017-18 year in review: -Schools in all 36 Oregon counties participated -128 of the state’s 197 school districts received funding -Of the 385 funded schools, 82 were offering Outdoor School for the first time. More data and information are available in the full year in review document at https://oregonstate.app.box.com/s/c2k565f7uw2b2jzfkkqls6nmk6ttl7gj The principles of Oregon Outdoor School including the following: -PROGRAM BUILT ON HIGH-QUALITY CURRICULUM, that incorporates key characteristics and instructional strategies of environmental and science education, and is culturally relevant and takes into account multiple cultures and perspectives. Curriculum is based in ecological phenomena that supports the classroom experience. -EXPERIENCE HAS A PURPOSEFUL AND SEQUENTIAL FLOW -ENGAGING TEACHING METHODOLOGY USED THROUGHOUT -SOCIAL EMOTIONAL LEARNING EMBEDDED INTO ALL ACTIVITIES -SAFE AND INCLUSIVE ENVIRONMENT PROVIDED FOR ALL PARTICIPANTS, requiring that the place and space of the outdoor school demonstrates cultural responsiveness by design throughout all activities.

Special thanks to Kim Silva at Friends of Outdoor School and Kris Elliott from Oregon Outdoor School for their help with this credit.