Schaeffer Outdoor Learning Environments
Outdoor Classroom
In March 2020, a committee of volunteers was created to begin to examine the possibility of creating an area around Schaeffer Elementary that would provide students and teachers with the opportunity to take their learning outdoors. The committee consisted of teachers, administrators, members of the district's Plant Services team, parents, PTO officers, and members of the community. Through a series of work sessions over several years, this group developed a plan to transform the garden and pond courtyard into an Outdoor Classroom.
With a grant funded through the Manheim Township Education Foundation, an outdoor classroom was created to allow teachers to make the curriculum come alive with hands-on learning for the students in an outdoor setting. Science experiments and experiences that were previously simulated on a small scale in the classroom are now put into a real-world environment for all to engage in. The wheelchair accessible ramp and space around the tables provide equal access to a true outdoor classroom where all educational studies can flourish and be integrated with the curriculum.
Curriculum Connection
Schaeffer's Outdoor Classroom provides an outdoor living laboratory to be studied, developed, and enjoyed by the students and teachers. This environmental area allows teachers to capitalize on children's innate attraction to the natural world while providing unique opportunities to combine traditional subject areas with a meaningful experience. Engaging students in real-world scenarios with real-world problem solving will produce successful stewards of tomorrow's world.
As stated in the mission of the Manheim Township School District, we want to ensure that each student develops personal integrity and realizes his or her own genius within environments that nurture and challenge for success. The Schaeffer Outdoor Classroom promotes an innovative learning environment that becomes an educational model for transcending traditional limitations, nurtures the student's passion for learning, and focuses on environmental stewardship in our society.
Over the years, the Schaeffer garden and pond has been transformed into a meaningful outdoor classroom space as a result of the personal dedication of the building principal, Mrs. Edwards, alongside the team of committee members, the District, as well as the Schaeffer teachers, students, and parents.