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I want my student to attend Outdoor School in Oregon!

Fantastic! We are so excited that you want your student to attend Outdoor School. Your first step would be to speak with your principal about Outdoor School. Be prepared to talk about why Outdoor School is important to you and how it will benefit students in your school or district. If your school or district attended Outdoor School in the past it is also important to understand the history of Outdoor School in your school or district and why students stopped attending or began attending for a shortened experience. These are the questions you will want to answer:

  • Does your district have schools with a history of Outdoor School attendance? What are the details of this history?

  • Why is your class, school, or district not attending Outdoor School or attending for a shortened Outdoor School experience?

  • Who decides if your class, school, or district attends Outdoor School or adds days to the experience? How does that person feel about Outdoor School?

  • Are there any barriers or objections to your district attending Outdoor School or attending Outdoor School for a longer time? What are the barriers? Who has objections and what are those objections?

  • Who in your class, school, or district supports Outdoor School? Who doesn’t? Why? Do parents in your district support sending students to Outdoor School?

With answers to these questions, Friends of Outdoor School can help you make a case for sending students in your district to Outdoor School or for extending your Outdoor School experience. Having a friendly administrator or board member to help you with this process is very helpful. It is also imperative that parents support the idea of Outdoor School. If parents do not, the district will have little interest in pursuing Outdoor School for students. We will work with you personally to prepare you to make a request to the decision-makers in your district. We look forward to helping!

What is Outdoor School?

At Outdoor School, 5th or 6th-grade students leave their school classrooms moving into the outdoors to learn, immersed in nature. Outdoor School is typically housed in residential camps, oftentimes mentored by skilled high school volunteers. Most students stay onsite for up to five nights. While there, students learn about the natural sciences exploring soil, water, plants, and animals specific to the local landscape. 

While Outdoor School is education, it is also fun! Students learn about community-building, develop leadership skills, and create new friendships. Outdoor School is often considered a life-changing experience for students. 

Research shows that Outdoor School improves school attendance, increases science and math scores, introduces systems thinking, and motivates students to learn. It is a smart, time-tested, hands-on week of solid, effective science education in the real world at a critical time in young people’s lives. For more information about the benefits of Outdoor School, visit our website.

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Who pays for Outdoor School?

In 2016, Oregon voters overwhelmingly passed Ballot Measure 99: Outdoor School for All, setting aside State lottery dollars so that ALL Oregon 5th or 6th-grade students may attend up to a week of Outdoor School. State dollars may be used for any expense directly related to Outdoor School including:

  • Program fees

  • Site fees

  • Transportation

  • Teacher stipends

  • Substitute teachers

  • Materials

  • Gear for students to use

  • Special supports for students who may need them

Oregon’s public school districts, and education service districts may apply for this funding. Charter schools and home school students are encouraged to coordinate with their local districts to access the program. To secure funding, your district or education service district may apply directly to Oregon State University Extension Service Outdoor School Program: https://outdoorschool.oregonstate.edu/

Who do I contact?

For information about state Outdoor School funding and programming in your region, contact:


Oregon State University Extension Service Outdoor School Program
Email 
(541) 737-4391

For help with making the case for Outdoor School in your district, contact:

Kim Silva
Friends of Outdoor School
Email Kim
(971) 303-8914   

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