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Eisele: Charter school takes kids into the outdoors

Tim Eisele
Special to the Capital Times  —  9/26/2007 8:49 am

How many children in elementary or secondary school really look forward to being in class?

The answers probably vary with students and teachers, but for students in River Crossing Environmental Charter School in Portage the answer appears to be all of them. One reason is that they spend a lot of their time outdoors involved with environmental projects.

Other reasons are that they have fun learning, they get a chance to get their hands dirty, and they know they have an opportunity to make a difference.

Harley Soerfass, 15, completed two years at the school and is now a freshman at Portage High School. She credits the school for skills she developed.

"I am more prepared for things that happen unexpectedly and am much better at public speaking," she said. "Before, I didn't know what a prairie or wetland was, but now I do. I wasn't very outdoorsy, but this totally got me outdoors including canoeing and duck hunting for the first time."

After her experience at the charter school, Soerfass entered a public speaking contest and took first place in regional competition.

Before she attended the school she had no idea who Aldo Leopold was.

"I was like a deer in headlights when I heard about him, but then we started reading "A Sand County Almanac" and I thought this guy was really cool. He was really good at writing," she said.

The engine behind the charter school, one of 188 charter schools in the state, is its founder and teacher Victoria Rydberg. She credits an environmental education program she attended for helping her to chart the course for the school.

In 2002, she attended the Leopold Education Project sponsored by Pheasants Forever, where she learned about the writings and philosophies of the late Aldo Leopold.

"That opened my eyes to what could be done, and make River Crossing what it is today," Rydberg said. "I didn't have a strong background in conservation before, but this focused us on habitat restoration. Today, it is a school where kids learn they can make a difference."

"They learn their strengths and weaknesses, and how to work together along with respect for each other and the environment," she said.

"I see huge leadership advances in the kids," Rydberg said. "When they go into high school they become leaders in their clubs, and in their classes. One student thought there should be an environmental club in her high school and she started it."

Rydberg adds that she also sees critical thinking and problem-solving skills emerge.

"They are much better at adapting to different situations and figuring out how to make something work. They also have more confidence in what they can do and where they fit into the world," she said.

This past June, the first students to attend 7th and 8th grade at the charter school graduated from high school. One graduate is now on an internship for environmental studies at Northland College.

Another of the graduates is attending UW-Platteville for environmental reclamation, and another attends UW-Baraboo and plans to go on to UW-Stevens Point to study natural resources.

Rydberg can confirm seeing some of the same things that author Richard Louv wrote about in his book "Last Child in the Woods: Saving Our Children from Nature-Deficit Disorder." Louv wrote about how children have a deprivation of experiences in nature.

"The message is that nature is in the past ... and the future is electronics," Louv says.

Rydberg said it was very apparent a few years ago that kids had grown up outdoors and camped and were not adverse to the outdoors, but now she sees a lot of youngsters whose interests are all about technology and video games.

Now that they know about the outdoors, the students enjoy going outside.

"My greatest satisfaction is that all kids can find their success here," she said. "That can be in different capacities, leadership, technology, working with others, identifying plants or whatever. They find success here and can carry that with them for future education."

Charter school students still have to meet state standards and national No Child Left Behind requirements.

Tim Eisele (teisele@chorus.net) is a full-time freelance outdoor writer and photographer.

Tim Eisele
Special to the Capital Times  —  9/26/2007 8:49 am