Summer programs offer high school students an opportunity for credit recovery, both inside and outside the classroom.
This summer, CPSF supported a two-week field ecology course led by science educator Eva Riedlecker-Wolfe. Through this summer program, credit-deficient CVHS, CHS, and College Hill students earned 0.5 science credits by engaging in real-world learning experiences and field trips focused on biodiversity and local ecosystems in rivers, wetlands, tide pools, and more.
Students had the opportunity to explore local ecosystems in collaboration with local agencies such as the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife, Hatfield Marine Science Center, the Oregon Coast Aquarium, and Finley Wildlife Refuge. Additionally, the students dove into topics such as natural resource management and biodiversity, while gaining valuable experience in the scientific process — from formulating thoughtful questions to collecting and analyzing data — and ultimately presenting their findings.
The Field Ecology course took place from June 20th to July 3rd, where students explored diverse locations including Mary’s Peak, Alsea River, Oak Creek, Oregon Coast Aquarium, Hatfield Marine Science Center, and Yaquina Head. This opportunity gave students a comprehensive and immersive learning experience that extends far beyond the traditional classroom setting.
“I was pretty nervous about getting this group of kids to present their research in front of the class after the first day when I did explained course expectations to them. Over half the class had their heads down on the tables and weren’t buying into the program. So I cut that part of class short and we just went outside and got into the creek. All of the sudden a student who refused to lift their head in class couldn’t stop handling the creatures we collected in the creek. Everyone was pretty engaged, either using D-nets to collect samples, identifying organisms or writing down the list we found in our notebooks. As soon as I saw that I was so relieved and thought to myself “OK, we got this; this is what this group of kids need.”
I really pushed this group to do more than just explore, which I’m super proud of. They were outside doing what ecologists do and they were able to pick one of our research studies to present to the class. It is amazing how much I watched these kids grow in just 10 days. Plus, they stuck with it for 10 days! Field work is hard and requires a lot of stamina and they did it! I wish I could say there wasn’t complaining but there was 🙂 However, they still did the tasks that were at hand and I think they learned a lot; way more than any classroom experience could ever teach them!”
Eva Riedlecker-Wolfe, Science teacher at Crescent Valley High School
Opportunities like these are made possible only through the incredible support of this community. CPSF thanks our generous supporters for making these enriching summer programs a reality!
