Learning can be an adventure
The rural North Montgomery Community School Corporation in Crawfordsville, Ind., launched an education program last spring along with local businesses to inspire students through creative adventures throughout the community.
Known as the Bratton Board Adventures, the program honors the adventurous spirit of Private William E. Bratton, a member of the legendary Lewis and Clark expedition, which paved the way for the westward expansion of the United States. Bratton later became the first school superintendent in Montgomery County and is buried in the district.
Superintendent Robert Brower described the program, which won a 2007 Magna Award, at a National Affiliate roundtable session Sunday morning, along with board President Richard VanArsdel and board members Karin Odle and Gerald Hole.
Each of the district’s seven board members sponsored an adventure for two grade levels. Board members solicited local patrons and business leaders to help with plan and participate in their adventure.
Students in kindergarten and preK participated in a circus adventure. The children, along with 25 chaperones visited behind the scenes of a touring circus and got to participate in various circus activities and enjoyed a circus lunch provided by the school district.
First- and second-graders enjoyed a farm adventure. Thanks to local farm businesses, they spent a half day on a farm where they rode on combines and learned how to take care of animals, run a farm, and how products go from farm to market.
For third- and fourth graders, the adventure was all about fishing. An outdoor writer for the local newspaper, along with local fishing experts and business representatives, taught students all about fishing at a local farm pond and enjoyed lunch and a ride on farm wagon. Each child caught a fish.
Fifth- and sixth-graders will visit a local museum and tour noteworthy historical sites in the area with discussions at each stop led by a local historical expert.
Seventh and eighth-graders are taking part in a year-long project on being smart with money, with input from local banks and investment experts. The project includes a trip to Chicago’s Board of Trade.
For ninth- and tenth-graders, the focus is on the arts. Local musicians and artists—professionals and hobbyists—gathered in the district’s field house to demonstrate their work, while students walked around exploring the displays and talked to the artists. Some students created their own artworks or recorded their own music on CDs.
Eleventh- and 12th graders spend a morning visiting a military museum that had recently relocated to the area, with military machinery and artifacts from World Wars I and II and the Korean, Vietnam, and Persian Gulf wars. Local active and retired military officers and personnel spoke to the students about their wartime experiences, and the lunch for students featured military rations.
According to Brower, the seven projects that make up the Bratton Board Adventures helped “reframe how school boards and businesses can get intricately involved with the students in their districts.”
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