Al Kennedy Alternative High School
Kennedy school of Sustainability | |
---|---|
Address | |
1310 S 8th Street Cottage Grove, Oregon, Lane County 97424 United States | |
Coordinates | 43°47′10″N 123°03′34″W / 43.786244°N 123.059503°WCoordinates: 43°47′10″N 123°03′34″W / 43.786244°N 123.059503°W |
Information | |
Type | Public |
Motto | School of Sustainability[1] |
School district | South Lane School District |
Principal | Tom Horn[2] |
Grades | 9-12[2] |
Number of students | 78[3] |
Mascot | Bear |
Website | blogs.slane.k12.or.us/kennedy/ |
Al Kennedy Alternative High School is a public alternative high school in Cottage Grove, Oregon, United States. The curriculum is organized around the core theme of sustainability and stewardship.[1]
Student learning
Kennedy organizes its learning around aspiration; engagement; and experiential learning:[4]
- Students cultivate their personal identity as a “global citizen” who is contributing to a sustainable future.[5]
- There is an emphasis on solutions to challenges of sustainability.[6] Sustainability themes are integrated in each core curriculum area.[1]
- Students are connected with adult practice communities that are engaged in sustainable development activities.[7]
- Large amounts of curriculum are organized around experiential and service learning. Activities like conservation management; organic farming and forestry; environmental monitoring and mapping support key curriculum elements.[1]
Kennedy focus: five educational domains
The school is "dedicated to creating future leaders in the area of sustainability as well as well-rounded academics.".[8]
Sustainable agriculture
Kennedy High School incorporates organic farming practices into a curriculum designed to involve students in the organic farming/agricultural process; from testing soil samples, planting and growing crops, measuring outcomes, and finally marketing.
In 2008 Kennedy partnered with Healing Harvest,[9] a nonprofit organization based in Cottage Grove, to design and build organic gardens at elementary schools across South Lane District, including a master garden on campus.[10]
Sustainable architecture
The school engages in sustainable architecture activities, which teach students the historical aspects of alternative building practice, while participating in local building projects such as a sustainable housing prototype for low-income communities.[11]
Sustainable forestry
The school is working with local landowners to manage their forested and open lands for future generations. Students immerse themselves in all aspects of land stewardship: from walking the land with owners to figuring the trigonometry of easement boundaries; rebuilding animal habitat for local fauna while inventorying forest species; working with local conservation agencies to draft management plans and helping land owners to implement them.[12]
Sustainable energy
Kennedy High School partners closely with Lane Community College’s Energy Management Program. Beginning winter trimester 2009, Kennedy offered a College Now course “Sustainability 101″, which offers Kennedy students an opportunity to work with college and high school instructors in studying conservation and energy systems.[13]
Sustainable community
Kennedy High School's community-based projects help people, students, and community members gain the skills and resources they need to find solutions to sustainability.[14]
Kennedy Conservation Crew
The Kennedy Conservation Corps engages students in the workings of regional and national conservation organizations. Kennedy has engaged in a number of fee-for-service projects with the U.S. Forest Service, Coast Fork Willamette Watershed Council,[15] and private landowners.[16]
The Kennedy Apiary
The school has installed three beehives on campus in March 2010 to start a beekeeping program. The Kennedy Apiary promotes vegetable growth in the neighboring community garden, and the beehives allow students to get a hands-on experience to study the ecology of the honeybee.[17]
Academics
In 2008, 44% of the school's seniors received their high school diploma. Of 48 students, 21 graduated, 21 dropped out, and 6 are still in high school.[18][19]
References
- 1 2 3 4 http://blogs.slane.k12.or.us/kennedy/
- 1 2 "Oregon School Directory 2009-2010" (PDF). Oregon Department of Education. p. 117. Archived (PDF) from the original on 7 October 2009. Retrieved 2009-09-04.
- ↑ "Oregon School Directory 2008-09" (PDF). Oregon Department of Education. p. 139. Retrieved 2009-05-28.
- ↑ http://www.placebasededucation.org/home/index.php
- ↑ Haas, T., & Nachtigal, P. (1998). "Place value: An educator's guide to good literature on rural lifeways, environments, and purposes of education." Charleston, WV: ERIC Clearinghouse on Rural Education and Small Schools.
- ↑ Orr, D. W. (1994). Earth in mind: On education, environment, and the human prospect. Washington, DC: Island Press.
- ↑ Smith, G. A., & Williams, D. R. (Eds.) (1999). Ecological education in action: On weaving education, culture, and the environment. Albany, NY: State University of New York Press.
- ↑ http://blogs.slane.k12.or.us/kennedy/about/
- ↑ http://www.healingharvest.org/
- ↑ http://blogs.slane.k12.or.us/kennedy/community/garden-projects/
- ↑ http://blogs.slane.k12.or.us/kennedy/sustainability/architecture/
- ↑ http://blogs.slane.k12.or.us/kennedy/sustainability/forestry/
- ↑ http://blogs.slane.k12.or.us/kennedy/sustainability/energy/
- ↑ Dewey, J. (1915). The school and society (Rev. ed.). Chicago, IL: The University of Chicago Press
- ↑ http://coastfork.org/
- ↑ http://blogs.slane.k12.or.us/kennedy/programs/kennedy-conservation-corps/
- ↑ http://www.slane.k12.or.us/communications/whats-right-south-lane-school-district-apr-23-2010
- ↑ "State releases high school graduation rates". The Oregonian. 2009-06-30. Retrieved 2009-07-01.
- ↑ "Oregon dropout rates for 2008". The Oregonian. 2009-06-30. Retrieved 2009-07-01.