Nurturing Curious, Environmentally Conscious Learners
We’re very proud to offer environmental education in our curriculum — and that's not something every virtual school can say! We believe in the importance of students learning in the natural world. And we’ve developed a really special partnership with Heckrodt Wetland Reserve, a 91-acre urban wetland in Menasha, to make that happen.
Inspired Hands-On Learning
The staff naturalists at Heckrodt join our students and teachers for virtual sessions throughout the year. They also help create our science units and facilitate field trips.
Students especially enjoy speaking with naturalists, as well as getting the chance to do hands-on activities. During one year:
- 4th graders explored how flooding works, each working at home with a special supply kit to design and build potential bridges for a hypothetical flooded area.
- A class learned about growing seeds — by growing them!
- Students hunted for certain types of animal tracks they learned to identify.
Why Environmental Education?
Wisconsin is full of natural beauty. The team at Fox Valley Virtual School believes this is a powerful student learning opportunity, just waiting to happen.
Researchers at Stanford explored more than 100 studies about environmental education in grades K-12 over the last 20 years. These studies found that environmental education offers great benefits to school-age children. In addition to a greater appreciation of the natural world, environmental education can...
- Improve academic performance
- Enhance critical thinking skills
- Develop personal growth and life-building skills, such as leadership, confidence and autonomy
- Increase civic engagement and positive environmental behavior
Visit the North American Association for Environment Education to explore more research findings.
My daughter has been part of FVVS for the last few years. She enjoys the flexibility the school offers so she can plan her day/week as she needs.
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