Nature academy breaks educational mold

By Denis Cuff, CONTRA COSTA TIMES
Saturday, November 26, 2005

MARTINEZ - Haley Schooley took to high school in her freshman year like a fish out of water.

Students' emphasis on popularity turned her off, and the large classes of 30 of more left her feeling like the teachers were strangers.

"I couldn't stand it. I didn't fit in," Schooley said.

Two years later, the 17-year-old said she's eager to learn in an unusual new Martinez alternative high school that regularly uses the outdoors as a classroom.

The 20 students enrolled in the Environmental Studies Academy take math, science, English and other subjects in the classroom.

On other days, they work and study in the outdoors repairing environmental damage at creeks, streambeds and wildlife habitats. Some students also spend one day a week teaching youngsters at John Swett Elementary School about bugs, creeks and wildlife.

"We're double-learning here," Schooley said while planting yarrow and other native plants to stabilize a creek bed. "We learn math and science, but we also learn about the environment. I work harder than at regular school, but have more fun."

She said she plans to graduate next year with a new appreciation for learning and new feeling of connection to her classmates.

Now in its second full year, the academy has blossomed into a safety net for students burned out or turned off by traditional school, Martinez public school administrators say.

The academy has a waiting list of 10 students. Other districts have expressed interest in setting up similar schools.

Some academy students were so inspired by the school that they gave up a week of their summer vacation to attend a leadership conference on environmental education near Lake Tahoe.

"The academy is unique. It puts together at-risk kids in a very challenging environment," said Matt Smith, principal of the Briones independent studies program in the Martinez Unified School District.

He attributes the academy's fast start to its director and founder, Rona Zollinger, a teacher eager to help students and to apply theories she is researching for her doctoral degree at the California Institute of Integral Studies in San Francisco.

Zollinger saw the academy as a fertile ground to carry out transformative learning, which emphasizes critical thought, cooperation and participation as a path to education.

"Everything we do our students deeply reflect upon," Zollinger said. "In participatory education, everyone is learning and you're all equal in the experience."

Zollinger's students researched native plants to determine which were suitable to improve fish and animal habitat if planted on a creek bed to prevent erosion.

Then over six days, the students and teacher planted hundreds of the plants.

The teacher got as tired and dirty as the students as they toiled on undeveloped land in the Sky Ranch property south of Martinez.

Sky Ranch belongs to the Muir Heritage Land Trust, a conservation group that is one of the academy's partners and early backers.

The land trust has offered labor and advice, and helped snag grants to pay a portion of costs.

The trust also has supplied its property as a classroom.

Studying Alhambra creek and its watershed has given a focus to the academy and a place for students to connect to, Zollinger said.

Schooley said her work and research on the Sky Ranch has given her a new outlook about her community.

"I didn't like Martinez before. Now I see there are some very beautiful natural areas," she said.

"Twenty years from now, I can see coming back here to see the work we've done."

Contact Denis Cuff at 925-943-8267 or dcuff@cctimes.com .

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