Homebased in the Santa Cruz Mountains at Little Basin Cabins and Campgrounds, part of Big Basin Redwoods State Park, WOLF School operates at multiple professionally-managed camps throughout California, including Camp Tuolumne Trails. Driven by their mission of “building respect, appreciation, and stewardship within the web of life,” WOLF School believes in the transformative power of the outdoors for all students when given the opportunity to make connections to their environment, themselves, and their communities. Since 1989, WOLF School has excelled at providing residential, outdoor education programs for California’s K-12th grade students, and the organization is known for their ability to interweave state standard’s based science curriculum with customized lessons that support both teachers’ classroom instruction and individual student groups. As it turns out, they were the missing puzzle piece. That is why we wanted to find a way to continue offering this to our students for many years to come.”Īt the urging of Camp Tuolumne Trails’ facility director, Rocketship reached out to an outdoor school also operating at the camp: WOLF School. Camp inspires positive risk-taking, and there is a new level of trust and maturity seen in students after a week of outdoor science school. Not only that, students gain immense social skills when they go off together and see each other in a new setting. Warren continues, “While we teach science in our schools, it is the hands-on learning that makes science come alive. Each year the experience had a profoundly positive impact on their students so much so, that ahead of the 2016-17 schoolyear, Rocketship began searching for a sustainable solution to make sure that future students could continue to benefit from science camp. Located just outside of Yosemite National Park, the camp provides students the chance to connect to California’s public lands and a stunning natural landscape where they can learn hands-on outdoor education. It is one piece of a big puzzle, but it is definitely an important piece.”įrom 2010-2016, Rocketship Bay Area succeeded in running their own, teacher-led science camp program for 5th grade students at a camp and conference center available for rent called Camp Tuolumne Trails. Our obligation is to expand student’s horizons beyond their hometown, and an incredible way to do that is through the life-changing outdoor experiences gained at science camp-a rite of passage for many of California’s students. “We have vast natural resources in California, yet many of our students have never even left San Jose. “An integral component in our achieving Rocketship’s mission of closing the achievement gap is getting kids in low-income communities as prepared for the world as their counterparts in any other school district,” says Alyssa Warren, Schools Team Senior Associate for Rocketship Education. This support network aims at developing the whole child, giving students every opportunity to become well-rounded individuals and successful adults. More than just running high-quality schools, Rocketship addresses the underlying factors that help to eliminate the achievement gap for students: quality teachers, dedicated leaders, engaged parents, and active communities. This network of schools, referred to as Rocketship Bay Area, together serve over 6,000 TK-5th grade students, 84% of which qualify for free and reduced price meals. While Rocketship has grown to encompass schools around the country, their birthplace remains their largest sector, comprised of ten schools in San Jose, one school in Redwood City, and one school in Concord. Already this partnership has brought 101 students and 20 teachers to camp, with 213 more students and another 20 teachers from Rocketship slated to attend WOLF School through March 2017.įounded in 2007 in the heart of Silicon Valley, Rocketship Education is a non-profit network of public elementary charter schools serving primarily low-income students in neighborhoods where access to excellent schools is limited. Bay Area-based non-profits Web of Life Field (WOLF) School and Rocketship Education have partnered for the 2016-17 schoolyear to bring 5th grade students from ten Rocketship Bay Area elementary charter schools to WOLF School’s Yosemite-area campus, Camp Tuolumne Trails, for customized residential outdoor science school trips tailored to Rocketship’s economic and curricular needs.
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