Expanded Learning Programs Provide Opportunities for Outdoor Learning 

The final school bell doesn’t mean the learning stops. Expanded learning programs—whether after school or during the summer—provide students with fun and exciting ways to supplement what they have been learning in the classroom. 

One of the best parts about expanded learning programs is that they don’t have to be in the classroom at all. Their outdoor offerings often include playground time, sports, exploring, and physical education. But they don’t have to be limited by what is traditionally offered. They can go beyond and increase the chances for a wide range of outdoor learning opportunities for students. 

I’ve had the pleasure of visiting expanded learning programs provided by districts in San Joaquin County throughout the school year. I’ve been excited to see these programs making good use of San Joaquin County Office of Education (SJCOE) outdoor education centers over the summer and helping students have fun while enjoying memorable learning experiences during the long break. 

Located in the High Sierra, our Sky Mountain Outdoor Education Center is outside our Central Valley county. During the school year, students from our school districts make the trip into the mountains for Science Camp. And in the summer months, we offer students a variety of overnight camps. 

One of my favorites is the Color the Summer Art Camp. At this sleepaway camp, students in grades 6–8 explore their creativity by an alpine lake surrounded by trees and trails. When I visited the camp last summer, I saw students painting, making jewelry, and more. They crouched down to see what crawled on the ground, looked for wildlife in the forest, and incorporated it all into their artistic experience. In one session I visited, students had the choice of where they would sit to make a drawing. Some found their spots outside, while others used the table and chairs inside a cabin. I spoke with one young man who had a beautiful view of redwoods and the lake through the window of the cabin. He drew as we spoke while he re-created and interpreted what he saw into an amazing piece of art. This year we added performing arts, so students practiced music and created skits they performed for the whole camp, too. The leaders for all campers throughout the camp were high schoolers. 

Many of the campers came as part of their home districts’ expanded learning programs. That removes the affordability barrier, allowing any student to have a summer camp  experience in a world that’s far away from their hometown. These students didn’t just learn, create, and make new friends. They now have an understanding of the feeling of serenity and wonder that comes from an extended trip into the outdoors. 

At the SJCOE, we work closely with our districts and charter schools to help them add outdoor learning experiences for students in after-school and summer programs. Last summer you could find students in expanded learning programs in our day camps, too. In these camps, students came to our Durham Ferry Outdoor Education Center on the San Joaquin River to fish and try their hands at archery. Our team also brought students to other experiences in our county, including kayaking local waterways and eating fruit right off the trees in a community garden. 

Our STEM department even went out to schools to show students in summer programs what can be learned from ecosystems present on an urban campus. On these trips, which are also offered throughout the school year, students use binoculars to scan the trees around their playground for birds. They stop and listen to birdsong, they peer in the branches of decorative landscaping, and they sketch and write down everything in nature journals. These students will never look at their campus the same way again. 

Of course, expanded learning is much more than summer programs. They are vehicles to enhance student learning year-round. Recently a group of educators from across California came to Durham Ferry Outdoor Education Center to meet with each other and Ten Strands to discuss ways to provide more outdoor learning opportunities for students in expanded learning programs. These opportunities don’t just enhance academic learning and connect them to nature. Being outdoors offers so many benefits, including improvements to physical and mental health. 

Because it can be harder to find time during regular school hours, after-school and other expanded learning programs are prime places to bridge the gap and bring more outdoor learning experiences to students across the state. And since there has been a surge in recognition of the value of expanded learning—not just to benefit students but to help working parents who need to know there is someplace safe for their children to go after school—funding is available to help remove barriers. 

In California, there is Expanded Learning Opportunities Program (ELOP) funding. San Joaquin County receives approximately $128 million in ELOP funds. Many of the districts and charter schools in our county come together in an expanded learning consortium that is organized through the SJCOE. One of the services our ELOP coordinator provides districts is advice on how the funding can be best used to provide for students and meet the goals of the program. Many of the “12 Quality Standards” found in ELOP align perfectly with outdoor learning experiences: active engagement, skill building, youth voice and leadership, and more. 

Local schools and districts find options for students through SJCOE programs. But a county office of education isn’t the only source for expanded learning programs looking for opportunities. Our ELOP coordinator also looks out for community partners who can accommodate students. Community gardens are great places for field trips, but they can also help educators start a garden for students in their after-school programs, for example. 

Sargina Yonan is the ELOP director of Linden Unified School District in our county. Many of the students I met at Sky Mountain art camp were in Linden Unified’s program. She says that providing opportunities for summer camps doesn’t just remove barriers to accessing nature. Summer camp experiences create memories that last a lifetime—and ELOP-funded camps mean that more children can have those experiences when the cost barrier is removed. She added, “If I could get kids to camp every week of the summer, I would.” 

Sargina’s district has a robust expanded learning program year-round. On top of the classroom activities, the students also spend a lot of time outside. In addition to sports and play time, they also have structured nature walks throughout the year, where they have a chance to explore, be curious, and write down what they observe in a journal. It’s an excellent expanded learning program because it takes what resources are available to piece together amazing experiences for students, whether they take place inside or outside. 

When inspired educators looking to provide exciting learning opportunities for students have funding, there’s no telling what great things will happen. And when I think of great things for students, I think of the awe-inspiring moments that open up to them when they have opportunities for outdoor learning experiences.