School of Environmental Studies, Minnesota

Last updated
School of Environmental Studies
SES Arms.jpg
Address
School of Environmental Studies, Minnesota
12155 Johnny Cake Ridge Rd.

Apple Valley
,
Minnesota 55124

United States
Information
Type Public
MottoA community of leaders learning to enhance the relationship between humans and their environment.
Established1996
School district Independent School District 196
PrincipalLauren Trainer
Staff19.66 (FTE) [1]
Number of students359 (2018–19) [1]
Student to teacher ratio18.26 [1]
MascotDolphin
ColorsGreen and Blue   
Website ses.district196.org

The School of Environmental Studies is an optional two-year high school in Apple Valley, Minnesota, United States. Also known as the "Zoo School" because of its active partnership with the Minnesota Zoo and its 10-acre (48,000 m2) site on zoo property, the school embraces project-based learning with an environmental theme. [2]

Contents

Eco-history

The School of Environmental Studies opened during 1996 in the Twin Cities suburb of Apple Valley as a public, 400-student, 11th and 12th grade "high school of choice". Students from Independent School District 196's high schools, Eastview High School, Apple Valley High School, Rosemount High School and Eagan High School, can all elect to attend SES. In addition, under Minnesota's open-enrollment option students from the greater Minneapolis-St. Paul area are able to fill available slots on a year-by-year basis. [3]

The school is the product of a collaboration between the state (Minnesota Zoo), the community (City of Apple Valley) and a public school district (ISD 196). Originally named the "Zoo Environmental Learning Center (ZELC)" the design and implementation reflects the work of a diverse group of educators. Teachers, administrators, environmental educators, architects and researchers all contributed to the initial discussions and final design of the school.

Since it is located on the grounds of the Minnesota Zoo, a number of students work with zookeepers and scientific staff in studying animal behavior, keeping animals active and challenged, and promoting public transit to the zoo. Other partners who work actively with students to bring real-world experiences to the academic content include the Minnesota DNR, Dakota County GIS and Parks departments, the City of Eagan Parks department, and the City of Apple Valley.

The school's two-year program culminates with a series of senior capstone activities. As a rite of passage this program requires the students to initiate sustainable service experiences, proclaim their evolving environmental ethic, and present an environment issue of choice at a forum attended by the general public, family, and significant individuals in the student's life. Another innovation championed by this program includes their annual "adventure learning activity "Eco-Challenge" conducted at nearby Lebanon Hills Regional Park located in Dakota County, Minnesota. It was conceived by earth science teacher Steve Meyer as the focus of his University of Wisconsin–Stevens Point Master's Thesis on team-based mentoring .

Design

the SES building SES Pano.jpg
the SES building

The School of Environmental Studies was designed in a manner very different from most schools. The committee charged with planning SES conducted almost two years of research before commissioning an architect. What emerged was a clear vision of the kinds of learning experiences they hoped to provide: interdisciplinary, project-based, and real-world.

Architect Bruce Jilk was commissioned to design the school and given strict budgetary parameters: the per-pupil costs to build and operate the school could not exceed those of other high schools in the district. The result: a 68,000 square foot (6,300 m²) building, completed for $5,420,000, or $80 per square foot ($860/m²).

The central building block of Jilk's design is the student workstation (desk with bulletin board and storage area). This feature simultaneously meets two objectives: that students take on the role of workers (the workstation resembles an office cubicle) and that the learning environment promote a sense of identity (students can decorate workstations to reflect personal tastes).

Individual workstations are clustered in groups of 10, forming a "pod." Ten pods form a "house." The term "house" refers not only to the grouping of 100 students with three teachers but also to their common workspace: a large, flexible-use room (nearly half of one floor) with tables and partitions that can be arranged to accommodate small or large group work.

Architecturally, the "heart" of SES is a forum spanning two floors at the center of the building. Each of the school's four houses faces it and/or the adjacent library. Another example of flexible-use space, the forum serves as cafeteria, display center, gathering place, and auditorium, depending on how tables, chairs, and partitions are configured.

Much of the building's architecture is transparent and serves as a teaching tool. As an example, the exposed ductwork and air distribution systems allows students to construct a better understanding of issues of indoor air quality. Seniors examine the building's airflow during their investigations related to environmental health.

Due to the school's offering of career courses, the building also features a room that caters to animal education, and a room that contains a professional recording studio.

Classes

The school is unique from other high schools in the district in that it offers a different range of classes. The core classes of English, social studies/Human Geography, and environmental science offered at SES are wrapped together in an interdisciplinary learning block of 180 minutes called house. During the balance of the day the school offers elective classes such as art, chemistry, physics, and mentorship. SES offers math classes from Algebra II to Advanced Placement Calculus. SES also has a language program, currently teaching Spanish. SES has a rotating block schedule in that there are two schedules that alternate day to day: Sky and Earth days. This allows students to take four electives, and also experience a class schedule closer to that of most colleges. Career Courses, such as Animal Care and Music Production, are also offered at school. These are a step above elective classes, and are designed for upperclassmen who are searching for a career to look into. [4]

House

House is a daily three-hour-long class where students learn about real topics relating to the environment. For the seniors, it is grounded in literature and composition, human geography, and environmental science, and for juniors, the topics of focus are in Literature and Writing, World History and Biology. There are two senior houses, Green and Gold, and two junior houses, Blue and Rose. Each house hosts independent events such as pot lucks, which create great community building times. These houses contain ten pods that are sectioned off by short walls, and a group area in the center of the pods, called a centrum. These pods consist of around ten students who each have their own desk. Advanced Placement classes are offered in conjunction with many house classes. These optional classes dive more deeply into many of the subjects merely introduced to students not opting for AP coursework .

Field studies

At the end of each trimester the school offers an opportunity for students to participate in field studies. [5] Field studies provide students with the ability to transfer classroom learning into the field. Field studies are student-funded, teacher-led activities lasting between 6 and 12 days in locations around the world. Some studies, such as the Winter Expedition, The American Outback, and the Spring BWCAW, focus on personal growth and wilderness settings. Others examine environments in distant parts of the world such as Alaska, Iceland, Glacier National Park, Scotland, Costa Rica, Belize, France, Spain, Southern California and others. Another type partners with Wilderness Inquiry to provide a more blended experience: New Zealand, Australia, South Africa.

Senior Projects

Near the end of each student's tenure at SES, seniors design a project that combines an aspect of the environment that they are passionate about with the community. Examples of senior projects in the past are a Peace Pole planted in the SES garden adorned with writing from languages spoken by citizens of countries SES students have visited. Another example is the wind turbine on SES property that gauges electricity levels and environmental factors.

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School</span> Specialized high school in New York City

Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School of Music & Art and Performing Arts, often referred to simply as LaGuardia, is a public high school specializing in teaching visual arts and performing arts, located near Lincoln Center in the Lincoln Square neighborhood of the Upper West Side in Manhattan, New York City. Located at 100 Amsterdam Avenue between West 64th and 65th Streets, the school is operated by the New York City Department of Education, and resulted from the merger of the High School of Music & Art and the School of Performing Arts. The school has a dual mission of arts and academics, preparing students for a career in the arts or conservatory study as well as a pursuit of higher education.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Abbotsleigh</span> School in Australia

Abbotsleigh is an independent Anglican early learning, primary and secondary day and boarding school for girls, located in Wahroonga, on the Upper North Shore of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.

The Perpich Center for Arts Education is an agency of the state of Minnesota that seeks to advance K-12 education throughout the state by teaching in and through the arts. A 33-acre (130,000 m2) campus in Golden Valley houses the center's three main components: the outreach and professional development group, Perpich Arts High School and the Perpich Arts Library. Perpich serves as a resource for arts education, students, teachers, artists and arts and youth organizations in Minnesota.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Caringbah High School</span> School in Australia

Caringbah High School is a government-funded co-educational academically selective secondary day school, located in Caringbah, in the Sutherland Shire of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. The school was opened in 1960 as a co-educational high school and was nominated to become selective in 1989, over the neighbouring Port Hacking High. As of 2021 approximately 907 students were enrolled.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Arcadia Charter School</span> Public charter school in the United States

Arcadia Charter School is a project-based 6–12th grade charter school located in Northfield, Minnesota, United States. The school has previously been known as South-Eastern Minnesota School of Arts and Technology prior to 2003, and Northfield School of Arts and Technology from 2003 to 2012.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Eagan High School</span> Public high school in Eagan, Minnesota, United States

Eagan High School (EHS) is a public high school in east-central Eagan, Minnesota, United States. The school opened in fall 1989 for ninth-grade students and for grades ten through twelve the following year. It is particularly noted for its fine arts programs and use of technology. As of the 2021-2022 school year, EHS had 2,111 students.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Presbyterian Ladies' College, Melbourne</span> School in Burwood, Victoria, Australia

Presbyterian Ladies' College, Melbourne (PLC), is an independent, private, Presbyterian, day and boarding school for girls, located in Burwood, an eastern suburb of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Independent School District 196</span> School district in Dakota County, Minnesota

Independent School District 196 is a K-12 public school district located in the south suburban Twin Cities, near both Minneapolis and St. Paul in Minnesota.

ISD 279-Osseo Area Schools is a school system in Hennepin County, Minnesota. ISD 279 provides public education from the primary to secondary levels in the following to parts of Brooklyn Center, Brooklyn Park, Maple Grove, Osseo, Plymouth, Corcoran, Dayton and Rogers. District 279 is the fifth largest district in Minnesota, with a student population of approximately 20,900 in 2019.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Eastview High School</span> Public high school in Apple Valley, MN, United States

Eastview High School is a comprehensive and college preparatory public high school in Apple Valley, Minnesota, United States. Established in 1997, Eastview is the newest of the four high schools serving Independent School District 196. Newsweek ranked the school in their "List of the Top High Schools in America" for the sixth consecutive time. Eastview has also been recognized by U.S. News & World Report as one of America's Best High Schools. In 2013, Eastview was ranked in the top 3% of the most challenging high schools in the United States, as well as a top comprehensive high school in Minnesota. Prior to the 2010–2011 school year, Eastview was a member of the Lake Conference, but then broke off with most of the Lake Conference schools in order to create the South Suburban Conference.

Mount Carmel Catholic College is a systemic Catholic co-educational secondary school of the Marist tradition located in Varroville, a suburb 46 kilometres south-west of Sydney. It is situated within the city of Campbelltown, New South Wales, Australia. The current principal is Stephen Lo Cascio.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chanhassen High School</span> Public school in Chanhassen, Minnesota , United States

Chanhassen High School (CNHS) is a four-year comprehensive public high school located in Chanhassen, Minnesota, United States, a southwestern suburb of Minneapolis. Construction of the school was approved by voters in 2006 in response to rapidly growing enrollment in Carver County and overcrowding at Chaska High School, the district's other high school.

Crosswinds East Metro Arts and Science School was a year-round arts and science magnet school located in Woodbury, Minnesota, United States. Crosswinds focuses on cultural diversity, alternative learning styles, and environmental science as the foundations of its education. It provides academic and artistic opportunities for students from urban and suburban neighborhoods to achieve continuing success in a year-round program. The Perpich Center for Arts Education manages Crosswinds. Crosswinds teaches students from ages 11 to 16. In the beginning of the 2000s there were large gains for students of color, and with the recent conveyance, student achievement has declined significantly according to standardized state testing results.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">McMillen High School</span> Free public school in Murphy, Texas, United States

C.A. McMillen High School, commonly known as McMillen High School, McMillen, or MHS, is a secondary school serving grades nine and ten, located in the East Cluster of the Plano Independent School District. Murphy Middle School and Armstrong Middle School feed into McMillen. Students graduating from McMillen will attend Plano East Senior High School for the eleventh and twelfth grades. In 2015, the school was rated "Met Standard" by the Texas Education Agency.

Tacoma Science and Math Institute, is a public high school in the Tacoma Public Schools district. It is located in Metro Parks Tacoma in Tacoma, Washington. The school offers an integrated inquiry-based curriculum for students in grades 9-12 that combines the arts, science, math, and environmental and marine studies. It operates in partnership with local organizations, including the Point Defiance Zoo and Aquarium as well as local universities. SAMi also operates in partnership with other local schools, including its sister schools Tacoma School of the Arts (SOTA) and Industrial Design Engineering and Art (iDEA).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Eynesbury Senior College</span> Independent senior high school in Australia

Eynesbury Senior College was an independent co-educational senior high school located on Franklin Street in the city centre of Adelaide, the capital of South Australia. The college comprised a modern, five-storey, multi-function complex and caters for Year 10, 11 and 12 students.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Verrado High School</span> Public high school in Buckeye, Arizona

Verrado High School is a public high school in the Verrado community of Buckeye, Arizona, United States. Operated by the Agua Fria Union High School District, the school primarily serves the Verrado area and is the fourth school in the district.

North American collegiate sustainability programs are institutions of higher education in the United States, Mexico, and Canada that have majors and/or minors dedicated to the subject of sustainability. Sustainability as a major and minor is spreading to more and more colleges as the need for humanity to adopt a more sustainable lifestyle becomes increasingly apparent with the onset of global warming. The majors and minors listed here cover a wide array of sustainability aspects from business to construction to agriculture to simply the study of sustainability itself.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tesla STEM High School</span> High school in Redmond, WA

Tesla STEM High School is a magnet high school in Redmond, Washington operated by the Lake Washington School District. It serves as a lottery-selected choice program and offers a STEM-based curriculum.

Gladstone State High School is a coeducational public secondary school based in West Gladstone, a suburb of Gladstone in the Gladstone Region in Queensland, Australia. The school has a total enrolment of more than 1500 students per year, with an official count of 1552 students in August 2020.

References

  1. 1 2 3 "SCHOOL OF ENVIRONMENTAL STUDIES". National Center for Education Statistics. Retrieved May 25, 2020.
  2. "Apple Valley's School of Environmental Studies marks 20 years". Star Tribune. Retrieved 2017-05-01.
  3. "District 196 Learning Plan". www.district196.org. Retrieved 2017-05-01.
  4. Curtis, Diane (2002-09-26). "It's All Happening at the Zoo School: Innovative Education with Practical Applications". Edutopia. Retrieved 2017-05-01.
  5. "Intensive Theme - School of Environmental Studies". ses.district196.org. Retrieved 7 December 2020.

44°46′20″N93°11′27″W / 44.77222°N 93.19083°W / 44.77222; -93.19083