Al Kennedy Alternative High School

Al Kennedy Alternative High School is a public alternative high school in Cottage Grove, Oregon, United States. The curriculum is organized around the core theme of sustainability and stewardship.[1]

Kennedy school of Sustainability
Address
79980 Delight Valley School Road

Cottage Grove
,
Oregon
97424

United States
Coordinates43.786244°N 123.059503°W / 43.786244; -123.059503
Information
TypePublic
MottoSchool of Sustainability[1]
School districtSouth Lane School District
PrincipalTom Horn[2]
Grades9-12[2]
Number of students78[3]
MascotBear
Websiteblogs.slane.k12.or.us/kennedy/

Student learning

Kennedy organizes its learning around aspiration, engagement, and experiential learning:[4]

  • Students cultivate their personal identities as "global citizens" who are contributing to a sustainable future.[5]
  • There is an emphasis on solutions to challenges of sustainability.[6] Sustainability themes are integrated in each core curriculum area.[1]
  • Students are connected with adult practice communities that are engaged in sustainable development activities.[7]
  • Large amounts of curriculum are organized around experiential and service learning. Activities like conservation management, organic farming and forestry, environmental monitoring, and mapping support key curriculum elements.[1]

Kennedy focus: five educational domains

The school is "dedicated to creating future leaders in the area of sustainability as well as well-rounded academics."[8]

Sustainable agriculture

Kennedy High School incorporates organic farming practices into a curriculum designed to involve students in the organic farming/agricultural process, from testing soil samples, planting and growing crops, measuring outcomes, and marketing.

In 2008 Kennedy partnered with Healing Harvest,[9] a nonprofit organization based in Cottage Grove, to design and build organic gardens at elementary schools across South Lane District, including a master garden on campus.[10]

Sustainable architecture

The school engages in sustainable architecture activities, which teach students the historical aspects of alternative building practice, while participating in local building projects such as a sustainable housing prototype for low-income communities.[11]

Sustainable forestry

The school works with local landowners to manage their forested and open lands for future generations. Students immerse themselves in all aspects of land stewardship, including walking the land with owners, figuring the trigonometry of easement boundaries, rebuilding animal habitat for local fauna while inventorying forest species, working with local conservation agencies to draft management plans, and helping land owners to implement those plans.[12]

Sustainable energy

Kennedy High School partners closely with Lane Community College's Energy Management Program. In the winter trimester of 2009, Kennedy began a College Now course, "Sustainability 101″, which offers students an opportunity to work with college and high school instructors in studying conservation and energy systems.[13]

Sustainable community

Kennedy High School's community-based projects help students and community members gain the skills and resources they need to find solutions to sustainability.[14]

Kennedy Conservation Crew

The Kennedy Conservation Corps engages students in the workings of regional and national conservation organizations. Kennedy has engaged in a number of fee-for-service projects with the U.S. Forest Service, Coast Fork Willamette Watershed Council,[15] and private landowners.[16]

Apiary

The school has installed three beehives on campus in March 2010 to start a beekeeping program. The Kennedy Apiary promotes vegetable growth in the neighboring community garden, and the beehives allow students to get hands-on experience studying the ecology of the honeybee.[17]

Academics

In 2008, 44% of the school's seniors received a high school diploma. Of 48 students, 21 graduated, 21 dropped out, and six were still in high school in 2009.[18][19]

References
  1. http://blogs.slane.k12.or.us/kennedy/
  2. "Oregon School Directory 2009-2010" (PDF). Oregon Department of Education. p. 117. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2009-10-07. Retrieved 2009-09-04.
  3. "Oregon School Directory 2008-09" (PDF). Oregon Department of Education. p. 139. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2011-05-26. Retrieved 2009-05-28.
  4. http://www.placebasededucation.org/home/index.php
  5. Haas, T., & Nachtigal, P. (1998). "Place value: An educator's guide to good literature on rural lifeways, environments, and purposes of education." Charleston, WV: ERIC Clearinghouse on Rural Education and Small Schools.
  6. Orr, D. W. (1994). Earth in mind: On education, environment, and the human prospect. Washington, DC: Island Press.
  7. Smith, G. A., & Williams, D. R. (Eds.) (1999). Ecological education in action: On weaving education, culture, and the environment. Albany, NY: State University of New York Press.
  8. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2011-10-07. Retrieved 2010-04-27.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  9. http://www.healingharvest.org/
  10. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2012-07-08. Retrieved 2010-04-27.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  11. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2011-10-07. Retrieved 2010-03-26.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  12. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2011-10-07. Retrieved 2010-03-26.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  13. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2011-10-07. Retrieved 2010-03-26.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  14. Dewey, J. (1915). The school and society (Rev. ed.). Chicago, IL: The University of Chicago Press
  15. http://coastfork.org/
  16. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2011-10-07. Retrieved 2010-04-27.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  17. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2011-07-23. Retrieved 2010-04-27.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  18. "State releases high school graduation rates". The Oregonian. 2009-06-30. Retrieved 2009-07-01.
  19. "Oregon dropout rates for 2008". The Oregonian. 2009-06-30. Archived from the original on 2011-09-16. Retrieved 2009-07-01.
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