Island Park middle school students help design new outdoor learning space
Lincoln Orens Middle School students use Legos to design an outdoor classroom. Credit: Debbie Egan-Chin
The tables have indeed turned at Island Park school district, where officials are borrowing a page from William Wordsworth's timeless poem and letting nature be their — and their students' — teacher.
Incorporating outdoor learning at the district was such a success during the pandemic, officials said, that they enlisted the school's brain trust — their middle schoolers — to help design and create an outdoor classroom at Lincoln Orens Middle School. The plan envisions students, sitting outside in lounge chairs, learning different subjects from natural shapes in geometry to reading books aloud in English.
After researching other outdoor spaces and speaking with design experts, approximately 30 eighth-grade students from Michael Giardino’s computer science and robotics class created five digital renderings of the classrooms. Sixth-graders selected the winning design and constructed a 3D model using Legos.
“Being outside throughout the day helps them clear their minds,” Giardino said. It "helps them physically, not just emotionally and mentally.”
Several Long Island schools, including Port Jefferson and West Babylon, turned to the outdoors during the pandemic to meet the academic and extracurricular needs of their students. Port Jefferson schools sent their students on scavenger hunts and West Babylon students do their classwork on tree stumps. Some preschools teach class outside all year long — rain or shine.
Island Park, which has held classes outdoors for several years, continues to pair nature and academics in dedicated spaces, where students across all disciplines can learn outside, weather permitting, Superintendent Vincent Randazzo said. The school currently has an outdoor learning space at its elementary school.
“We really do believe it’s going to be transformative for education,” he said.
The district last summer transformed its dilapidated elementary school courtyard into an outdoor space. The back of the district conference center will also be turned into a greenhouse and outdoor garden, Randazzo said.
The district plans to start constructing the space at the Orens school during the next academic year, Randazzo said. He estimates the project's cost at about $75,000. The district is applying for grants from private groups to fund the school project, Randazzo added.
Michael Giardino, far right, with students from his computer science and robotics class who created digital renderings for an outdoor classroom at their middle school. From left, students Emma Taglianetti, 11, Lauren Rivera Martinez, 14, Cillian Cantwell, 14, and Noah Sanchez, 11. Credit: Debbie Egan-Chin
Involving students in the design process is intentional, Randazzo said, adding he hopes it'll get them interested in STEM careers. He would like the designers to present their models at a school board meeting.
The outdoor classroom also will provide opportunities for students to tap into other interests, like agriculture, said Lincoln Orens Principal Bruce Hoffman.
The learning space, now a field of grass, will eventually have lounge chairs, a pergola, raised gardens, a greenhouse, composting areas and a rainwater collection system.
“We’re giving them skills for the future,” the principal said, “beyond what we normally have in these four walls.”
Lauren Rivera, 14, an eighth-grader, said the assignment gave her and her peers an opportunity to tap into their creative sides. Classmate Cillian Cantwell, also 14, said designing the renderings gave him a chance to apply the skills he learned to a real-world project.
Emma Taglianetti, 11, a sixth-grader, said she was honored to participate in the project, and she hopes generations of students will enjoy the outdoor space at Orens. Her classmate Noah Sanchez, 11, agreed, saying the lasting impact is an exciting aspect of the outdoor classroom.
“I think, with this, a lot of kids will enjoy being outside,” Sanchez said. “I’m thankful for what these eighth-graders have brainstormed. … When I move up to high school, I’ll remember this.”
OUTDOOR LEARNING
The Island Park school district is building outdoor classrooms at Lincoln Orens Middle School.
The district is involving middle school students in the process. Eighth-graders designed the renderings and sixth-graders selected a winner. The students also built 3D models.
The superintendent said the district plans to begin constructing the outdoor learning space at Lincoln Orens School during the next academic year.
Brinley Hineman covers the Town of Hempstead and the City of Long Beach for Newsday. She previously was a reporter in Nashville, Tennessee, and is a West Virginia native.
