GAR Foundation launched a new $1.2 million investment called Essential Experiences to provide every Akron Public Schools student in PreK through 5th grade with a meaningful learning experience outside of the classroom.
Students visit six local cultural and historical organizations to participate in educational programming directly connected to classroom learning.
Host organizations include ArtSparks, Akron Art Museum, Cleveland Museum of Natural History, Akron Zoo, Hale Farm & Village, and Stan Hywet Hall & Gardens.
The Essential Experiences initiative addresses the need for high-quality experiential learning and draws from research supporting the value of co-curricular experiences. Three important elements make these experiences more robust than a traditional field trip:
- Curriculum–based: the experiences are designed by professional educators to connect directly to the content being taught and learned in students’ own classrooms.
- Inclusive: Prior to this initiative, field trips were not guaranteed for every child and every classroom across the district. Essential Experiences ensures that every child in every participating grade gets to have the same valuable experience.
- Consistent: Essential Experiences provides students with a consistent, hands-on, grade-appropriate experience to support their learning each year
Meet the Host: Hale Farm & Village
Nearly 1,600 third-grade students in Akron Public Schools will learn about entrepreneurship through the “Market & Me” experience at Hale Farm & Village. Students explore the history of the market system during the 1800s and each class examines how economic principles have changed in our community over time.
To prepare for the trip, students build their knowledge base around the Summit County early settlement, Akron’s industrial changes, and modern service-based economy. They are introduced to economic vocabulary and will meet key entrepreneurs in Akron from the past and present through a series of videos.
Understanding chronology has a far greater impact on students when they are immersed in “place” and “time.” While at Hale Farm, students experience jobs from a blacksmith to a candle maker.
Back in the classroom, students bring these concepts to life by pitching their own business plans and gaining exposure to modern day entrepreneurs, providing an opportunity to build knowledge and understanding that many students do not have and cannot get inside a classroom.