LOVELAND, Ohio — Students at Loveland Intermediate and Middle School are trading traditional desks for fresh air with the opening of a brand-new, community-funded outdoor classroom.
The classroom was opened with a ribbon-cutting on Aug. 20.
Since then, Loveland City Schools Superintendent Mike Broadwater said teachers and students have flocked to the new learning space.
"We have a sign-up for the teachers to sign up and it's been full, so we're excited that it's a good space for our kids," Broadwater said.
Broadwater said the project was first imagined about a year ago. The Loveland Schools Foundation pulled together dozens of community donors to fund the project.
Watch to see how Loveland teachers and students are putting a new outdoor classroom to use:
"The community just, they always answer the bell when we have something great for our kids," Broadwater said.
The district serves thousands of students across parts of Hamilton and Clermont counties.
I watched 8th-grade science teacher Cori Williams and her class go through a lesson in the new outdoor classroom.
"It’s just a fantastic way to get the kids out, get them some fresh air, change it up a little bit," Williams said.
The middle schoolers worked on a vocabulary lesson in teams, and their teacher could easily pop from table to table to check on each group.
“Well, it's nice to come outside and get some fresh air besides recess," 8th-grader Chris Estrada said.
"It's just a fun time," 8th-grader Nolan Lorek said.
Williams told me she already has plans to take some of their most interactive experiments and lesson plans outside, away from the standard classroom space.
“We’ve got that motion lab coming up, so now my children will not be hopping down the hallway or walking with books on their heads down the hallways or running down the hallway," Williams said.
Learning continues to change for students not just in Loveland, but across the country.
"As you look at where education is going, education is going towards the experiential learning," Broadwater said. "I think this is a great opportunity to show the kids it can be done differently, and the teachers taking advantage of it is just awesome for our kids."
