ARGYLE- Starting next fall, Argyle students will be able to take a new path in learning about the environment and the impact community decisions have on it.
The Argyle School Board approved courses Jan. 19, establishing the groundwork for a program of integrated environmental studies that will permeate the PK-12 curriculum.
Superintendent Dr. Robert Gilpatrick said students will be making field trips into the communities to interact with people and into various wildlife areas.
But the program is more than learning about the environment and wildlife.
"It's also about the land use and the choices we make," Gilpatrick said.
The project-based, hands-on experiences are intended to lead students to increased understanding of environmental science and related societal issues.
Unique field trips will take students around southwest Wisconsin to such places as villages to discover the impact their decisions have on energy use, and to cemeteries to plot genealogies and family histories and to discuss how past decisions have affected the environment.
Gilpatrick said Argyle is making a step forward in using best-practices to provide a platform for students to address some of today's most challenging issues.
Elementary students will have short-range courses threaded into their curriculum, and middle school students will have 9-week related exploratory classes and summer programming.
The bench mark, and capstone, of the program is the high school integrated environmental studies. High school students may take the daily double-block course twice for up to two years, and earn up to two elective credits or designated credits in agriculture or technical education.
"The block will be adjacent to the lunch period, allowing students two hours to work on a project," Gilpatrick said.
Argyle's integrated environmental studies program is available to students in surrounding districts through Wisconsin's open enrollment law. Enrollment is open now and is based on space availability.
The Argyle School Board approved courses Jan. 19, establishing the groundwork for a program of integrated environmental studies that will permeate the PK-12 curriculum.
Superintendent Dr. Robert Gilpatrick said students will be making field trips into the communities to interact with people and into various wildlife areas.
But the program is more than learning about the environment and wildlife.
"It's also about the land use and the choices we make," Gilpatrick said.
The project-based, hands-on experiences are intended to lead students to increased understanding of environmental science and related societal issues.
Unique field trips will take students around southwest Wisconsin to such places as villages to discover the impact their decisions have on energy use, and to cemeteries to plot genealogies and family histories and to discuss how past decisions have affected the environment.
Gilpatrick said Argyle is making a step forward in using best-practices to provide a platform for students to address some of today's most challenging issues.
Elementary students will have short-range courses threaded into their curriculum, and middle school students will have 9-week related exploratory classes and summer programming.
The bench mark, and capstone, of the program is the high school integrated environmental studies. High school students may take the daily double-block course twice for up to two years, and earn up to two elective credits or designated credits in agriculture or technical education.
"The block will be adjacent to the lunch period, allowing students two hours to work on a project," Gilpatrick said.
Argyle's integrated environmental studies program is available to students in surrounding districts through Wisconsin's open enrollment law. Enrollment is open now and is based on space availability.