PHOENIX — Thousands of children went back to school Monday and at the Larry C. Kennedy School in Phoenix, it’s an even more special time.
About 180 students returned to a brand-new building with a new focus: learning outdoors.
The school was bulldozed about two years ago after professionals deemed it unsafe. Jay Mann, the superintendent of the Creighton Elementary School District, said there were a lot of issues with it, and the new building was supposed to be done quickly, too, but because of construction costs and funding with the pandemic, it’s now just reopening.
“We felt this was important for our kids, particularly in our world we live in that’s getting warmer and warmer. And the need for sustainability and stewardship, it felt like a fit,” Mann said of their new focus.
Students will learn outside for at least an hour a day. They’ll also have gardening classes in addition to their regular subjects.
“As teachers are developing their lessons, they are determining which lessons, what concepts are better taught outside and keeping in mind the time of day. The school has also been designed to help mitigate some of the heat,” said Holena Lebron, the principal of the Kennedy School.
There is shade around campus, including an outdoor basketball court that is under shade as well. There are also trees and native plants throughout the campus. Students will get to learn about water conservation among other topics regarding sustainability. Throughout the campus, there are rainwater collection areas for them to learn about harvesting it.
“You’ll see a strong presence of solar integrated into the site. And one of the things that will eventually be coming in is a learning center where all of the data from the energy that’s being generated from the sun, the students will be able to look into that, see what kind of an impact that has on the environment, how much energy was saved,” Mann added.
Do you have a concern in your community or a news tip? We want to hear from you!
Connect with us: share@abc15.com
Mann said they plan to have a garden near the cafeteria for students to learn farm-to-table.
“Once we get that up and running, they’ll be able to help produce some of the food that they have at lunchtime,” he said.
But living in Arizona, the heat can be deadly. So, how are students supposed to learn outside when it’s still hot?
“We look at opportunities on how to bring the outside in,” Lebron answered.
On days when there are excessive heat warnings, students won’t be spending much time outside. They’ll have recess indoors, as they generally do in other schools and districts. That threshold is decided with the help of Maricopa County, Mann said.
“That information is shared out to all of our schools and then schools have the protocols in place based on that,” Mann added.
Keeping the warmth in mind in how they rebuilt the school, the many plants that continue to grow will help mitigate that heat down the road, the students are ready to sprout and learn in a different way at the school.
“Even though I did gardening at my last school, it’s just, I want to learn more things about it,” Inidigo said.
The school reopened with just kindergarteners through fifth grade. As the next few years go on, they’ll add on more students and grades through eighth grade.
