Isaac Dixon students demonstrate hands‑on experiential education to Asheville City Schools board

Teacher Scott (Isaac Dixon Elementary) and a group of Isaac Dixon students described the school’s experiential education program to the Asheville City Schools board, showcasing garden‑to‑classroom lessons, a rolling experiential cart program and student projects developed for the Kids Inquiry Conference.

Scott told the board the experiential education specialist program places students into weekly rotations — similar to art or physical education — and connects garden, greenhouse, cooking and STEM projects to grade‑level learning standards. He described mobile “experiential carts” that travel to classrooms to bring hands‑on lessons (an “applesauce cart” was mentioned as an example) and said the program is in its third year at Isaac Dixon.

Students who came forward described their projects in their own words. Paxton, a first grader, explained his project about rocks and said one of his favorite parts was, “We got to dig holes and brush and wash the rocks.” Jack Payne, a second grader, spoke about a project on sound and said the work helped him “learn all about how sound works.” Two third graders, Virginia Sandlin and Zoe Thompson, described experiments about how weather affects a local pond; Virginia said the project helped her “learn how the weather affects many things, including the pond.” Fourth grader Ella Rae O’Neil read an original poem in the style of Emily Dickinson.

The school invited the board and the public to visit the classroom and see the program in action. The presentation was framed by the district’s ongoing strategic planning work; staff pointed to student voice and experiential learning as among the curricular priorities under consideration.

Ending: Board members responded with thanks and invited further engagement; Isaac Dixon staff encouraged visits and continued community involvement.