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District—s outdoor school program draws thousands; enrollment, curriculum and historic site highlighted
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Summary
District staff reported on the outdoor school program, noting 554 fifth-grade students enrolled this year at the Garrett County 4-H camp site, curricular links from fifth grade through AP environmental courses, staffing, historical features of the camp—s 1930s cabins and additions such as a donated Gaga ball pit.
Dan Clark, supervisor of federal programs, and Dr. Van Slyke, the secondary/STEM supervisor, gave an instructional update Oct. 14 on Allegany County Public Schools— outdoor school programs and related field trips.
Clark described the program—s history and the Garrett County 4-H camp site, noting the site—s 1930s-era log cabins and a 12-acre Cunningham Dam built with American chestnut wood. Clark said the district has run the program since the 1960s, with a pause in the late 1980s and a revival in 2008; he estimated more than 21,000 students have attended since inception.
For the 2025—2026 school year, Clark said 554 fifth-graders from all 14 elementary schools were enrolled in outdoor school; students stay four nights and five days and participate in activities including orienteering, water-cycle and wetlands lessons, canoeing, fishing and owl-pellet dissection. Clark described both curriculum outcomes and the —hidden curriculum— of social skills, living with peers and leadership.
Dr. Van Slyke outlined the district—s outdoor offerings across grades: sixth-grade Evergreen Heritage Center trips, seventh-grade two-day trips to Rocky Gap with the Alice Ferguson Foundation, eighth-grade invasive-species instruction at Evergreen, and high-school-level field experiences tied to earth science, AP environmental and chemistry courses. Van Slyke said nearly 3,000 students participate in outdoor programs across grade levels each year and noted recent Green School certifications for secondary schools and Mount Savage as the first certified elementary school.
Clark also noted a recent anonymous donation of a portable Gaga ball pit now owned by the district and used at outdoor school.
The board asked no substantive questions beyond appreciation and personal memories of outdoor experiences; no board action was required.
