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Boyertown Area SD spotlights Middle School East's Trout in the Classroom project
Summary
Board recognized Middle School East's Trout in the Classroom program: students hatched trout eggs, conducted water-quality testing, partnered with local organizations and will release trout May 28-29 at Camel Lot Park, highlighting hands-on watershed education.
The Boyertown Area School District recognized Middle School East's "Trout in the Classroom" project during the meeting, highlighting a cross-curricular program in which students hatched and cared for trout from eggs and conducted water-quality testing as part of a watershed education unit.
Mrs. Allison Moyer introduced the showcase and said the project brought together multiple disciplines, community partners and the Foundation for Boyertown Education to provide hands-on learning. Teachers Shawn Burks and Brandy Solomon described receiving 154 eggs per tank in January, currently counting about 124 trout per tank that range "about an inch to an inch and a half" in length. Teachers reported a current survival rate around 81%, far above the rough 4% survival expected in the wild, and said students performed regular ammonia, nitrite, nitrate and pH testing to maintain a healthy cold-water aquarium ecosystem.
Staff and students plan two release dates, May 28 and May 29, at Camel Lot Park; activities will include life-cycle and macroinvertebrate stations, fly-tying demonstrations, fly-casting instruction from a Trout Unlimited volunteer and a picnic lunch. The program also involved art students creating a mural to insulate the tanks during the early stages of development.
Presenters credited partners including the Foundation for Boyertown Education and the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission for authorizing releases, and said local volunteers and specialists from Penn State, DelValle College and New Hanover Township will participate in educational stations. The board and attendees applauded the student presenters for the program's hands-on learning and community connection.
The district indicated the program has been sustainable with outside support and hoped for bright weather for the late-May releases. No formal action or funding decisions specific to the program were taken at the meeting.
