The Howard County Public School System has changed its outdoor education program for middle school students, replacing the traditional overnight Chesapeake Bay camping experience with two day excursions within the county.

The school system says the two new excursions will be much less expensive while focusing on Howard County’s science curriculum and benefiting far more students. But former program graduates say students will miss out on the unique junior high school experience.

More than 30 years after taking an overnight field trip as a sixth grader at Harper’s Choice Middle School, Kathy Broughton still remembers the experience vividly.

Broughton, 42, of Glenelg, said, “We went on a little boat to a little barrier island. You can see the storms offshore, [our chaperone] I explained how you can tell that they are rain clouds.

“When I see rain clouds rolling in on the horizon, it reminds me of that moment.”

Broughton said the trip sparked her career as a marine ecologist for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

In the decades before the COVID-19 pandemic, most county public school sixth graders spent a few nights at Cecil County’s North Bay Adventure Camp or Sandy Hill Camp and Retreat Center for an outdoor education experience. . With the goal of providing a more cohesive programme, in 2016 the school system’s Central Secretariat took over management of outdoor education from individual schools.

School officials cited a variety of factors, including cost, transportation issues, and attendance, as reasons for switching to day trips. Additionally, none of the previous trips offered were in line with the science curriculum. A new trip to the Howard County Reserve will be part of a science unit focused on climate justice written by Howard Public Schools staff.

“Everything is written by Howard County staff and tailored to the Howard County curriculum. Frankly, within Howard County, we use Howard County vendors and partners,” says Area 3 Community. said Kendra Johnson, director of

Students’ average out-of-pocket costs for travel in 2019-2020 were $172, but were free for students enrolled in federal Free and Reduced Meal Programs. Cost was the main reason many families decided not to participate in past trips, Johnson said. was.

Without additional funding, the school system estimates that it will cost $300 per student to continue the evening program, based on the new prices NorthBay put forward and increased transportation costs.

The new outdoor education program will consist of a supplemental team-building trip to Columbia’s Robinson Nature Center in the fall and a spring trip to the Howard County Nature Preserve as part of the Climate Change Unit.

This year, in addition to Homewood Center and Cedar Lane Schools, all 20 middle schools will participate in team building trips at no charge, and 13 schools will also join the reserve in the spring. All middle schools are expected to participate in next spring’s program. The program is made free with his three-year grant from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration to the reserve.

“Driving Question [behind the climate justice unit] Jaclyn Austin, secondary science education facilitator at the county’s public schools, said: “[Students] Look to our own communities as we consider how extreme weather affected us in the Ellicott City floods. We also focus on the urban heat island phenomenon. ”

Some students and parents say that eliminating overnight trips deprives students of important social experiences. Junior high school students are not offered overnight field trips, Johnson said.

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“More than ever, these children need guided socialization and guided interaction with peers because they seem to have lost the ability to do that,” says Glenn, daughter of Glenn. Kim Ford, 49, who attended a previous program at Wood Middle School, said… “Some kids have been in the living room for two years.”

Zoe Flavin, 14, went to NorthBay at Folly Quarter Middle School in the fall of 2019, the year after her family moved to Howard County, and said the experience was a fun way to meet and bond with other students.

Sleeping overnight in a cabin by the bay may not have been for everyone, but Broughton said it was an essential experience at Howard County Middle School.

“I know some kids hate it because I went to camp and realized, ‘I hate camp, I don’t like being away from home,'” she said. “But I think it’s also a lesson in itself. [outdoor education] It helps you build what you appreciate, love and value from your life.

Johnson said the school system will conduct a survey of all sixth graders this year to gather feedback on new team building experiences and update as needed.

“We truly respect the feelings of families who want things to go back to the way they were, but we are trying to balance the needs of the entire district,” Johnson added.