In preparation for a culminating field study comparing the Chesapeake Bay to the Florida Keys next year, Chesapeake Academy students took to local waterways with Christchurch School’s director of place-based education Dave Cola to compare fresh and saltwater ecosystems and investigate connections within ecosystems. Placed-based Extensions of the Academic Curriculum (PEACs) at Christchurch School are designed to break down the walls of single-teacher classrooms and use the natural and social resources to enhance classroom effectiveness and relevance.
The field study then traveled to nearby Urbanna Creek where students catalogued 18 unique saltwater specimens using a seine net. They also compared the two locations (Christchurch waterfront and the Urbanna Town Marina) as a useful preparation for the Florida Keys Field Study, which will make similar comparisons.
Chesapeake Academy Middle School Science Teacher Robin Blake enthused, “I love these place-based extensions of the academic curriculum because the student experience is vivid and personal, and students retain and contextualize the information more readily on-site!”
