by Jenny Lancour
Escanaba Daily Press (October 29, 2005)
ESCANABA-Clear Lake Education Center is being honored with a Michigan's Best Award from the Michigan Association of School Boards (MASB) during its annual fall conference taking place in Lansing this weekend.
The education center, located in Alger County, is run by DSISD in conjunction with the Marquette-Alger Regional Educational Service Agency (MARESA) and the U.S. Forest Service.
According to MASB, the center earned the award for its staff development and "its innovativeness and impact on student achievement," offering teaching and learning experiences in the outdoors.
The center received an Education Excellence Award in May 2005 making it eligible to compete for the Michigan's Best Award. The awards program, developed 13 years ago, honors educational programs that foster school improvement and student achievement.
"The purpose of the center is to connect youth and adults to their natural resources through hands-on education," said Suzanne Flory, the center's first full-time director. "If we are ever to get real control of environmental problems, we'll need a public that understands them."
The camp is located on 22 acres in the Hiawatha National Forest on Clear Lake, 20 miles south of Munising. There are eight dormitory-like cabins, a classroom building, dining hall, a two-mile trail around the lake, and an outdoor amphitheater. Students have access to canoes, a baseball diamond, volleyball and basketball courts, and swimming at the lake.
About 2,500 people participated in programs at the camp from April through November, Flory said. This includes groups of students and teachers who attend classes in April, May, September, October and November. Other groups and organizations use the camp during the summer.
By JACQUELINE PERRY
Marquette Mining Journal Ishpeming Bureau (May 6, 2003)
ISHPEMING - The seventh graders at Aspen Ridge Middle School could have recently been mistaken for the latest contestants on Fear Factor as they made their way through a high ropes course and used a zipline to get to the ground.
The students actually participated in the high ropes adventure course last week during their two-day stay at the Clear Lake Education Center, a 30,000-acre camp in the Hiawatha National Forest. The camp was built by the Civilian Conservation Corps in the 1930s and transformed into an educational center about 12 years ago, according to information provided by the Marquette-Alger Regional Educational Service Agency.
The center is operated through a partnership with the Hiawatha National Forest, MARESA, and the Delta-Schoolcraft Intermediate School District. It is equipped with cabins, a dining hall, a cook, a classroom, a computer lab, running water, and all the supplies necessary to perform outdoor learning activities.
"I had a great time at Clear Lake," said Brandon Frisk, 13. "I think every student should have the chance to camp at the education center."
While programs are designed to enhance student understanding of environmental sciences through activities such as water ecology, orienteering and a nature walk, courses such as the high ropes adventure are designed to build self-confidence and encourage team work, said Dennis Tasson, assistant principal at Aspen Ridge Middle School.
Tasson, science teacher Jay LeRoy, technology education teacher Natalie Young, art teacher Linda Prond and Debbie Brooks, a nurse and parent volunteer, chaperoned the event.
"The Clear Lake Education Center is science-based, but the benefits of attending are far more than simply a hands-on science lesson," Tasson said. "The students also gain social skills and make new friendships."
In fact, students are assigned to groups consisting of classmates who usually do not hang out together, LeRoy said. "Students were able to bond and many gained a greater respect for each other," LeRoy said. "The majority of of these friendships would have never been formed if they were grouped with their usual friends." Kim Aisthorpe, 13, agrees. "Attending the Clear Lake Education Center gave me a chance to see my classmates and teachers in a different setting than the classroom," Aisthorpe said. "I even made a few new friends because we stayed in the same cabin together."
In addition, the Aspen Ridge class was the first group to be taught by the center's own teaching staff, Tasson said. "In past years, schools have had to bring their own teachers along to teach the various courses," he said. " This is a nice improvement because it allows the students' regular teachers to participate in the classes with their students, giving them the opportunity to spend quality time together."
For more information about the Clear Lake Education Center, contact Suzanne Flory at 786-9300.