Outdoor Classroom Cultivates Wellbeing and Academic Success at Questa Elementary

Since the height of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, classrooms nationwide have reported an increase in behavioral challenges each year. In an attempt to curb these disruptions to learning, a fifth-grade teacher at Questa Elementary School began transitioning her class outside when she observed that students were struggling to stay engaged. While she found this strategy positively impacted students’ behavior, she believed it could be even more effective if teachers had access to an outdoor space intentionally designated and set up for learning, so she reached out to LOR for help. With LOR’s funding, the elementary school was able to purchase equipment to set up an outdoor classroom, which educators can use to facilitate hands-on lessons across subjects while getting children out into the fresh air where they can thrive.