Area 1 and Area 2: Goals and Activities:

Our "No Child Left Inside" project's main goal is to fully engage at risk secondary students in enriching hands on outdoor educational activities in order to increase school attendance, obtain high school credits, secure a diploma, and transition into healthy, happy, and productive young adulthood.

The Egg Harbor Township School district, through Eagle Academy Alternative School, has helped in the development of a unique alignment of school/community commitment in the development of New Jersey Department of Education's Core and Cross Content Workplace Readiness Skills for at risk students while providing local citizens additional outdoor recreation sites through the transformation of a former landfill into a community arboretum while participating in our "No Child Left Inside" project."

With great commitment and determination, the Eagle Academy staff, students and community partners ventured beyond the four walls of a classroom while planning, working, learning and playing together in and around nature through the development of our community arboretum.

Students were involved with all aspects of planning, cleaning, constructing and planting at the arboretum. To begin the project, students researched, using the Internet, plants indigenous to N.J. As part of the research, the students found the plant characteristics and requirements for optimum growth (5.5). With this information the students created Power Point presentations for the class so that all students would have the opportunity to learn about the plants. Research was done to find plants that were desirable to Monarch butterflies and hummingbirds. This information was used by the science teacher working on the project and the president of the EHT Environmental Commission and a regional representative of the U. S. Department of Agriculture to begin the planning of the gardens.

The students visited the site and measured it so that a drawing could be made to scale (5.3). A site survey was developed, a plant list was created and a planting plan was drawn. The students in the environmental science class were given the planting plan and finalized plant list. Each group of students were given a specific garden. They color coded the plants to a key and counted the number of plants that needed to be ordered. The plant list was sent to local nurseries so that availability could be determined. Next, the students prepared the garden site (5.1, 5.6). The Atlantic County Utilities Authority provided organic matter to add to the soil and the gardens were formed. Each student group took their planting plan and planted the garden. Due to the availability of plants, the students had to make adjustments to their gardens and plants that were planted (5.1).

The plants needed to be watered and the group was challenged to find water and electric power lines. As such, they needed to come up with an alternative source of energy. With the help of WorldWater Power Corporation, the Geraldine Dodge Foundation and the New Jersey Public Utilities Authority, Clivus Multrum (Compost Systems) and local builder Jack Aspenberg, they were able to design and build a "cutting edge" solar powered irrigation pump system and compost generating toilet facility. Blueprints were shared, questions were answered and the next phase of the project unfolded. Students merged into work teams, directions were conveyed through written and verbal formats, measurements had to be taken, safety precautions reviewed, and the following academic, occupational and technical skills derived from participating in the various project development activities: Life Skills (9.1 & 2) Mathematics (4.1, 4.2 & 4.5) Health & P.E. (2.2) Language Arts and Literacy (3.2, 3.3 & 4) and Science (5.4 & 5.7)

Over the past four years, our community coalition was responsible for planning and building the following additional structures at the arboretum site utilizing the same innovative process: a nature observation deck with handicap accessible ramp, picnic benches, a storage shed and an open air pavilion for community recreation and educational use.

Area 3: Outside Resources:

The scope of our "No Child Left Inside" project has been so ambitious that it has required a total school/community alignment and commitment to the common goals of helping to enhance educational programming for at risk students attending Eagle Academy while providing much needed "green park" open space for all the citizens of Egg Harbor Township. As such, our collaboration has become a "win-win" scenario for all. Eagle Academy has successfully leveraged it's resources with the following stakeholders in the development and continued maintenance of the Egg Harbor Township Arboretum Nature Center through our "No Child Left Inside" project over the past five years:

• Atlantic Cape May Job Connection student workplace training stipends $25, 000
• Geraldine R. Dodge Foundation Grant $30,000
• United State Department of Agriculture WHIP Grant $10,000
• New Jersey Department of Education IDEAS Grant $4,000
• New Jersey Public Utilities Authority Solar Power Rebate $10,000
• WorldWater Power Corporation $2,000 consultation and materials
• Atlantic County Public Utilities Authority $1,000 recycled top soil
• Egg Harbor Township Municipal Government $2,000 fencing
• Egg Harbor Township School District Maintenance Department $1,500
• Egg Harbor Township Environmental Commission volunteer workers
• The Boy Scouts of America Eagle Scout candidates
• John Aspenberg and Sons Building Contractors
• Clivus Multrum Composting Systems
• Richard Stockton College (use of facilities for meetings)

Upon completion of each phase of our "No Child Left Inside" project, Eagle Academy students and staff played host to four ribbon cutting ceremonies. Local municipal, county and federal government officials along with the aforementioned school/business, public service and charitable foundation representatives were invited to acknowledge and celebrate all contributors to each phase of the project. In addition, press disseminations concerning the community service collaboration were sent to local media for print and cable television press coverage.

The next phase of the project will involve printing and disseminating our booklet entitled: "No Child Left Inside Educational Ideas" containing "green" learning activities for (400) at risk students attending alternative schools in the Atlantic Cape May county region of New Jersey. The project will be shared with alternative school educators attending our Annual Atlantic Cape Transition (ACT) Network Fall Conference in conjunction with Richard Stockton College at the Dale Carnegie Conference Center in Atlantic City, New Jersey in October of 2008. Award recipient funds from your Exemplary Partnership Project will be utilized toward that end.

Area 4: Evaluation:

Our students' response to the "No Child Left Inside" project has been nothing short of amazing! Those who normally refused to engage in traditional classroom learning are now totally immersed in hands on learning activities while working at the arboretum site. Student attendance is up and discipline infractions are virtually non-existent. Our job as educators has become a whole lot easier since students want to come to school in order to participate in various engaging outdoor activities. During the 2006-07 academic school year 100% of our students taking the HSPA Math and 85% administered the HSPA English exams passed them.

Most of the 55 students attending Eagle Academy have enthusiastically participated in one of the many phases of our "No Child Left Inside" project. Some students worked on preparing and planting the butterfly gardens with our local environmental commission, others framed and poured concrete for the footing, while some did the block work for foundation formation under the supervision of one of our parents who owns a concrete business. Another parent of two recent graduates acted as a carpenter/mentor while helping our students design and build the observation deck, solar powered irrigation pump house, compost toilet and open air pavilion. Yet another parent helped our students plan and construct picnic tables.

One of the biggest impacts from the "No Child Left Inside" project has been the overall change of attitude by the community at large concerning alternative school students. Many people looked at our students as troublemakers, under achievers and druggies. As each phase of our project was completed in transforming our township dump into a pristine nature center, local citizens took notice of the fine work our students could do given "out of the box" hands on learning activities. Correspondingly, our students started to gain academic and workplace readiness skills, self-confidence and environmental awareness concerning the importance of open green space and alternative energy sources. In addition, participating in school partnerships provided our students with an understanding that everyone is connected as members of a school, community, state, nation and human race.

Area 5: Stability:

Eagle Academy's school administrative representative has been in his position from the school's 1999 inception. He has worked closely with the local municipal government officials, school/business partners and non-profit organizations in the planning and construction of the "No Child Left Inside" project and has his school district and municipal government official's approval and endorsement to continue to develop and maintain the Egg Harbor Township Arboretum Park site indefinitely. Funding of the project continues to come from local school district, government, business and non-profit sources. A "No Child Left Inside" curriculum has been written and is included in learning activities for our students to participate in throughout the academic school year.

Our community collaboration was recently bestowed the honor of receiving the 2006 New Jersey Environmental Achievement and the League of Municipalities Innovation in Governance Awards. In addition, the U.S. Department of Agriculture designated the park as an official U.S. Wildlife School Site. Also, the project was recently highlighted at the European Meeting of 2nd Chance Schools Youth Conference in Chalons-en Champagne, France in October of 2007. As part of a transatlantic educational exchange program through the Geraldine R. Dodge Foundation, Ms. Anna Rodriquez, Head Counselor of 2nd Chance Schools in Marseille, France, traveled to the United States and participated in our pavilion ribbon cutting ceremony in the fall of 2007.

Area 6: Endorsements:

"These students will learn about solar power, gain valuable technical skills and help protect the environment with renewable energy through a team effort."

Quentin T. Kelly, Chairman of WorldWater Power Corporation

"We are proud to partner with you in your efforts to provide children with the educational experiences that will prepare them to lead rich and meaningful lives. In particular, we are pleased with the success to date of the efforts to build and sustain new facilities at the local arboretum. In addition to learning a variety of job skills, it is clear that the students achieved a tremendous sense of accomplishment and well deserved praise from your cautious local community."

David Grant, President and CEO of the Geraldine R. Dodge Foundation

"Without help from the students and staff of Eagle Academy, the Egg Harbor Township Arboretum site would still be just an undeveloped piece of land. They along with the coalition of the willing have helped us develop a former landfill into a park for all of our citizens to use while simultaneously helping Eagle students learn the skills they need for success in life."

Janis Hetrick, President of the Egg Harbor Township Environmental Commission