How Outdoor Education Can Shift Mindsets in the Classroom

This school leverages lessons from their on-campus ropes course to help students realize their full potential as part of a community of learners—and beyond.

As a small public tuition-free charter school in West Greenwich, Rhode Island, The Greene School has always emphasized themes of interdependence—in their local ecosystems and in their classrooms. In addition to their location—a 74-acre woodland setting—one of the features that makes this school so unique is a number of outdoor education elements sprinkled throughout campus, and the way the faculty utilizes them to help students build the mindsets they need for learning. A climbing tower stands near the pond, and throughout the year, teachers use the ropes course attached to the tower along with various team-building activities to help students fully appreciate what they are capable of doing, and learn how they can truly support each other.