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read Thoreau in the woods. That’s the integration of it. You don’t read a book about nature in a classroom, you bring it out to nature and it comes alive. Sometimes we just break from class and take a hike around the 17-acres of property here. It helps to bond us with each other and the desert we live in.”


These experiences open new doors and pathways of learning to kids who come from a generation that will likely opt for a weekend of video gaming and television watching rather than exploring the outdoors. Popen and her staff also use these experiences to enlist students in the new wave of green living and how the community around them embraces it. Sky Islands offers activities that aren’t available at most high schools and a curriculum far different from the standard.


Students have visited a sustainable beef ranch, harvested food on an organic farm in Taos, New Mexico, toured Casa Malpais in Springerville and helped establish the Tucson Village Farm. They have grown home gardens for class credit. They have helped provide water harvesting at a Tucson City Council office and removed invasive Arundo in Sabino Creek, and they hear regularly from community groups about volunteering on local projects.


“It just puts it in front of them – things that they might not have known about before and encourages them to participate. Their reaction to it all is truly inspiring,” Popen said.


Administrators attribute most


of the school’s success to a small enrollment and staff passion.


“What really draws students and their parents to Sky Islands is the size of the classes, the focus of the curriculum, the fact that they feel they don’t have the same pressures that they would have at a school with 2,000 kids,” said Associate Director Sandi Rosado. “No kid here gets lost and becomes simply a face in the crowd.”


Rosado called the staff’s relationship with parents “old-school.” If a student is missing, parents get a call because the staff knows the


www. NaturalTucson.com April 2011 19


parents. It reassures parents to know the school cares why kids are not in school, she said.


Although the curriculum differs


from traditional schools, one thing doesn’t - funding. Although the state provides basic funding, it isn’t enough, Popen said.


“The only thing that wears me


down is the lack of funding. We struggle month to month to hold this thing together and we barely get by. Our staff goes without salaries sometimes so that we can sustain the programs.” Popen said. “Additionally, we assist a few dedicated students with bus passes who travel across town so that they can get here. One of those students says the following about why he travels to Sky Islands: “Since I’ve attended this school my teachers and I have grown close. We sometimes butt heads and that’s okay because every family does; and that is what Sky Islands becomes, your family. My teachers have not only challenged me in the classroom but I’ve been challenged on personal issues such as my fear


of birds, and life changing choices like joining the military. I’ve been given the opportunity to understand sustainability by literally putting my hands in the dirt; we’ve built our own garden and have built gardens for the Tucson Village Farm as well.”


But Sky Islands staff and faculty are dedicated to overcoming the struggles with the passion and the love of teaching that built it, which they hope can fuel the institution and the community that surrounds it for years to come.


“For me, it’s the thought that these kids are our future. If we don’t take care of the things that we feel are important, than what do we have?” Rosado asked. “This age group needs to know that there are alternatives for them. They don’t have to have the same simple goals as everyone else. They can do anything they want, but they have to know that they have that choice before they embark on their journey.”


For more information about Sky Islands Sustainable Charter High School, call 520-382-9210 or see SkyIslands.org.


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