Get Moving Once you’ve honed your mission, niche, and audience it’s time to start putting things together. Take a moment to final- ize everything you’ve come up with so far and see what steps still need to be taken to start putting this in motion. You may want to use U.S. Sailing’s Reach program for cur- riculum guidelines and explore developing additional cur- riculum that is specific to your physical location, using your direct surroundings as a teaching tool. Pieces you may want to consider when designing your program are: • Staff – certified sailing instructors and trained on-land environmental educators.
• Management – someone to be the point of contact for all teachers and partners. This person manages paperwork, contracts, scheduling and most likely is the staff who is a Director that is on land throughout the duration of pro- gram implementation.
• Equipment – larger keelboats (20+ feet) are ideal ves- sels. Groups of students, teachers, and a certified sailing instructor can all fit on board.
• Safety – you will need a safety boat (at least in the water by the dock) in the event of an on-water emergency. First aid kits should also be on board the boats and on-land. All staff should be certified in first aid and CPR. Radios are a must for communication to the office where the Director is monitoring weather and able to support the group.
• Paperwork – make sure to have a written agreement with your partners indicating the services each is providing, payment, and liability waivers.
• Evaluation – creating a tool to evaluate your program is one of the most difficult pieces of the puzzle. Without it though, you won’t know if you’re doing a good job and if students and teachers are enjoying it and learning something
Once you’ve got a plan for most everything above, you’ll want to reach out to potential partners to let them know the program is in the works, and start to solicit some feedback on what they would like to see. Their answers may range from scholarships and monetary support, to incorporat- ing pirate puns, to a specific lesson. Figuring out what your partners need is vital, so build that foundation of donors, grantors, certified instructors, skilled educators, program directors, and logistics thoroughly. Starting this step early in the process is recommended, as we’ve found it can take quite a bit of time. Once you start talking with people about your new and innovative program they’re going to get excited and want to be a part of it. While we started our program at a non-profit sailing center
and sought out school partners, we recognize that you could be thinking about starting this program from the teacher’s point of view. To get started, research local sailing centers and yacht clubs, and use US Sailing’s website as a resource to find out who in your area is using the Reach curriculum, and if that curriculum makes sense for your class. Talk to other non-profits to see if they may be interested in partnering, and remember – don’t be afraid to reach out to organizations that have successfully started a program to ask for advice.
Be Patient Floating Classrooms has come a long way, and the road to
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success has been challenging. We’ve worked hard to fix what can be fixed while respecting the process and the indi- vidual needs of those involved, paying attention to details, and being patient and positive. All of this is key to creating a successful experiential education program on land and water. As experiential education itself promotes, the experi- ence is everything. Understand that the experience aids in learning and that, in this case, the trial and error process will be difficult, but worth learning from and full of poten- tial for growth.
The young people of today, whether they’re in fourth grade, high school, or college, represent the generation that will be responsible for the conservation, restoration, and overall health of the environment. When thinking about your own program, remember that even a modest program can pro- mote a large scale lasting impact, and that there is beautiful potential and achievability in all experiential education.
Dayna McRoberts is the Education & Outreach VISTA at the Community Sailing Center in Burlington, Vermont, and has worked with the program since May of 2015. Jen Guimaraes is the Associate Director at the Community Sailing Center, and has been managing programs and curriculum for the past 10 years. She is the Chair of US Sailing’s Community Sailing Committee, a US Sailing Instructor Trainer for Small- boat and Reach and a member of their National Faculty.
Notes 1. US Sailing Reach Program
http://reach.ussailing.org/
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