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This project was designed to meet the mission statement of the ACP: "to help foster public understanding, appreciation, and stewardship of the Adirondack region's natural and cultural resources by providing educational resources and training opportunities for educators."Nineteen Art and Music teachers, from the entire Adirondack region, came to Great Camp Sagamore to spend a weekend immersed in the arts, history and environment of the Adirondacks. They toured the Adirondack Museum in Blue Mountain Lake and were entertained by traditional storyteller and musician Bill Smith, of Colton, NY. On Saturday, the teachers participated in an "Adirondack Challenge", a type of lesson plan developed by the Adirondack Curriculum Project, Leading Edge, and the Institute for Learning Centered Education. An "Adirondack Challenge" is a student-centered instructional activity that focuses on one of the Adirondack Curriculum Project's six curricula areas: Arts & Culture, Human History, Natural History, Government & Civics, Economy, and Health, Recreation & Life Skills. For the rest of the weekend, the teachers worked on creating their own "Adirondack Challenges" that will meet New York State Visual & Performing Arts Standards and will be used in their classrooms during the 2003-2004 school year. Each teacher has agreed to create a "challenge" that will include a product or performance, such as an exhibit or concert, that can be shared with their schools and communities. The teachers worked in small groups with a teacher/facilitator who is experienced in creating these "challenges. " Participating teachers came from the following school districts: Malone, Parishville-Hopkinton, Ogdensburg, Potsdam, Heuvelton, Ballston Spa, Hadley-Luzerne, Keene, Lake George, Town of Webb, Chazy, Corinth, Peru, Ticonderoga, Saranac Lake and Massena. Fredonia singer/songwriter Dan Berggren was among the "resource specialists" present. Others participating were: Sandra Hildreth, Anne Burnham and Nancy Brossard, artists; and Peggy Lynn, another well-known Adirondack performer. The artists displayed Adirondack inspired works and Dan and Peggy gave a moving performance of songs about people and places of the Adirondacks on Saturday evening. Last year Dan also did a benefit concert for the Adirondack Curriculum Project. In addition, artwork was displayed by regional artists Eleanor Sweeney and Barry Lobdell and representatives from the Natural History Museum of the Adirondacks, the Adirondack Mountain Club, and the Adirondack Park Visitor Interpretive Centers attended to interact with teachers and provide resource materials. The Department of Environmental Conservation provided a large number of brochures and pamphlets of interest to educators. Sitting in the main lodge of the Vanderbilt's, having meals in their
dining hall, canoeing on Sagamore Lake and hiking the trails in the surrounding
forest, the teachers participating in "Arts Forever Wild" truly did fully
experience the Adirondacks. These same teachers will meet several
times during the eighteen month grant period with co-directors Hildreth
and Hargis to review and reflect upon the "Adirondack Challenges" they
create and use in their classrooms. Their challenges will be added
to those of many other teachers, in other subject areas, that are currently
available to any educator through the Adirondack Curriculum Project's web
site.
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During
the weekend of July 18-20, 2003, a unique kind of teacher workshop was
held at the Great Camp Sagamore in Raquette Lake, NY. Katherine Hargis,
a Band Director at Ballston Spa Central School District and Sandra Hildreth,
a retired Madrid-Waddington Art teacher were the co-directors. "Arts Forever
Wild: Adirondack Arts Institute for K-12 Art & Music Teachers" is an
18 month project being funded in part by a $15,000 Arts Learning Grant
from the National Endowment for the Arts and was developed by the two teachers.