By Rebeca Pereira
Eight Northampton Public Schools programs have received a total $86,411 in grant funding from the Northampton Education Foundation’s 16th annual Endowment Awards, the largest disbursal awarded to the district’s schools in a single cycle. Recipient programs range from learning initiatives such as the Hitchcock Center’s Take it Outside! curriculum, which was piloted at Northampton schools last year, to nascent blueprints for experiential learning and novelty course offerings at the high school.
By Scott Merzback
AMHERST — Behaviors of squirrels and foxes, such as how the animals gather food and their methods of survival, are being featured in Crocker Farm School lessons for kindergartners and third graders. “Systems and Cycles: The Ecology of Our Own Place” is the residency program, led by an instructor from the Hitchcock Center for the Environment, that is giving about 140 children, including sixth graders, outdoor, nature-based and hands-on learning opportunities in science, engineering and sustainability. Funded by the Massachusetts Cultural Council’s Students And Teachers working with Artists, Scientists and Scholars, or STARS Program, Crocker Farm is one of 10 area schools participating.
Hitchcock Center for the Environment
at Hampshire College
845 West Street | Amherst MA 01002 | 413.256.6006 | 413.253.2809 fax