Spotlight on Discovery School

    At the May 13 school board meeting, the spotlight fell on the Discovery School program. The small school is enveloped in the Cascade School District family but is tucked away on the Fish Hatchery property and is reserved for high school age students.
    Just in the first few steps inside the one room school, visitors instantly notice the walls adorned with colorful art and intricate collages. This is just one example of the emphasis on "doing" education rather than the standard formula of memorization or lecturing.
    "We try and do. What I hear, I forget. What I see, I remember and what I do, I understand. So the goal out here is to try and do education," said Travis Blue, Discovery School teacher.
    The Discovery School is a real nod to hands on learning and magnifies the importance of creativity and practical skills. With 80 students and the mission of each student graduating, the Discovery School works hard and uniquely to reach their goal.
    "We try to bring more of the experience into education," said Blue. "How we do is by getting outside."
    Surrounded by the Fish Hatchery setting and Cascade Mountains backdrop, nature is a key component of education inside the tiny school. Blue used one example to drive home just how hands on the program is. On the wall is a river otter's bones forming the structure of the otter which Blue referenced to for one of the activities the class conducted.
    "That river otter came out of here. The river otter was harassing the fish here and was killed then donated to the program. So the students got off as much meat as they could. We had a really good time figuring out what muscles did what and then we buried it in a compost pile over the summer," explained Blue.
    After the summer, the students gathered domestic beetles to further the deterioration of the river otter. Once left with the bones, the students boiled down the bones and cleaned them to reassemble the otter. Not a typical science class procedure, but certainly one that had the students simultaneously enthralled and educated.
    "The students got to learn all about anatomy by getting their hands on the muscles and figuring all that stuff out," said Blue. It took a year to complete which also was a rewarding process for the students to partake in.
    The students have spent time in the water shed, in the classroom discussing ideal angles for avalanches and a variety of creative platforms for the students to learn about their surroundings. It's not all fun and games, the students use these activities to incorporate learning components like data collection, research and anatomy like presented with the river otter.
    "We wanted to get the kids out to know about our watersheds and do science. Hopefully it would spark something in them," said Blue.
    Blue stated that the school has two large grants coming their way regarding 'No Child Left Inside'. He presented a slide to demonstrate not only who the kids that graduated are, but where they have landed on the map and what they're doing with their degree pursuit.
    "They do a lot here. That doesn't mean they don't do bookwork and that they don't write. When they can, and it makes a difference, they go and they do and they do a wonderful job. It meets the needs of a lot of kids and without it a lot of kids would be lost, I think," said Bill Motsenbocker, Cascade Superintendent.