Outdoor lab - safety

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What was the Oakridge incident?

My 5th grader is riding the bus back and forth during his class time out there. He didn't want to deal with anyone's dads snoring or girls seeing him in his jammies.

School offered the bus ride out of the gate.

Two 5th graders had inappropriate contact.

I’m sure you can find the thread here if you look.

[Anonymous]

Who makes decisions on safety protocol at the Outdoor Lab?

[Anonymous]

OP, I'm not sure that you will have your questions thoroughly answered by the school. If you don't feel comfortable letting your kid stay overnight, then don't.

[Anonymous]

They should just shut the whole thing down and spend the money on teacher raises and smaller class sizes.

[Anonymous]

That's probably what they'll do in the next year or so. It's cost the school system an incredible amount of money over the last year.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP, I'm not sure that you will have your questions thoroughly answered by the school. If you don't feel comfortable letting your kid stay overnight, then don't.

Or chaperone yourself. Or have your husband do it if you kid is a boy.

Crowdsourcing DCUM is going to get you nowhere.

[Anonymous]

This info is several years old, but at our school girls went one week and boys the next. Both moms and dads could chaperone either gender, but they did not sleep in tents with kids. Maybe they could sleep in a tent with their own child if they requested but I never saw this. Parents sleep nearby but in a separate section. 4 kids to a tent. They needed to ask a buddy to go with them if they went to the bathroom. This is the same process BSA uses. Indoor bathrooms with flush toilets and running water are available about a 5 minute walk away from sleeping area. The tents are set up (by users, they demonstrate set up process and this is part of the learning experience) on platforms so not directly on the ground. It's a wooden platform so not exactly comfortable. I would have preferred being on the ground. Bring a good sleeping pad and prepare to have an uncomfortable night.

[Anonymous]

The program has changed a lot in the last few years. Science Supervisor took staff off of program and overnights which led to unsafe conditions and unmentionable consequences.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:This info is several years old, but at our school girls went one week and boys the next. Both moms and dads could chaperone either gender, but they did not sleep in tents with kids. Maybe they could sleep in a tent with their own child if they requested but I never saw this. Parents sleep nearby but in a separate section. 4 kids to a tent. They needed to ask a buddy to go with them if they went to the bathroom. This is the same process BSA uses. Indoor bathrooms with flush toilets and running water are available about a 5 minute walk away from sleeping area. The tents are set up (by users, they demonstrate set up process and this is part of the learning experience) on platforms so not directly on the ground. It's a wooden platform so not exactly comfortable. I would have preferred being on the ground. Bring a good sleeping pad and prepare to have an uncomfortable night.

Our experience was basically the same and is also a few years dated. If things have changed for the worse then it's unfortunate. We did find that the Lab staff was excellent but left at night and the teachers can only do so much, especially since their tent was a little away from the main group. During the overnight, we were fortunate to have most of the parents actually acting more like surrogate teachers instead of thinking that it was a personal camping trip with their own kid and their friends. Maybe an incident like the one people are talking about can be better avoided if kids can pick their tent partners (not sure if this is the case across the board) and expectations about personal boundaries can be openly discussed (in our case it wasn't addressed but an incident didn't happen). We had three or four to a tent so not sure how something can happen between two kids without the another kid being present most of the time. I do think that which parents are allowed to go could determine the experience that the majority of kids have. This is coming from a borderline underperforming school and we volunteered for Outdoor Lab for multiple grades. The Outdoor Lab, including the overnight camping, does serve a great purpose that many kids from Arlington will surprisingly never experience if not for its existence. Seriously, if you care so much about the safety of the Outdoor Lab, please volunteer since , on average, you will undoubtedly be more vigilant. Your teachers and the Outdoor Lab staff will be most appreciative and the kids will have a generally better learning experience.

[Anonymous]

This should be a day trip. Having 5th graders in the woods overnight with only loose supervision is obviously a terrible idea.

[Anonymous]

Personally I don’t see the benefit of it being overnight, but the Outdoor lab is phenomenal IMO.

[Anonymous]

You all are more than welcome to keep your kids at home, but this overnight was my kids’ favorite thing they did in elementary school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:You all are more than welcome to keep your kids at home, but this overnight was my kids’ favorite thing they did in elementary school.

What year did you go to the center?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:This should be a day trip. Having 5th graders in the woods overnight with only loose supervision is obviously a terrible idea.

I mean boy scouts and girl scouts both sleep in tents without adults in them. In fact boys scouts have very strict rules against adults sleeping in tents with kids (obviously). It may surprise you but most 10 and 11 year olds don't want to wander around the woods at night.

[Anonymous]

I went as a student about 20 years ago and it was the best day ever as an APS student. I returned again with my child last year and couldn't believe how poor the instruction and staffing had become. No outdoor leadership skills or knowledge of the local flora and fauna whatsoever. Even our classroom teachers were apologetic about the conditions there.