Education Foundation Helps Bring Outdoor Classroom To Sand Springs School

Education foundations give teachers a chance to dream a little. And if the idea they dream up is good enough, the foundation can help make it come true.

Well, thanks to some brainstorming and some help, there’s something new out in the North woods of Sand Springs, where you’ll find the Northwoods Academy.

It’s an outdoor classroom.

Amy McAllister and her husband, Kevin, said the classroom was built after some brainstorming, then, a grant from the Sand Springs Education Foundation, some Boy Scouts working on an Eagle Project, and lots of parent and teacher volunteers

"A true tree house would have been high up; that probably wouldn't have been the best design for 500 kids," Amy said.

But this is next best thing. High up on a hill on the edge of the woods, it’s a great starting place for nature hikes.

"Story time, a lot of science and technology, math and literature there are no boundaries here," Amy said.

There are binoculars to study animals, there's room on the walls for graffiti and art projects; there are little openings so the smallest kids can see out too.