Photo by Bobby Mathews.
Hall-Kent Elementary School fifth-grade teacher Jennifer Cohn (left) and yearbook sponsor Leigh Lewis look over plans for the school’s new outdoor classroom, which will open for the 2019-20 academic year.
Leigh Lewis remembers what it was like to be in school on those gorgeous days when no one wants to be in the classroom, when students and teachers alike would find themselves staring out the window, drawn to the sunlight.
Lewis, the yearbook sponsor at Hall-Kent Elementary School, recalls the rare days when a teacher might take the class outside, instructing in the sunshine and fresh air, offering everyone a break from their daily routine.
It’s those kinds of memories that led Lewis to spearhead the drive to create an official outdoor classroom for Hall-Kent.
“I had thought about this for probably four or five years,” Lewis said. “I’d been looking at this greenspace for a long time, thinking that some use could be made of it. And then I took a three-year work sabbatical, so I had time to think about it.”
The space in question is an 1,800-square-foot courtyard anchored by a pair of crepe myrtle trees. Lewis, who has a background in landscape design, thought the space could be more than simply decorative.
“I wanted to come up with something that could benefit every student here,” Lewis said. “I wanted the space to be useful and educational for everyone.”
Lewis let the idea percolate for a while before approaching Hall-Kent Principal Kiana Coleman with the idea of an outdoor classroom. Lewis made a preliminary plan, including the scope of work to be done in the courtyard, sketched out her vision of the space and researched a preliminary price point for remaking the space.
“I kept looking at it, knowing what it was, but also knowing that it could be more,” Lewis said. “I remembered being outside as a student, and kept thinking about how helpful it would be to have a space where teachers can take their students to have structured time.”
After their discussion, Coleman gave Lewis the go-ahead to seek a grant from the Homewood City Schools Foundation, a group of parents, alumni, business owners and other interested parties invested in Homewood’s public schools.
The grant — $3,400 for materials — was submitted in January 2019 and approved two months later. Now, much of the ground has been cleared and the work to install the outdoor classrooms will take place over summer break. The goal is to have the outdoor classroom fully functional and open to students by the time the 2019-2020 school year begins in August.
Fifth-grade teacher Jennifer Cohn came aboard the project to help develop it into a legacy project for fifth-grade students, and her involvement helped lead to the HCSF grant. She said the new classroom won’t just benefit students.
“Something like that helps teachers as well as students,” Cohn said. “It gives us a different perspective so that we’re not confined toone space.”
Cohn, who sponsors the Hall-Kent Helpers — a service club for fifth-grade students — said the students will paint bricks that once lined the courtyard’s flowerbeds and they will be set in walkways to and from the outdoor classroom, as a legacy once the class moves on to the middle school.
“That’s kind of a good way to recycle and reuse materials we already had on hand,” Cohn said. “I’m looking at the outdoor classroom as a way that students can give back to the school. For the Helpers, we look for varying projects to help them develop service and leadership skills, and helping with the outdoor classroom is one of the ways we can explore those areas.”
The space will function with each element designed as part of a working classroom, including spaces for tactile and sensory learning. Hall-Kent’s behavioral specialist, Penney Owens, made sure the classroom would have opportunities for students with sensory needs, including “a place to relax and calm down if they get over-stimulated,” Cohn said.
Hall-Kent has a student population of around 650.
“I think what I’m most excited about is what this can do for the entire student population,” Lewis said. “Something like this has a chance to affect every student here.”
