The Growing Rows of Wisdom Outdoor Learning Initiative is a program that represents the collaboration between the Cleveland Municipal School District, Cleveland Botanical Gardens, the City of Cleveland, Ohio State University Extension and ParkWorks that serves as leading partner.
Although the outdoor learning initiative is not new to the Cleveland Schools, it has been reintroduced with a refreshing new approach; Outdoor Learning as a Career Path. Outdoor Learning is now a component of the Career and Technical Education Office in the Post Secondary Education Department offered through the CMSD.
The G.R.O.W. program is designed to meet the needs of the Cleveland Municipal School District. Students engage in hands-on gardening and outdoor exploration experiences as they learn math and science skills that will better prepare them for the State Proficiency exam, develop a sense of culture and increase self esteem through witnessing the success of their creative ideas.
With the guidance of the partnering organizations, CMSD's teachers and staff are assisted in applying Outdoor Learning: gardening, horticulture, landscaping, recycling and historic preservation into a trade or long-term career experience for students and their families. Consequently, keeping in line with the Districts focus on Educating Cleveland's Children through a strong connection to school, home, and community.
Besides GROW's annual Harvest Festival and teacher symposium, CMSD, in partnership with ParkWorks and other organizations is concentrating efforts in:
- Promoting, developing and facilitating creative outdoor and environmental education programs as effective tools to assist and reinforce curriculum objectives,
- Training and assisting formal and informal educators to succeed in the process of creation, development and maintenance of outdoor learning centers/gardens,
- Creating and/or improving green spaces on school grounds, and
- Raising the quality of life at schools, as well as, at surrounding communities