Educational Liaisons

The Catskill Mountain Foundation has partnered with the Hunter-Tannersville Central School District and the Windham-Ashland-Jewett Central School District to encourage academics to exceed promotion standards, with an emphasis on the arts. Our goal is to integrate academics with the arts to provide a rich educational experience, which stimulates the intellect of our students. We also provide a safe and positive learning environment for students to develop as learners and as members of a diverse community. The faculty and staff in both Mountain Top communities set high expectations for our students, and provide a setting where every child is valued and respected.

The 2009 school year started out with the HTC fourth grade visiting the Sugar Maples Center for Creative Arts for an environmental arts education program. The students learned the basics of gardening, nutrition, cultural awareness, environmental stewardship and healthy living in our Farm Youth Program. The students started each day with a healthy snack, outdoor playtime, arts and crafts. Main activities included planning a flower and vegetable garden, painting garden signs, learning about recycling and composting and starting seed transplants in the greenhouse. The students shared their experiences at Sugar Maples on the following site: www.mrfletchersfourthgrade.blogspot.com. One student stated: "I had a fantastic time at Sugar Maples." This trip was part of our "Bring Your Own Bag" campaign to reduce the number of plastic and paper bags we use when shopping...and to inspire others to do so as well. We are proud of the HTC fourth grade students for their efforts to work together and achieve outstanding results that will make a difference in the world in which we live!

HTC High School students also spent a day on the farm at the Sugar Maples campus. They attended classes and workshops throughout the day, most commenting how wonderful it was to see first-hand what was required to run a farm. They sampled vegetables grown on the farm and went back to school to start their own seedlings, and are designing and building a greenhouse at the Middle School/High School on the HTC Tannersville campus.

We are also thrilled to report that the entire HTC faculty met in November to tour the CMF campus and take part in an informational workshop. The teachers were amazed by the wealth of resources available in our community. The faculty in both the HTC and WAJ districts are busy designing proposals for ways which which to make valuable use of the CMF campus, implementing multiple learning activities to enhance instruction. Every student will participate in a variety of arts activities, including dance, vocal music, visual art and outdoor environmental education. Students will also attend plays and symphonies, visit our gallery and experience visits with world-famous authors and nationally-renowned artists! We currently have just under 1,000 students participating in these programs.