Community Based Learning

Reinventing the study trip is our district's focus at the elementary level. We have begun to transform the traditional one-day, isolated study trip into a multi-day, immersive learning experience that brings learning alive for all of our students. While we continue to expand these experiences at all grade levels, we invite you to learn more about our current grade-level experiences below.

Every first grader has the opportunity to visit, explore, and learn about Ritchey Woods Nature Preserve and the environment through a combination of curriculum-based activities and hands-on exploration. Led by Fishers Parks staff, students visit Ritchey Woods in both the Spring and Fall while staff also visit each class two times during the year for lessons in the classroom that are directly tied to academic standards for science and math in addition to learning about nature and environmental stewardship. 

Farm 2 Table will focus on plant and animal adaptation, weather and erosion, and the history of farming at the Fishers AgriPark. This provides a great opportunity for kids to see that learning happens all around them and not just in the four walls of their classrooms. It allows them to transfer what they have already learned, while simultaneously learning new content. 

All 4th graders in the district enjoy a multi-day experience at Conner Prairie, a local living history museum. Custom designed by our teacher-in-residence, Amy Murch, students experience a unique curriculum that enhances their history and science academic standards by utilizing Conner Prairie's 1,000-acre facility that recreates 19th century life along the White River through live historical interpreters, buildings, and reenactments.

The Fishers Maker Playground is located inside Hub & Spoke. During the school year, students in fifth grade students will be lead in various hands-on projects in an effort to develop a better understanding of STEM. These students will embark on an experience that encourages the use of creativity and problem-solving necessary for the maker mindset. The goal is for HSE fifth grades to be given the agency to discover a question whether it be scientific, personal or artistic and follow it through the learning process.

At the secondary level, we strive to provide innovative course offerings and work-based learning opportunities. From the classroom to the real world, our students build their skills through unique applications of their learning. While we continue to expand these opportunities, we invite you to learn more about our current offerings below.

Located northwest of Delphi, IN on the banks of the Tippecanoe River, Camp Tecumseh is a YMCA outdoor learning center that hosts HSE Schools' 7th-grade students for a 3-day/2-night study trip. Students primarily learn experiential math and science-based lessons that incorporate the forests, water, flora, fauna, and open fields in a 600-acre classroom.  The program provides leadership opportunities for high school counselors who work in tandem to lead groups of about eight 7^th graders through nearly twenty lessons.  In addition, students canoe, rock climb, square dance, and more!  

High School students can take classes in Biomedical Science, Computer Science, and Engineering that are designed by Project Lead the Way, a national organization that is "focused on empowering students and transforming the teaching experience." Teachers of these classes receive specified training from PLTW to transform their classrooms to engage students with real-world learning experiences. 

Designed to provide opportunities for students to explore careers, career exploration internships emphasize applying skills developed through instruction and learning new career competencies at the internship site. The internship is tailored to the unique interests and potential career of the student to help the student determine if it is the correct career path for them. 

Students can gain valuable hands-on experience built into their class schedule in a variety of career fields. Nursing, welding, cosmetology, automotive service and repair, dentistry, and law enforcement are just a few of the careers that students can explore with the option to earn credits toward a local two-year college or university.