Academics

"Out-the-door" learning is ECS's holistic teaching method.

A classroom is one learning environment but not the only one. Working through problems outside the classroom in nature with community partners builds a greater understanding and connection to the wider world. 

Environmental Education focuses the natural, built and social environments and the connects between them. 

At ECS we educate students by having them grapple with issues rooted in relevant, real-world problems.
 

ECS deploys 2-hour Discovery Block within the Kindergarten and First Grade curriculum! During this block, children will participate in research-backed, play-based activities that will promote physical, social, emotional, and cognitive development . Connecting the Discovery Block to the rigorous instruction provided in the Math, Literacy, and Environmental Literacy blocks will provide students with a well-rounded, meaningful, and innovative model.

Play-based learning is child-centered, engaging, and imaginative, fostering a love of discovery and exploration, encouraging curiosity, and developing a desire for lifelong learning. Opportunities to enhance literacy, math, science, and social and emotional skills will be provided in a meaningful cont ext , where students will learn to solve  problems, try out new ideas and experiences and explore the world around them.

Frick Park Field Studies are extended Environmental Literacy lessons that take place in Frick Park. ECS Intermediate students, teachers, and parent volunteers become scientists “in the field” exploring the connections between built, social, and natural environments through themes like biodiversity, eco-footprints, and watersheds.  Frick Park Field Studies allow students to connect curiosity and play while learning about human impacts on the natural environment, take part in stewardship and citizen science while exploring the Frick Park ecosystem, and partner with local organizations to understand stream health and water quality.  Current community partners include Upstream Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh Park Rangers, Allegheny Cleanways, and Pittsburgh Parks Conservancy.

Environmental Citizenship classes at the middle school are designed to equip students with the knowledge, agency, and skills necessary to become resilient citizens. The curriculum teaches students methods for exploring, understanding, and empathizing with their local natural, built, and social environments.

Students will engage in maker-centered learning, technology, and coding to prototype and test their ideas and plans. These project-based classes include hands-on activities and opportunities for experiential learning, allowing students to demonstrate mastery of the content through their many methods.

Additionally, the program emphasizes building student identity, agency, and voice, providing a balance of new skill development and opportunities to explore and connect with themes such as environmental justice, citizenship, and sustainability.

Learn more about the Quest Labs in Eighth Grade.