"A Trail to Every Classroom" (TTEC) is a set of three professional development conferences that provide educators with the resources they need to bring the Appalachian Trail, and the outdoors in general, into their curriculum. This rigorous program is designed to instruct teachers of all levels in the pedagogy of "place-based service learning" and create a space to construct curriculum tailored to their school's individual needs while surrounded by experts from the Appalachian Trail Conservancy.
TTEC has helped to build the Environmental trail, and collaboration in general, at Middlesex Elementary. Both of the current leaders of the trail, Tyler Pierce, attended the Trail to Every Classroom program in 2015. Through this experience they, and 48 other educators from along the entire Appalachian Trail Corridor, pushed the boundaries of their professional skills, classroom pedagogy, as well as the physical boundaries of their classroom walls. This program led the the creation of the Middlesex Environmental Service Learning club, which can be learned about in greater detail through the tab on the left!
Tyler Pierce has said "one of the most powerful things I experienced at TTEC was the sincere, meaningful, and lasting collaboration with teachers all along the 2,184 miles of the Appalachian Trail." He was not the only one who expressed the power of this program to promote collaboration among colleagues, as their website is full of administrative testimonials echoing his statements. You can explore that site further by clicking on the image above.
Mr. Pierce and Mr. Ewert would be more than happy to share their own testimonial account of the program, please feel free to reach out to them via email.
