Kelliher School serves nearly 300 students in kindergarten thru twelfth grade. It’s a small school with a huge personality. In this segment of Let’s Visit, discover some of the magic happening in Kelliher School- an active robotics team, classroom cattle, hydroponic gardening, community projects to make the world healthier and safer, and a fabrication lab that fuses art class with shop class turning kids’ design dreams into reality. The innovative, often student-driven learning experiences cultivated at Kelliher School are inspiring.
I went to the school board meeting and I said, “I don't want books but I want cows,” and I got some funny looks but they were super supportive and loving the idea. So we have three steers that we own and now we're getting two hydroponic towers so we'll be growing food indoors until we can get our greenhouses. So by the end of the year we should have steak and salad. – Amy Mastin, Science and Intro to Ag teacher
Some kids do a backpack program…We started that last year and they did an awesome job. They send food home to anyone who feels that they're not going to get any food on the weekend, so the kids have something to eat…they're really creative in their fundraising…The opportunities that they have to learn and just to go and talk to the business people is really a huge thing… some kids do a backpack program and so we started that last year and they did an awesome job. That's what's really fun… when you see them being excited about it. – Clare Kupcho, FACS teacher and FCCLA advisor
Amy Mastin and Clare Kupcho create educational experiences for their students that have real world value and make a positive impact on the community of the school and beyond. Mrs. Mastin is crafting opportunities for students to experience the work and art of raising healthy cattle, modern gardening techniques that include hydroponic gardens and she’s even inspiring kids to design and weld their own cattle brand. Mrs. Kupcho encourages students in her FCCLA group to consider ways they can help their classmates, their community and people who have fallen on tough times. Both Mrs. Mastin and Mrs. Kupcho inspire kids and learning in ways a textbook falls far short.
Hear all about their innovative, student-driven learning in this segment of Let’s Visit!
