MEDIA RELEASE

Schwarzenegger Charter Elementary Students to
Celebrate Joys of Learning Under the Trees

(NORTHRIDGE, Calif., May 22, 2008) — The newest classroom at CHIME Institute’s Arnold Schwarzenegger Charter Elementary School, which has extensive ties to Cal State Northridge, has desks, but no walls.

But that doesn’t matter to the school’s 285 students, who have spent the past year learning math, social studies, language arts and science in an outdoor classroom, a garden they helped grow and design in the shade of an old Chinese elm tree in the school’s side yard.

The students are celebrating the success of their outdoor classroom which extends beyond a traditional garden to include differentiated areas of study with real representations of native California biomes, a weather station and a butterfly tent, in addition to a variety of other learning centers.

"Our students are proud of our school, and they are so proud of the outdoor classroom because it’ a place where there is no ceiling on learning," said Schwarzenegger principal Julie Fabrocini, education director for the CHIME Institute. "The children are encouraged and specifically instructed to use their eyes, ears, fingers and bodies to explore curriculum, and the result is an enthusiasm for learning that seems to have no bounds."

A special reception and student-led tours of the outdoor classroom will take place on Friday, May 30, to thank all those who have supported the school’s efforts to explore new ways of learning that are not constrained by walls. The celebration is expected to begin at 10:30 a.m. at the school, located at 19722 Collier St. in Woodland Hills.

Schwarzenegger parent Paddy Farrell-Thomas, who helped spearhead the effort to create the outdoor classroom, said the classroom’s creation would not have been possible without the support of the state as well as local businesses. The school received a $5,600 Toolbox for Education grant from Lowe’s Charitable and Educational Foundation, a $2,500 grant from the state, $1,200 from the California Fertilizer Foundation and equipment from Mantis and the National Gardening Association.

"Our school is committed to the development of students who are high-level thinkers, who thoroughly examine the connections between math, language arts, social studies and science," Farrell-Thomas said. "By enabling children to be in the same natural world in which the academic disciplines are based, we have introduced them to another perspective to consider."

CHIME Institute’s Arnold Schwarzenegger Charter Elementary School and its sister campus, CHIME Charter Middle School, are independent schools that provide free public education through affiliation with the Los Angeles Unified School District. The schools serve as demonstration and teacher-training sites for Cal State Northridge’s nationally acclaimed Michael D. Eisner College of Education. The elementary school has been named "Charter School of the Year" by the California Charter Schools Association.

Both schools are part of the CHIME Institute, located at Cal State Northridge, which is a national leader in developing and implementing model educational programs and dynamic research and training environments to disseminate best practices in inclusive education. The institute’s research and training center is housed in the Eisner College of Education. The CHIME Institute also offers an infant/toddler program and a preschool/kindergarten inclusion program which is located at CSUN.

CHIME has been recognized by the U.S. Department of Education as a national model for full inclusion of students with disabilities and for providing a blueprint for local schools across the country.

For more information about the charter elementary school, call the school at (818) 346-5100.