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Ashland, Oregon HOME Valley & State Sports Opinion/Editorial Classifieds Business Columnists Obituaries Weather Archive Revels Etcetera Backpage O-Zone Real Estate Guide Menu Guide Shakespeare Subscribe Contact Us Rate Card Place an Ad June 16, 2006 Alumni come together to reconnect, share stories By Sarah Golden Tidings correspondent Sunday marked the graduation of the tenth class of students to move through the Wilderness Charter School, a program at Ashland High. In honor of completing a decade successfully, past students gathered last weekend to share stories, catch up and talk about what they have done since graduating from WCS. “So many students have left the Charter School feeling really inspired I was curious to see what people have actually done,” said Katie Holden, teacher at WCS and organizer of reunion. “I wanted to hear their stories and hear their successes — and that’s exactly what we’ve done.” WCS is an alternative education curriculum offered to students their junior of senior year. The program’s mission is “to study and practice community, self-reliance, and ecological connection with the intention of creating a sustainable future.” This is done through the building of a democratic community, writing, journaling, academics and solitude, along with beginning and ending the school year with an extended wilderness experiences, about two weeks long each. The reunion included a hike and potluck dinner on Saturday and a “check-in” and informal gathering at the Black Sheep on Sunday. When the students are in WCS, they partake in weekly check-ins, a time when the community sits in a circle and goes around taking turns talking about their lives, feelings or anything currently important. Charter School grads pose behind cob-built items. “Sitting in that space and listening to one another has proven to be one of the most powerful things we can do to create a community and to make a connection with each other,” said Holden. Sunday was a throwback to those times as people shared their chosen path post Charter School. “The weekend has been absolutely wonderful,” said Jim Haim, a founder and teacher at WCS. “It’s so magical to get these people together and see how connected they still are to the experiences, even though it was just one year.” Around 50 of the more than 200 past Charter School students attended the check-in Sunday, with people from every year of the program. One of the themes that ran through the entire check-in was how many graduates continued to pursue sustainability and community. “For most of the students it was a pivotal time,” said Holden. “It either helped them get a vision for their future and type of education they wanted or a time where they really got to honor themselves, and that confidence empowered them to take the next step.” “It’s also wonderful to see how many of them have kept in touch with each other,” added Haim, noting that many graduates are still good friend, living together, dating or even engaged. When WCS was created in 1995, the classroom was in the main portion of the high school. Since then, the straw-bail classroom has been built and the land that it is on has been cultivated. The curriculum over the years has also evolved to include principals that new teachers bring to the program. The objectives and purpose, however, have largely remained the same. “The initial vision was to share passions and to expose young people to how beautiful the planet is,” said Haim. “Have them gain insight on their own personal potential and how to live a wonderful life — a life of service and stewardship that can also be full of joy, community and love.” It is the contrast between the mainstream American lifestyle and living close to the earth that WCS tries to expose. It is one of the reasons that the year starts with an extended backpacking trip; students have the opportunity to live a very simple life with a small community for a couple weeks and, with re-entering society, experience viewing their own society from a new vantage. “Going into the wilderness is visiting another culture,” said Haim. “Being surrounded by things from the natural world offers an incredible piece to the transition into adulthood.” The Charter School, unlike mainstream education, encourages students to take a lot of time for self-reflection, including solos (days spent completely alone) on the extended backpacking trips. Haim feels this is something often skimmed over at a crucial time in life. “This age is perfect for doing some kind of passage into adulthood,” said Haim. “We recognize that and we give student permission to take that on and give students the opportunity to come into themselves as an adult.” Perhaps that opportunity is the reason so many past students remember Charter School as a crucial time. “Charter school is life changing for the majority of people in it,” said Stephanie Elliott, 2004 WCS graduate. “Not many kids actually feel love for a high school program — it’s very rare.” As more students have gone through WCS, the community of the support for the program has grown, shown through donations, attendance at events and the high school’s administration. “There is much more of an open arms acceptances of what we’re doing now,” said Haim, who is incredibly thankful for that support. “We haven’t had to prove ourselves like we did the first few years.” “Charter School has given us all a taste of what community feels like,” said Kevin Spears, a student from 2003. “It also instilled within us many tools for cultivating that wherever we go. It surrounds me all over the world in many different directions - always with an eye for the inter process, how I interact with the world and other people, the life I want to live and how to take an empowered role in creating it.” . Leave a Comment: --> Copyright © 2006 Ashland Daily Tidings and Ottaway Newspapers. All Rights Reserved.