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The rising cost of tradition A program that brings Gold Hill students to the ocean is in danger of being swamped by a financial wave By BUFFY POLLOCK for the Mail Tribune The finale of a 30-year tradition looms on the horizon unless a small band of fund-raisers and one determined mom can raise enough money for Patrick Elementary fifth-graders to take their annual Outdoor School trip. The Gold Hill group not only needs to raise $10,000 for this year's group, but they need to figure out how to continue funding the trip for future students. "If I can't raise $7,000 by February, we'll start cutting some stuff out," said Lori Hettman, a mother who stepped up to bat when funding became a roadblock. Since 1973, fifth-graders have bid farewell to elementary school by taking a weeklong adventure called Outdoor School, a sort of capstone to fifth grade. The trip - which originally took students to study mountains as part of district curriculum - took on a marine theme eight years ago. This year's students hope to stay at the Drift Creek Lodge near Newport and spend their week visiting places such as the Oregon Dunes, the Yaquina Head Outstanding Natural Area, Oregon Coast Aquarium and the Hatfield Marine Science Center as well as taking a boat ride on Marine Discovery Tours. "This trip we're taking is probably the most educational trip I've been on," said fifth-grade teacher Rob Lewis, who took the mountain and coastal trips "years ago" as a student at Patrick and, later, as a counselor during high school. And it's not just a trip students get handed to them. "They learn an incredible amount before we ever leave," said John Durbin, another fifth-grade teacher. "They do a full-blown report or visual on things like biologists and foresters, tsunamis, coastal industries. It's an experience they can't get sitting in a classroom." But an experience that comes with a price tag that has grown to $10,000 a year. "A pretty big number," said Principal Bruce Fauble, "for a small community." Faced with budget restraints, the district has been unable to fund the trip for 13 years, relying instead on fund-raisers in the community. After last year's trip, Fauble decided fund-raising had become a drain on parents and the community and asked parents to seek alternative funding. "It's an outstanding learning experience for our kids but it costs a lot of money. We decided to be sensitive to the community and didn't want to keep asking and asking and asking," he said. Which is when Hettman stepped in. "This was a tradition no one wanted to see end," said the mom who will see her third child participate in Outdoor School this May. "Basically, the trips can continue if we figure out how to get outside funding." So far, Hettman has raised $2,750 worth of $150 sponsorships - the cost per student for food, lodging, busing and admission prices - through corporate sponsorships. Sponsors so far include Rogue River Kiwanis, Skelton, Straus and Siebert Architects, Bear Creek Corp., InTransit, Webfoot, LTM and numerous parents and private sponsors. Hettman said February was a sort of "cut off " at which point reservations requiring deposits would need to be made. "When planes crashed into the World Trade Center, I was just getting started. Things are rough right now for everyone, so we just have to put our begging hats on," she said. "These kids here are our future, and they deserve this opportunity to do something they normally couldn't. If one kid says 'I wanna be a marine biologist' or 'I wanna save the environment,' then it was worth it." A holiday craft show on the grounds of Patrick last weekend included a table to raise money, and a magazine drive in February is anticipated to cover the cost of at least six of the 65 students. Donations may be made to Patrick Outdoor School, c/o Patrick Elementary, 1500 Second Ave., Gold Hill, 97525. For more information, contact Hettman at 855-1580. Buffy Pollock is a free-lance writer living in Medford. E-mail her at [email protected] . Mail Tribune Home | Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. | Dow Jones & Co., Inc. | Privacy | Contact Us Copyright � 2001 Mail Tribune, Inc.