National Park ServiceU.S. Department of the Interior

Weir Farm National Historic Site Connecticut

A Park for Every Classroom

Weir Farm NHS has had great success with education programs like Take Part in Art and the corresponding Art Alive! curriculum-based program, and now hopes to incorporate place-based education opportunities with teachers like you through A Park for Every Classroom. Our goal is to offer resources and assistance to teachers, helping them integrate place-based lesson plans and enhance student learning experiences by bringing classrooms to Weir Farm NHS. The National Park Service provides opportunities for children to learn about the national parks, nature, the nation’s history, and issues central to our civic life, and hopes to reach 25% of K-12 students by the agency’s 100th anniversary in 2016. By partnering with Weir Farm NHS through PEC, you will become an integral part of the effort to help your local national park fulfill its educational mission!

Expanding Opportunities Through PEC

Julian Alden Weir, a leading figure in American art and the development of

American Impressionism, acquired the farm in 1882. After Weir, the artistic legacy was

continued by his daughter, painter Dorothy Weir Young and her husband, sculptor Mahonri Young, followed by New England painters Sperry and Doris Andrews. Home to three generations of American artists, the 60 acre park includes historic, cultural, and natural resources, and is one of the nation’s finest remaining landscapes of American art. Whether you teach art, science, social studies, physical education, or another subject, opportunities abound for student enrichment at Weir Farm NHS! Weir Farm National Historic Site 735 Nod Hill Road Wilton, CT 06897 www.nps.gov/wefa (203)834-1896

About Weir Farm NHS

Creating place-based educational opportunities in partnership with local schools and community partners

What is a Park for Every Classroom?Modeled after the successful Forest for Every Classroom (FFEC) program, a Park for Every Classroom (PEC) will engage teachers in immersion experiences that lead to teacher-created programs. These programs utilize park resources and place-based education practices to educate and engage their students in new and meaningful ways. Through PEC, local teachers like you will be provided with immersion experiences at Weir Farm National Historic Site (NHS), giving you the resources you need to utilize your local national park as a classroom. PEC connects parks, schools, and community partners with subject matter experts to provide professional development opportunities for you which lead to high quality place-based learning experiences for your students.

Weir Farm NHS offers immersion workshops to teachers who are interested in using the park as a classroom. At these workshops, teachers receive guidance and information on PEC, Place-Based Education, Service Learning, and Understanding by Design©. There are activities, presentations, tours, brainstorming sessions, and time to work together on ideas for lesson plans and projects. Workshops are designed to be a fun, educational, and exciting experience that creates a community of teachers dedicated to bringing their classrooms to Weir Farm NHS, as well as Weir Farm NHS into their classrooms.

Following the workshops, Weir Farm NHS will continue to provide professional development opportunities and ongoing support for teachers as they build lesson plans and incorporate Weir Farm NHS into their curriculum!

Two-Day Teacher Immersion Workshops

Get Involved! For more information about

A Park for Every Classroom or for upcoming workshop dates please contact Park Ranger Kristin

Lessard at Kristin_Lessard@nps.gov or (203) 834-1896 x11.

As educators, we want to know that we are making a difference, that our efforts will eventually benefit not only our students but the world outside our classrooms. PEC offers a powerful opportunity to positively effect your students and the world through teacher immersion and place based education (PBE). PBE immerses students in heritage, cultures, landscapes, opportunities and experiences, using these as a foundation for the study of language arts, mathematics, social studies, science and other subjects across the curriculum. According to www.promiseofplace.org, PBE boosts students’ engagement, academic achievement, and sense of personal efficacy as stewards of their local environment and community. It also can re-energize teachers and forge strong ties between local organizations, schools, and community, improving quality of life and economic vitality.

How does this benefit me, my students, and my community?

“This course has rekindled my soul and passion for teaching. It has made it meaningful again. I am so grateful for the vision, the inspiration, the follow-through, and the commitment and knowledge that the partners have channeled through us.” - FFEC Teacher