Roslyn Road dedicates new Outdoor Learning Center

The new Outdoor Learning Center at Roslyn Road Elementary School was dedicated at a ceremony Monday night with the snip of a pair of oversized scissors handled by Principal Paul Kirk and several Roslyn students.

The new space features an outdoor classroom outfitted with chalkboards, benches and overhead sun screens to shield learning minds from UV rays.

Kirk said the idea behind the learning center is to allow students an opportunity to enhance their traditional indoor classroom learning.

"The goal is that the OLC will be used by all classrooms, for activities formal and informal, in order to bring a richer understanding and appreciation of our natural world," Kirk said.

The original idea for using the space that the learning center now inhabits is credited to Sharon Kranz, who used to teach fourth grade at the school and is now an instructional coach at Arnett C. Lines and Hough Street Elementary schools.

In 2005, Kranz lead the effort to turn the space into the Children's Garden, a vegetable patch for students.

Kirk said after Kranz left Roslyn there wasn't anyone really passionate about the garden to head its operation, so teachers and parents went with the idea of the learning center.

Jeff Groh, the owner of Groh Works Landscape, said his company worked with teachers and parents for months to get the design for the learning center suited to everyone's desires.

Judy Cichock, a landscape architect at Groh Works, said the learning center is unique to the area.

"There's not a lot spaces in the Chicago area that really have a whole lot going on for an outdoor learning center," Cichock said. "So we just tried to come up with as many thoughts as possible where the kids could learn outside,"

The learning center was partially funded by donations from the Roslyn community. The large totem pole that shows the seasons and the water feature are examples of features that were donated.

Cichock said in the spring they are going to begin rolling out phase two which will include two additional classrooms, a whole weather station area and a vertical planting garden.

Those interested in donating to the outdoor learning center can buy an inscribed brick to be paved at the center. Details are on the Rosyln Road PTO webpage at www.barrington220.org/page/6845.

Kranz said the learning center has exceeded her expectations.

"I'm just so impressed with what they did with it," Kranz said. "In my biggest dreams it could have gone to the best place possible and this is it."