The Experiential Education model works! Waypoint’s adventure-learning program is back for the second year in a row in the Special Education Department at Somerville Public Schools and the impact is evident in teachers’ reactions after a day of rock climbing at Central Rock Gym: “I’m blown away with how my students participated! We work hard with [Michael] to use complete sentences in the classroom and he was doing that naturally today!” said Ms. Sweeney from the Kennedy School. Students like Michael took on the challenge of putting on a climbing harness, tying into the ropes, climbing the rock wall, and working together as a team to support one another.

It was all set-up during a Teambuilding exercise in their gymnasium a week prior to our climbing adventure. Students got to explore the concepts of supporting one another and working as a team by passing a ball through the group in a certain order as fast as they could. Effective teams take practice and Waypoint is building them in Somerville. We’re thrilled to be back for Year 2 and are looking forward to over 20 more adventures coming up! Click to watch the story of a boy named Matthew from Somerville and gain more insight into how this partnership works.