Abandoned Outdoor Classroom Revealed
by Christiana Odom
About 14 years ago, an outside classroom was created for Howard Middle School students to enjoy class time surrounded by nature. Unfortunately, due to unknown circumstances, the classroom went into disuse only six years into its development.
Eight years later, the classroom was discovered accidentally by a couple of students and now, its existence is once again brought to light.
“There’s so many things you could do, you could do science, you could do the math, or botany,” said retired teacher Rebecca Rosson. “I mean, it’s just a one-of-a-kind place to be.”
Rosson was a Howard Middle School science teacher until 2014 when she retired. She was the kind of person who loved the outdoors and she only found it fitting to share that amazing experience with her students.
“We might collect leaves, identify some plants. It was always a fun time,” Rosson said.
In 2004 Howard managed to receive a $5,000 grant from The Lowe’s Toolbox for Education program. The money Howard Middle received was put toward the construction of the classroom.
As new generations appear “out of doors has become less and less of a common experience with today’s students,” Rosson said in a 2014 article from the Howard Middle Headlines.
The outdoor location was once owned by a company known as Santa’s Forrest, a Christmas tree company. The Bibb County Board of Education bought the land at some point. But due to the large size of the old Christmas trees, the removal of them made a permanent impact on the forest floor. Huge holes were left where the trees used to be, and they still exist to this day.
In Rosson’s opinion, every school administration is “different,” and it’s up to school leaders to determine whether or not an outdoor classroom is beneficial to a learning environment.
“I remember how much I liked it, how much I loved sharing that with my kids,” Rosson said, reflecting on the last time she visited the space in 2014.
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