James Stith

Stith’s innovative teaching idea, “Outdoor Learning Spaces,” focuses on establishing the first outdoor learning space on the campus of Newcastle High School. According to Stith, these spaces will be available for any teacher to use and will be scalable to provide outdoor learning spaces for Newcastle High School and in other schools in the district. The Voya Unsung Heroes grant will also be used to support the long-term sustainability of the project. Resources will be allocated for staff members to participate in professional development courses related to place-based learning. This will give staff the know-how to leverage the outdoor learning spaces beyond simply moving their classroom outside and help them engage the students with their curriculum in these novel spaces.