CLARK FORK — Clark Fork Junior/Senior High School has seen an increase in enrollment, grades and variety in learning since incorporating an experiential learning track program last year.

"It's all about learning by experience," said Mike Turnlund, Clark Fork social studies instructor and learning track coordinator. "The kids own this — it's their experience and it's an absolute delight.

With a small staff, the Clark Fork school always focused on core classes, but electives were not only desired by students, staff and parents, they are also needed to meet skills required by employers. It was about three years ago, Turnlund said, when the school principal, Phil Kemink, surveyed the students to find out what their interests would be, and from that response, five different tracks were formed.

The arts track, culinary arts track, great outdoors track, tech track and independent track are programs the students can take part in each Friday.

"All of the tracks are primarily focused on career exploration," Turnlund said. "They are all very different, but they all function in a similar way."

He said once the students explore careers, the program then allows them to take post-secondary steps needed to enter that career.

The arts track is led by local artists, in four-week blocks, who specialize in different mediums. The students not only do hands-on learning, but they also develop a relationship with the artists, ask questions and learn directly from an artist who is making a living creating art in the community, Turnlund said.

This month, Kelly Price, an artist specializing in silks among other mediums, is leading the class in projects. On Friday the students had finished making lanterns, with silk wrapped around the glass jars to provide a soft, colorful glow when lit. Last month the students created paintings with Catherine Earle, a local painter. The art program has expanded through grants by the Panhandle Alliance for Education, Turnlund said, which allows the school to hire the artists each month.

Culinary arts gives the students a chance to cook, but the focus is on culinary arts as a career. Three professional chefs from Schweitzer paid a visit to the students on Oct. 14, giving a presentation on what it is to be a chef, sharing their experiences and how they got there, Turnlunds said. They also did some cooking with the students — pizza, among other dishes.

"They have had restaurant owners come in, they have had nutritionists come in," Turnlund said. "Anything that is related to food, whether it is a dietician or a chef, so the kids get that experience and talk to the people directly."

On Friday, four students were making fresh-squeezed orange juice, carrot juice and pear juice. Another small group of students was working on apple pie, and others were making German food in preparation for a presentation.

Friday's great outdoors track was held at the school, which is not always the case. The program involves outdoor recreation, which includes community service projects, avalanche training and more. Two representatives from Kaniksu Land Trust were at the school Friday, teaching the students about different outdoor activities and different things to explore. Instructor KC MacDonald said Hope Elementary students were scheduled to come out the second half of the day, and Clark Fork students would teach the younger students what they learned. In turn, the Hope students would go back to school and teach other elementary students.

Earlier this month, students in the great outdoors track spent a day at the Baldfoot disc course near Sandpoint, clearing and burning debris, and building a bridge to help with runoff. They also helped decommission a trail on Scotchman Peak. Kaniksu Land Trust is one of the biggest supporters of the great outdoors, providing acreage for activities and Kaniksu personnel often help out with the program. Selkirk Outdoor Leadership and Education and Schweitzer are partners of the program as well, and PAFE is a "huge" contributor, MacDonald said.

In the tech track, students have a variety of options under the guidance of Instructor Marty Jones who, as a former engineer, has a "plethora of skills," Turnlund said.

"Kids can do anything from automotive repair to learning how to weld, computer programming, woodshop — whatever their interest is that's technical," Turnlund said.

Last year, students built a Farnsworth Fusor, or nuclear fusor. It took the entire year, but it worked, Turnlund said. There is a concentration on electrical cars in the program as well because "that is the future," he said. The students have also rebuilt a Suzuki Samurai

The individual track is geared toward high school juniors and seniors to get a mentor from the community who can guide them toward a specific career. This typically includes job shadowing, long-term or short-term, so the students get one-on-one, hands-on experience. Turnlund said school officials would like to, eventually, see all of the juniors and seniors participating in the individual track.

Turnlund said the students enjoy the tracks, but there are requirements before they are allowed to participate.

"It is a privilege to participate," he said. "They have to earn it, and they earn it by keeping their academics up and also by participating. It's all hands-on and it's very engaging."

Sometimes, Turnlund said, the instructors have to remind the students to eat lunch because they become so engaged in projects. Students who are behind academically have time on Fridays to catch up on their work and, if they get caught up in time, they can still make it to track.

The tracks also teach soft skills, such as teamwork, getting along, being proactive, taking ownership and being a leader.

"All of those things that 21st century employers want and are so hard to instill," Turnlund said. "This is a wonderful venue for learning those things. The kids come upon a problem and they figure out a way."