SANDPOINT — Did you know that back in the days of commercial fishing on Lake Pend Oreille experienced fishermen would sometimes tuck a live maggot under their lip so the wiggling fish bait wouldn’t freeze? This bit of history from Bill Love, Jr., a former forester, caused a few shudders among the Clark Fork High School students who were participating in an Outdoor Experiential Learning Track field trip at Round Lake in Sagle.

Funded by a Panhandle Alliance for Education grant, the experiential program offers all CFHS students the opportunity to engage in four different learning tracks: Outdoor, Arts, Tech and Culinary. The Outdoor Track gives students an opportunity to take specialized training under SOLE (Selkirk Outdoor Leadership & Education), which includes team building, leadership training, outdoor emergency survival, avalanche awareness, watershed studies, winter ecology and more. On most Fridays, students are bused to a location somewhere in the outdoors, where they can learn these skills through hands-on involvement.

“Students set their own learning objectives and outcomes and subsequently acquire a vast array of soft skills – those skills most valued by employers and which are difficult to teach in the traditional academic setting, such as getting along with others, working as a team, becoming leaders and owning responsibility,” Mike Turnlund, one of the lead teachers in the program, said.

During the Round Lake field trip, all of the 25 or so students present participated in three experiences: ropes and knot-tying, fishing and hiking/forest observation. Two teachers were involved (Brian Powell and KC MacDonald) as well as two community members (Tim Dick and Bill Love, Jr.). One of the students, Katelyn, said she was looking forward to learning how to fly fish, which was something she’d never done. Hunter and Aaron were enjoying learning more about knot-tying, including the survival knot, the bowline and the timber hitch. The young men said they are interested in exploring careers in the outdoors.

Turnlund says, “The experiential-learning track program is based on collaboration between students, teachers and community members. Students seek out tracks that match their interests and passions (or create their own independent track projects under a community member as mentor).” Students have the opportunity to switch tracks each semester. He adds, “The genius behind the experiential learning track system is that students learn by doing. They are creating as they are learning, whether it’s a piece of art, a snow shelter, or a rebuilt engine; there are tangible outcomes.”

The Panhandle Alliance for Education is a non-profit organization composed of local citizens, businesses and educators. The organization’s mission is to promote excellence in education and broad-based community support for the Lake Pend Oreille School District. Donations are distributed as a working pool of money used to fund local teacher grants, a district-wide writing program, a student wellness program, and other strategic programs. PAFE also funds READY! For Kindergarten, an early childhood literacy program for parents of children from birth to age five. To learn more about the Panhandle Alliance for Education or to make a monthly or one-time donation, visit the website at www.panhandlealliance.org or call Executive Director Marcia Wilson at 208-263-7040.