Centreville Students Go Back To Nature Without Leaving School

CENTREVILLE, VA — Centreville Elementary School is one of five schools in Fairfax County participating in a pilot project to see how students adjust to learning in tented classrooms.

The tents give the elementary school, with over 800 students, more floor space and lets the school accommodate more students. The tents, 20 feet by 30 feet, have detachable sides and can easily fit a classroom of socially distanced students and a teacher.

Teaching class outside also brings students closer to the natural world and lets teachers weave the environment into their lesson plans. Students also can use the tents to eat their lunches.

By placing tents on their school grounds, Fairfax County Public Schools is following the trend of colleges that have set up tents on their campuses during the COVID-19 pandemic to give students and faculty open-air options for studying and dining.

Fairfax County Public Schools’ Facilities Management staff worked with FCPS Get2Green, the school system’s environmental stewardship program, to determine the best way to use the outdoor space on school grounds.

With the arrival of milder weather, tents are being used at Centreville Elementary School, Belvedere Elementary School in Falls Church, Carson Middle School in Herndon, Hollin Meadows Elementary School in Alexandria and Mountain View High School in Centreville.

At Centreville Elementary School, when the COVID-19 pandemic hit last year, principal Josh Douds decided the school should try to use outdoor learning when in-person instruction resumed.

With the arrival of the tents, teachers at Centreville have embraced teaching outdoors. “Staff have reported to me that students are better focused and better behaved when they are outdoors,” Douds said in an interview with FCPS community relations staff. “The kids love it. They want to be outside, and the families are supportive.”

Students at Centreville receive a few hours a week of instruction time outside. Teachers, who are trained in outdoor teaching through the Get2Green program, are encouraged to use nature and the environment whenever possible to support traditional learning methods.

FCPS has purchased an additional 60 tents, with more orders expected, as part of a planned rollout at schools across the county this summer and into the fall. Facilities staff are working with administrators at other schools to assess outdoor spaces on their campuses. They want to ensure the tents are placed in a way to support learning and eating while following social distancing guidance to the maximum extent.

When the pilot project is expanded, all high schools will receive one tent and the rest of the tents will be distributed to other schools across the county.