Forest Area Students Participate in Program to Combat Learning Loss from Pandemic; Make Trip to Outer Banks

TIONESTA, Pa. – A program designed to combat learning loss that many students had during the pandemic years cumulated with students in the Forest Area School District making a trip to North Carolina recently.

The Coastal North Clarion Immersive Experience was a program open to students in grades nine through 12 funded entirely by a grant at no cost to the school district not the families.

Throughout the 2022-23 school year, the students who chose to participate had to complete three projects, including a five-page research paper about the Roanoke Colony, a slideshow highlighting nine historical sites, and a craft project featuring a physical model of one of the topics. They also had to attend three after-school learning sessions, complete some additional writing assignments, and participate in discussion groups and work sessions.

The highlight of the program then took place from Monday, April 10, through Friday, April 14, with a trip to the Outer Banks along the North Carolina coast.

Some of the highlights were: The Wright Brothers National Memorial, the Lost Colony at Roanoke, the lighthouses at Currituck, Cape Hatteras, and Bodie Island, the North Carolina Aquarium, Fort Raleigh, the state park at Jockey’s Ridge, and Jennette’s Pier.

In between all the learning experiences, the students managed to fit in some lighter activities like mini-golf, ice cream, time at the beach, and fishing off the pier. Many of the students had first-time experiences with seafood, a hibachi grill lunch, watching the dawn break over the ocean, flying kites, and searching for shells and other creatures in the sand.

Students who made the trip included Macalie Hoffmann, Izzy Flick, Christian Steigerwald, Esther Forker, Logan Niederriter, Jonah Glass, Leah Wagner, Colter Bayle, Nautica Sharp, Ryah McWilliams, Nate Dietrich, Jeffrey Bayle, Colton Kuntz, Olivia Thompson, Jessica Culver, Jordon Kostenbauder, Katie Salsgiver, Megan Clow, and Ayla Reese. They were accompanied by their teachers: Lisa Banner, John Wortman, Ernie Hartwig, and Julie Aaron.