Miles Groth ’08, MAT ’09 has always learned best outdoors. So, after spending four years at CC doing experiential learning, conducting field work, and studying in the Colorado mountains, it wasn’t a shock for him to establish the Mountain Academy of Arts & Science (MAAS), an outdoor learning program for sixth graders at Ute Pass Elementary School.
“When I came to study at CC in 2004, my favorite classes were the ones where we went into the field and the learning came to life,” he says. “When the opportunity to create the curriculum and vision behind MAAS came up, I jumped at the opportunity to help shape public education in a way that many learners can benefit from.”
Ten years ago, Groth founded the Mountain Academy of Arts & Science, which is a full day and school year program at Ute Pass Elementary School. Students from Manitou Springs School District and surrounding districts can also apply to this public school.
Groth’s primary inspiration to become a teacher was his mother, who was also a teacher. During his junior year at CC, Groth volunteered in a fifth-grade classroom at Steele Elementary School, which was the experience that inspired him to teach elementary age children.
“I saw the difference that the teacher made in the lives of students each day,” says Groth.
Ute Pass Elementary School added the sixth grade MAAS program in 2014 and 11 students enrolled. There has been enough interest in recent years to add another section of the sixth-grade program, which they did in 2020, resulting in 48 students with two homeroom teachers.
“The program was established with the goal of engaging students into the natural world through experiences and hands-on learning,” Groth says.
MAAS uses outdoor education and experiential learning to teach students science, music, leadership skills, and more, in an environment more intimate than most elementary schools can provide.
Groth double majored in Anthropology and Southwest Studies at CC and believes both subjects, as well as his entire experience at CC, were incredibly formative.
“Both majors focused on place-based learning and the importance of the community around you,” he says. “I also feel that this gave me a basis for culturally responsive teaching where I’m building relationships and connections with students and also teaching in a way that supports the whole child no matter their background.”
Students often come to CC because they are looking for a non-traditional classroom and learning experience. The same is true for MAAS students. Through their unique learning environments, CC and MAAS students participate in real-life, hands-on experiential learning.
“CC was a huge inspiration as I created the curriculum and programming behind the MAAS,” Groth says. “Students take their learning in the field and in the community and trails around the school. I remember one of my favorite courses being Cultural Astronomy of the Southwest and how we visited the Ute Mountain Ute Reservation and spoke with the Ute People. The lessons blended both anthropology and astronomy and made so much more sense to me. At MAAS, we focus on water throughout the year in so many different ways – this includes raising trout in the classroom and monitoring water quality in the tank and the nearby creek. It includes integrated language arts units that focus on the health of our oceans and fisheries, trips to a fish hatchery, ice fishing, fly fishing, and learning about the unique features of Medano Creek while camping at Sand Dunes National Park.”
Additionally, Groth takes his students to monitor the health of the Fountain Creek Watershed and visit the Colorado Springs Utilities water treatment facilities.
Groth wrote a Keller Family Venture Grant to fund research for his thesis between his junior and senior year at CC, which taught him skills he uses to this day.
“That was the first grant I wrote and the experience helped me many years down the road,” Groth says. “Our goal has been to create an accessible and equitable program where family cost is kept to a minimum and public-school students can access these amazing experiences. We have an extensive gear closet, provide multiple camping trips at our school for fourth, fifth, and sixth grade students and many field trips and outdoor learning experiences for all students in grades pre-k through sixth as a result of these grants.”
This gear closet is similar to CC’s Ahlberg Gear House, which is an on-campus resource for the community to rent outdoor equipment.
Like CC, the Mountain Academy of Arts & Sciences is a unique learning environment with a focus on environmentalism, sustainability, and sharing the experience of the outdoors with everyone. Therefore, Groth does his best to keep costs as low as possible for MAAS families. Beyond providing the camping gear and supplies, all sixth graders go on between 10 and 15 experiential field trips a year, including two overnight camping trips, which are partially supported by grants, yearbook sales, and the UPE Parent-Teacher Organization.
Groth uses the camping trips not only as a bonding experience, but as a way to teach students both basic life skills and the foundations of backcountry camping, such as planning a menu, budgeting, shopping, and cooking.
In addition to these important life skills, Groth hopes the outdoor experiences provides a real-life opportunity for students to incorporate and practice their social-emotional learning and skills.
“We can work on social-emotional skills in class with lessons on self-awareness and self-control, but having to work together as a team to support each other during a challenging hike gives students the opportunity to practice those skills,” Groth wrote in a blog post late last year. “During that first backpacking trip of the year, my students supported each other in countless ways. Each group of students that arrive at the campsite cheer on the next group before the relief of taking off their packs. Even though there are plenty of complaints, these moments build confidence and resiliency that translate into classroom successes and a strong bond as a team.”
Unlike some schools that may incorporate outdoor education into their regular in-the-classroom schedule, MAAS actively uses the outdoors to teach most subjects. For example, students work on science projects such as investigative birdwatching and bird banding. They learn basic photography skills by building, shooting, and developing photographs using their self-built pinhole cameras. MAAS students study design and architecture by meeting with a builder and architect and then creating a scaled blueprint, 3D model, site plan, and budget for their own tiny home.
While the teachers are constantly adding and adjusting units and field experiences, the primary curriculum was designed by Groth, who was the sole MAAS teacher for six years until 2020, when it expanded to two homerooms. Currently, Melanie Riffle and Groth lead the sixth-grade program.
“Students work with teachers throughout the school: Spanish, PE, art, intervention, special education, and more,” Groth says. “All sixth-grade students also participate in band. This is another area where we’ve focused on equity and access and all instruments are loaned out to students for the entire year at no cost to families.”
This year, Christian Fowler ’20, MAT ’24 is working with Groth at MAAS as a year-long teacher candidate. Fowler worked at MAAS for about ten hours a week during the first semester of his MAT Program. This semester, he is in the MAAS classroom full time teaching under Groth’s guidance.
Groth believes strongly in the Leave No Trace Principles, which he teaches to his students. In 2022, his curriculum became the only school-based program in the country and one of only nine programs total to earn a Leave No Trace Gold Standard Youth Program accreditation.
Groth notes that when he shares his experiences about teaching at MAAS with other educators, they often question the academics. However, he is confident that his students are not only surviving with his curriculum, but actively thriving.
“These outdoor experiences build twenty-first century skills and leadership qualities that often cannot be taught inside a classroom,” Groth says. “Year after year, our students have shown significant growth and achievement in state and district assessments. Students want to come to school, and they care about what they are learning.”
While MAAS has a major focus on environmentalism and experiential outdoor learning, it can also be a great program for certain students who struggle with their mental health.
“Sixth grade and middle school is not an easy time for any child,” Groth says. “In an elementary school setting we are able to get to know students well and support needs. With the trips and experiences, students struggle through challenges together and bond in new ways.”