MUSKEGON, Michigan — More and more school leaders are saying it’s time to change the way our students learn in school. Muskegon Christian School has a focus on educating the whole child using teachers from multiple countries, a greenhouse, chicken coop and so much more.
When starting school at Muskegon Christian, families choose between the Spanish immersion program or the English program, which is enhanced with outdoor learning.
Muskegon Christian School principal, Nate Schout, said, “We have seen over the last decade or two that kids learn a little bit differently than they used to. So, the question became: how do we engage kids best so that they want to learn?”
Some students begin practicing Spanish as early as kindergarten at this private school and they’re learning from the best.
“We have teachers from Mexico, Dominican Republic, Ecuador and Honduras. Our world is really, really big and we don’t live in a bubble. So, we do a lot of visas for these teachers who come from other countries and they come here, uproot their families, and come here to teach at MCS,” said Schout.
The 13 ON YOUR SIDE crew sat in on a sixth grade math class where the teacher and students are only speaking in Spanish.
“Each year as it moved on, it just became more and more comfortable and now it’s pretty much like a normal language," said Ryan, who is a sixth grader.
The 11-year-old is now fluent.
“My name’s Ryan Sytsema. I’m in sixth grade, eleven years old and I like to play with my friends,” said Ryan in Spanish.
“Every day I feel really excited and pumped just to see my friends and to learn," said Tyler, another student.
The other immersion program at the school get students outside.
“Kids [are] falling over themselves about cleaning out chicken coops or planting orchards and so they want to come to school and we’re engaging that new type of learner,” said Schout.
Our camera crew was there to see students planting a butterfly garden.
Students also manage hydroponic systems, a technique used to grow plants without soil.
Principal Schout walked us through what this process looks like.
“The water is filled in this tub and kids will measure the Ph and minerals every time they’re in here working and then it gets pumped into this white tube down to the end of the rail and then we can control – the kids can control how much water goes into each of the rails and then it slowly drains on the tilt, back down to here, and the roots just go down into the water," he said.
The process has helped to provide the lettuce used at lunch time at the school.
“Math and language arts are really important, but it’s also important to educate the whole child and what kind of skills will they have when they move on from here,” said Schout.
MCS offers income-based tuition in hopes of making this type of private education accessible to anyone who wants it. Right now, Schout said about 45% of students qualify for free lunch.
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