GREELEY, Colorado -- Representatives of The Norris Institute recently conducted a site visit at the Poudre Learning Center, a public/private enterprise for interdisciplinary learning in Northeastern Colorado.  Cloyd Clark, Stacie Shaddock, and Frank Shoemaker were quite impressed with both the facility and its personnel, Director Ray Tschillard and benefactor Myra Monfort.

 

"The one thing that really impressed me about Ray Tschillard," said Clark, "is he said, 'You need to nail down your message and stay on message.'"

 

Shaddock concurred, adding that "Ray gave us insight as to the first thing you have to do: get a shelter out there and get the schools involved right away."

 

The Center has been open for only two years and has already been visited by 15,000 school children.  Tschillard, who also serves as Science Coordinator for the surrounding school districts, recommends that facilities work with the features of their land, turning potential negatives into teaching opportunities.  For example, the PLC turned the proximity of two adjacent gravel pits into an opportunity for students to study soil composition.  Similarly, its resident prairie dog town, which some may view as a nuisance, now doubles as nesting ground for bald eagles, who prey on the burrowing rodents from perches provided by the PLC.