How To Run "OLT" As a New Teacher:

Intro to "OLT" 101:

​As a teacher aspiring to be apart of this club you will need the following attributes:
1. Love for the outdoors
2. Passion to guide others in the outdoors 
​3. Be a "leader and a follower"- being able to show others but know when to step back and let the students lead 

Levels of Leadership

Who is at each level:

How to move up in levels:

Pebbles
  • Are newer to the club or camping in general
  • These people are capable and helpful, but haven’t yet had the opportunity to be a leader for the club
Rocks
  • Have led workshops or lessons for the group, either on trips or during class
  • These people are initiators, and beyond just being helpful they absorb some of the responsibilities from the instructors, both in planning and execution
Boulder
  • Have led multiple workshops, and have the potential to plan and run a full trip with minor guidance from instructors
  • These people are consistently taking leadership opportunities and make sure to effectively communicate with all members when leading activities
Monolith
  • Have led and passed a candidacy
    • Candidacy – When you have planned and run a trip with no guidance from instructors. A nightly debrief will occur with instructors. The instructor’s day to day involvement is specifically to ensure safety of all individuals.
  • These people know ALL the Chuck Norris jokes, and might as well have invented backpacking for all we know
​

How to Run a Ceremony

A ceremony is a time when student can reflect on how they are growing as leaders and push others to become stronger leaders. It is an introspective journey for students to think deeply about what they are doing well and what area they hope to grow in. A ceremony usually starts with student nominations then some quotes from wise people in the past. Each Boulder shares something, then the rocks, then the pebbles. Bracelets are distributed by levels and each person says something about the person who is moving into the next level of leadership. We end with more words of wisdom. 

What is a Candidacy?

   A candidacy is the top tier of leadership within our program, where students plan, organize, and execute a full trip on their own, without the help of the teachers. A candidacy can only be ran by someone that is in the boulder stage. If there is a pair of students at this stage they are allowed to plan the trip together depending on the level of difficulty of the trip and the amount of days that the trip will take place on. 

Debrief Document for Candidacy

How to Run a Thursday Meeting

Thursday Meetings:
We kick off our Thursday meeting with a workout that last from 20-30 minutes varying on the workouts we choose.  We then come back in get snacks/sign in and that's when we start to talk about upcoming trips and what needs to be done. We will also have a student-led workshop every week where students lead the whole club in doing something related to our club or a presentation to get ready for our next trip. In the end we to start to take action and help our club for example working on the website or help plan trips/workshops.

Paperwork Needed to Run a Trip

Overall Mission and Goal:

Our goal and mission as an Outdoor Leadership Program is to teach students to appreciate the natural world and to learn how to become an even better leader when outside with a group of individuals. 

Why is the Outdoors important to youth?

The outdoors is something that many teens have yet to experience but when they do it is extremely life changing. Being in the outdoors as a young teen is such an easy way to get away from all social media that they are so easily sucked into. Getting outside 

Sample Trip Calendar for the Year

Trip Possibilities

Outdoor Cookbook/ Example Meal Planner 

​Questions? Comments? Contact Us!
Anna Santoleri: OLT Director, 9th Grade Humanities Teacher
asantoleri@hightechhigh.org
Henry "Max" Maxfield: OLT Director, 12th Grade Humanities Teacher
hmaxfield@hightechhigh.org
Laszlo Folks: OLT Director and Founder, 10th Grade Humanities Teacher
lfolks@hightechhigh.org
Regina Kruglyak: OLT Founder and former director
regina.kruglyak.pch@gmail.com