High Meadows School Takes Learning Outside The Classroom

High Meadows students along with their teachers Rebecca Drage and Shannon Hostetler in front of “Grandfather” tree.

Candace Wheeler / WABE

Since 1973 High Meadows School has been pairing academics with nature. In the early ’70s the private school, which is located in Roswell began offering its first classes to preschoolers between the ages of three and five.

The school, which is located on over 4o acres of land was founded by Jody Holden, Jay Dickerson, Mike Drake and Bill Crawford. The school gets its name from its location at one of the highest points in Roswell,.

In the decades since then High Meadows has grown to expand its teaching offerings to students through eighth grade.



On a recent Friday afternoon, the “Closer Look” team learned more about the school’s approach to learning outside of the classroom through Forest Friday. Each week students in Kindergarten and 1st grade head outside, led by teachers Rebecca Drage and Shannon Hostetler, to learn about nature, cook over a campfire, search for turtles and crawfish and read in hammocks.

We learn more about how the day of outdoor learning was first created from Drage and Hostetler. Also, a few of the students tell us about their favorite outdoor explorations.