Last year's Leadership North Augusta class decided to take advantage of several members' expertise and chose as the class project the construction of an outdoor classroom at North Augusta Elementary School.

The classroom was completed at the end of the summer, and the group chose this year's Leadership North Augusta Education Day as an appropriate time to hold the formal dedication.

Wednesday, Feb. 1, from 8:45 to 9:30 a.m., there will be a short ceremony to finalize the presentation of the outdoor classroom to North Augusta Elementary School.

The structure located at the edge of the playground provides a handicap accessible outdoor learning environment that is available to teachers and students at North Augusta Elementary and will serve the community for many years.

The project began when the North Augusta Elementary School's Parent Teacher Organization (PTO) and School Improvement Committee (SIC) began looking for support in building an Outdoor Classroom, to serve as a shaded place for teachers to create hands-on learning experiences for the students. The classroom was designed to support many of South Carolina's science standards and give the teachers a chance to make book-to-life connections for the students. The classroom is also expected to support the special needs program at NAES by giving those students a different learning environment.

In a study done by a consortium of 16 state education departments across the U.S., schools with "hands-on environmental curriculums" saw 100 percent improvement in student behavior, attendance and attitudes along with a 77 percent improvement on standardized tests.

The structure consists of a 24x30-foot covered shelter which includes concrete foundations, concrete slab, colored split face concrete block columns, stained wood beams and trusses, stained tongue-and-groove wood roof decking, a metal roof, picnic tables, electrical outlets and fans. Additionally there is a sidewalk which connects the new shelter to existing sidewalks for handicap accessibility. The classroom is constructed adjacent to an existing nature trail, which will eventually serve as an extension of this classroom for the science teachers.

A bronze plaque has been installed on the structure listing the generous contributors.