Community
as the Classroom
Essential Experiences℠ provides Akron Public Schools PreK-5th grade scholars with meaningful, guaranteed, and high-quality co-curricular field studies designed to inspire curiosity and the joy of learning. These experiences deepen students' connections to the community, foster critical thinking through inquiry-based activities, and allow them to gain valuable exposure to career possibilities.
Program Timeline
The Essential
Experiences
Difference
Each experience was carefully designed by education teams at each host organization, in partnership with APS Learning Specialists and educators. Experiences include objectives that are directly tied to the teacher’s lesson plan, a connection to Ohio’s learning standards, pre-visit and post-visit activities, age-appropriate college and career targets, and technology elements.
Curriculum–based
The experiences are designed by professional educators to connect directly to the content being taught and learned in scholars’ own classrooms.
Guaranteed
This program ensures that every child in every participating grade is guaranteed the same valuable experience.
Inquiry-based
Scholars participate in hands-on, grade-appropriate experiences where they actively explore real-world topics to build knowledge each year.
