Fort Ross State Historic Park
Environmental Living Program
Thank
you for your interest in the Fort Ross Environmental Living Program (ELP). The
ELP is a hands-on learning experience, which allows children to experience the
joys of history as active participants. Students spend a day and a night
performing some of the tasks that were a part of daily life at Fort Ross. Each
student takes on the character and costume of a Fort Ross resident. By
experiencing what life may have been like here in early California the children
gain a better understanding of history and their relationship to it. Generally,
the curriculum is geared toward fourth or fifth grade California History.
The
following guidelines have been established at Fort Ross for our on-site program
and reservation system. It is our intention to make the Environmental Living
Program available to as many school children as good resource management will
allow.
What Managers (teachers), Employees (students), and Officers (parents) are saying about the ELP.
PROGRAM DATES
Reservations
for the Fort Ross Environmental Living Program (ELP) are handled at Fort Ross
State Historic Park. Each teacher should call, write or e-mail us in order to
place their name, address and phone numbers on our ELP mailing list.
Applications
for the Fort Ross ELP are mailed out April 1, however we continue to send out
applications upon request until September if there is still space in the
program. All new applicants are accepted on a first come first serve basis
according to space availability. You will receive notification of acceptance
into the program by May 15th. All
applications must come by US postal mail. Do not FAX or email your application.
The
Fort Ross ELP takes place on Monday-Tuesday or Thursday-Friday. Teachers choose
their program dates according to the order in which applications were received;
i.e., the application first received in our office by mail will have the
greatest number of program dates to choose from. The program coordinator will
call you to confirm your acceptance, to assign a date, and to remind you of your
$50 commitment fee. The commitment fee is due before June 15. If we do not
receive your commitment fee we will assume you are no longer interested and
assign your date to others on the waiting list. The date you are assigned will
be consistent for the next three years, unless you decide to change dates after
your first year.
CLASS SIZE
Reservations
will be granted for one program for one class. A class shall not exceed more
than forty students. Teachers who
team-teach will have to split the class into groups if the two classes total
more than forty students. Each teacher who wants a program date shall submit a
separate application. Teachers who team-teach a total student count less than
forty students may apply on one application. The teacher on the reservation form
MUST be the teacher on site for the program. Absolutely no substitutions
allowed. Please, only one
application per envelope, even if you might have more than two teachers applying
from your school.
TEACHERS WORKSHOP
All new ELP teachers are required to attend a Teachers Workshop, held in October. The workshop is a hands-on presentation of program possibilities, and includes an overnight stay at the fort. Teachers may not send a substitute to the workshop. If a teacher cannot be at the workshop, s/he will not be able to participate in the program. Returning ELP teachers only need to attend the workshop on the first of their three years.
There
is a $40.00 per person fee to attend the workshop. This fee covers food,
training materials, and staff. A maximum of two parents or teacher's aides can
attend with the teacher. The workshop fee is due by September 15.
PROGRAM FEES
There
is a $25.00 per student fee for the Fort Ross ELP. This fee covers crafts and
activity materials, and staffing for your program. A $100.00 commitment deposit
is due when you are assigned your date and confirm your interest. This fee is
nonrefundable. This $100.00 will be subtracted from your total student cost. The
student fee will be due one month prior to your date unless you make other
arrangements with the staff.
LEAVE OF ABSENCE
After
three years of participation at Fort Ross, you will be asked to take leave from
the program for one year. After that one-year, you are welcome to reapply as a
new applicant and start the reservation system process over.
Please
let us know if you have any questions or concerns. We welcome communication and
we look forward to working with you.
Robin
Joy -Park Interpretive Specialist