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Underground & Above - School Planning Projects
offering tornado, fire and other weather and security disaster protections

EarthSheltered Farm School
Underground Farm School

A vision of what school programs will be offered:

 

Curriculum:
Agricultural, Art, and Construction Education Programs that include academics cover a wide range of topics, including science, math, art, language, communications, leadership, management, and technology. Offering a unique opportunity to students who are talented in science, mathematics and also have a well rounded interest in the arts, making things and growing plants and animals. Colleges and universities are already offering scholarships to qualified students with a strong portfolio of projects that are graduating from these types of schools.

Hands-on Learning:
Students gain practical experience through supervised agricultural, art and construction experience programs. This school will be a model not only for its innovative curriculum, but also for exceptional student motivation and participation. We combine an academic learning environment with hands-on practices in a way that maximizes each student's success.

A farm demonstrates the most basic relationship humans have to the land. Students experience the cycles of nature and discover the rewards of hard work, collaboration and creativity. They care for plants and animals that, in turn, provide their nourishment and inspire a variety of way to process, preserve, cook and even brand and sell food. They are involved in matters of life, birth, and death. They are responsible for the well- being of fellow creatures and develop motivation and responsibility through this relationship.

These hands-on, authentic and relevant learning experiences chosen by the individual student's interests and passions offer more students an incentive to continue high school when more traditional academic teaching methods don’t speak to them. Many students leave school because they feel the "learning" is irrelevant to their lives. This approach can better prepare students for employment opportunities and problem solving abilities  in the agriculture and other business sectors even if they do not continue to university education.

These proposed Farm Arts High School and Gap Year Farm Arts Internship program is on a farm and strives to authenticate all the learning that takes place at the school through the farm as a learning laboratory. Individuals are often motivated by solving real-world problems to authentic tasks. Learning is enhanced by this motivation. The farm provides an array of real world problems that enable the students to try out and use the knowledge skills and creativity that they acquire in their studies. This learning by doing with creativity increases retention and helps students better engage in their studies. It also helps them clarify their interests so they can make career choices where they will thrive the most.

Career Preparation:
These programs aim to prepare students for successful careers in the global agriculture, food, business, fiber, arts, construction and natural resources systems. There are many benefits to an Agricultural, Construction and Arts based High School on an operating farm: Some of the major and obvious benefits are the smaller school size and the independent hands-on experiences. Smaller schools can offer more individualized attention and teachers are able to address different learning styles. Also, smaller schools promote substantially improved achievement and higher graduation rates. Relevant learning is interdisciplinary and contextual. Instead of 20+ students just sitting in classrooms listening to lectures, students do this minimally while having independent hands-on projects and bi-weekly one on one meetings with instructors for individual coaching. Plus, more time on maintenance farm learning  and constructing is scheduled.  This allows students to apply their core knowledge, concepts and skills to solve real-world problems. This Farm Arts School will provide real world context to the skills and knowledge the students receive through living and studying on a farm.

 

Leadership Development:
Agricultural, Construction and Arts education along with the standard high school academics emphasizes problem solving, group cooperation, leadership development, personal growth, tangible success and career fulfillment. Through the fruits of their own labor students will receive direct success through the foods, products, skills, creative expressions, education and opportunities that they create for themselves and their community.

Academic Standards:
This Farm Arts Schools will offer state certified quality academic education standards along with hands-on farm experiences to supplement their studies. This helps students understand how their academic studies better informs their farm business practices and potential agricultural careers as well as many other fields. There is a serious decline in learning the farming and making and construction skills that were common when more of us lived and worked on farms. These proposed classes and labs that include animal science, plant science, food production, branding, marketing, computers, AI applications, agricultural engineering and business are applied directly to real farm experiences. 

Underground house builders, Earth shelter house plans

Traditional, Rustic & Modern Architectural Integrations

This design team developed a physical environment and vision with plan details meant to support these Farm Arts School educational objectives:
 

The Purposes of this FARM ARTS SCHOOL as a whole is to:

  • Continue to improve student learning though farm living and working

  • Encourage use of different and innovative teaching methods.

  • Create opportunities for educators to design and implement programs.

  • Increase choice of learning opportunities for students that include high school, internships, apprenticeships, summer camp and Gap year educational programs.

  • Establish new school models and forms of accountability.

  • Provide opportunities for students to produce farm crops and products

  • Improve the career development in especially the agriculture sector, where farm living experiences and education are increasingly rare.

High School Curriculum Examples:

First Year 7.0 units for all

English I (1)

Biology (1)

Algebra (1)

Ag Careers & Introduction I - Hands on Lab (1)

Civics/Agricultural History/AP Human Geography (1)

Drama/Dual Credit Music/Art/Design I (1)

Physical Education with Health - Basketball Gym/Auditorium

Independent Ag Project based on student’s interest- like growing their own garden plot, 

containerized and raised beds, to mushroom production for experiencing nature’s cycles.

 

Second Year 7.0 units for all

English II/AP Language and Composition(1)

World Studies/AP Human Geography (1)

Intro to Ag Science (1)

Exploring Computer Science (1)

Physical Education with Drivers Education (1)

Independent Ag Project based on student’s interest

Electives:

Chemistry (1)

Geometry (1)

Drama/Dual Credit Music/Art/Design II (1)

Horticulture: Cultivation of fruits, vegetables, flowers, and ornamental plants. (1)

Aquaponics and Hydroponics (1)

Greenhouse Management - greenhouses and related equipment used for crop advantages

Ag Machinery, Welding & Wood shop: Study of agricultural equipment and practices. (1)

Physics (1)

Animal Science - Cattle, Sheep, Pig, Equestrian, Bees, Chickens, Dairy, Creamery, etc (1)

 

Third Year 7.0 units for all

English III/ AP English Literature and Composition (1)

US History/AP United States History (1)

Personal and Ag Accounting (1)

Independent Ag Project based on student’s interest (1)

Electives:

Advanced Algebra/Trigonometry (1)

Soil Science: Study of soil properties, fertility, and management (1)

Food Science: Study of food production, processing, and preservation.

Physics (1)

Aquaponics and Hydroponics (1)

Horticulture: Cultivation of fruits, vegetables, flowers, and ornamental plants.

Animal Science - Cattle, Sheep, Pig, Equestrian, Bees, Chicken, Dairy, Creamery, etc (1)

Greenhouse Management - greenhouses and related equipment used for crop advantages

Plant Science/Agronomy - Orchard, Crop, Garden Management (1)

Drama/Dual Credit Music/Art II(1) 

Spanish I/ French I/Spanish II(1)

Ag Machinery, Welding & Wood shop: Study of agricultural equipment and practices. (1)

Ag Marketing - YouTube, Instagram, Facebook, Videos, Computer Websites, AI, etc. (1)

 

Fourth Year 7.0 units for all

English IV (1) Dual Credit English 101 and 102 (1)

Agricultural Business Planning and Development (1)

Final Independent Ag Project based on student’s interest (2)

Electives: 

Spanish II/AP Spanish Language and Culture/ French II (1)

Ag Business Accounting 

Ag Machinery, Welding & Wood shop: Study of agricultural equipment and practices. (1)

Soil Science: Study of soil properties, fertility, and management (1)

Food Science: Study of food production, processing, and preservation.

Aquaponics and Hydroponics (1)

Greenhouse Management - greenhouses and related equipment used for crop advantages (1)

Horticulture: Cultivation of fruits, vegetables, flowers, and ornamental plants.

Animal Science Introduction- Cattle, Sheep, Pig, Equestrian, Bees, Chickens, Dairy, Creamery,

Ducks, Eggs, etc. (1)

Plant Science/Agronomy - Orchard, Crop, Garden Maintenance and Management (1) 

Agro-tourism (1)

Agribusiness Management - Focuses on the business aspects of the agricultural industry (1)

Drama/Dual Credit Music/Art/Design II(1)

Ag Marketing - YouTube, Instagram, Facebook, Videos, Computer Websites, AI, etc. (1)


 

Summer Camp

Summer employment opportunities and scholarships will be available for students interested in exploring various jobs in agribusiness and agriscience. These experiences help students discover their interests, aptitudes and abilities, while at the same time teaching them proper work habits and attitudes. Overall, the intern will gain an understanding of practical farm growing, sales, and farm management. On farm housing, meals, instruction and recreation is provided in exchange for at least 25 hours weekly of farm labor to maintain farm, greenhouses, farm stand and other farm school facilities and operations. Learn how it feels to live on a farm and determine if this lifestyle is for you.

Agricultural Education Introduction - Participate in the many aspects of Ag Business and Ag Science - Animals, Greenhouse, Food, Aquaponics, Farm Machinery, Agronomy, Soil, Horticulture, Bees, Agrotourism, Ag Marketing - YouTube, Instagram, Facebook, Videos, Computer Websites, AI, etc.

Drama/Dual Credit Music/Art/Design Events 

Volleyball, Swimming, Cross Country, Softball, Art Exhibitions, Drama Performance and 

Farmer’s Market Farm Stand and Food Festival Events

 

Gap Year Internships and Apprenticeships (5th year) Open to High School Graduates from other schools. 4.0 units College credit - Access to all Ag related courses - Animals, Greenhouse, Food, Aquaponics, Farm Machinery, Agronomy, Soil, Horticulture, Ag Marketing - YouTube, Instagram, Facebook, Videos, Computer Websites, AI, etc., Ag Business/Accounting, Drama/Dual Credit Music/Art/Design, Sports, etc.  *Independent Ag Project based on student’s interest (2) with faculty advisor.

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This team advised me and drew up plans and got my building permits to develop my 88 acre farm in Arizona into a sustainable homestead where I grow grapes, an orchard and vegetables, brew beer, have dairy cows and horses, make cheese, compost wastes, have a grey water pond and offer farm stays in my airBnB  apartments. Could not have done it without this team's help!  Trevor Fields

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