Issue link: http://educator.cta.org/i/436829
P H O T O G R A P H Y B Y S C O T T B U S C H M A N be. It doesn't matter who you are — the caring and help extends across all racial groups and income levels." Davidson loves the fact that teachers know generations of families on the island and are a strong part of the Avalon community. " I t ' s a b l e s s i n g , n o t a c u rs e ," s h e s ays . "A strength of our school is having ties that can't be denied." Morse believes students benefit from seeing teachers outside of the classroom. "Most kids only see their instructors at school. But here, it's different. Everywhere I go, it's 'Hi, Mr. Morse!' I like being recognized and seen mowing the lawn or riding a skateboard. There's a realism here that is healthier than the other model where students only see a teacher at school." Catalina as a living classroom There couldn't be a better place to teach marine biology, says Devi Nathan. Last spring, on the ultimate field trip, students snorkeled with researchers on Catalina. Stu- dents have also been guests on the Yellow Submarine, one of Avalon's tourist attractions. Whenever Nathan needs live plankton for students to study under a microscope, she asks the Harbor Patrol to tow a net behind the boat and meet her at the pier with samples. School librarian Donna Sharpe is married to Peter Sharpe, a biologist and expert on the American eagle and the effects of DDT on the species. Students observed him swooping on a rope attached to a helicopter to pluck eagle eggs from a nest, because the shells were too damaged from pesticide to withstand the weight of a mother eagle sitting on them. He swapped the eggs with phony eggs, brought the real ones back to a hatchery until they were stronger, and then replaced the phony eggs with real ones so they could hatch. "You might say that our school is located in an oppor- tunity-rich environment that lends itself to science curriculum," says Nathan. The school has a partnership with the Catalina Island Conservancy, which protects 88 percent of the island. The W.M. Keck Foundation awarded a $200,000 grant to the conservancy to initiate NatureWorks, a program There couldn't be a better place to teach marine biology, says Devi Nathan, here working with Azariah Dominguez on an assignment. 40 www.cta.org Feature