Teachers seek board approval for student field trip to Belize

I first started at the Bemidji (Minn.) Pioneer as an intern in the summer of 1996. That would begin six years as a news reporter, sports reporter and copy editor for a small, six-day-per-week daily newspaper in northern Minnesota. I wrote a large range of stories from multiple beats, to features to sports, my favorite being the coverage of the Red Lake Reservation High School basketball team named the Warriors. Here is a collection of my stories from my time at the Pioneer.

June 18, 1997

By Devlyn Brooks

Staff Writer

Come next summer, Bemidji High School science students could be marching through the tropical rain forests of Belize studying local ecology and scuba diving 60 feet under the ocean studying marine biology.

BHS science teachers Roxanne Fenson and Steve Plum asked the Bemidji School Board Monday for preliminary approval to further research a two-week field trip to Belize which could be offered to a limited number of students next year during the summer as an academic course.

The board agreed, asking the teachers to report their findings at a future meeting.

"It has become apparent that many educational facilities are popping up over rain forest habitat and are available for which people of all ages, cultures and educational experiences can take advantage," states a letter from the teachers to the board.

According to the teachers' preliminary plans, about 30 students would be chaperoned by two science teachers on a two-week field trip to Belize, a country in Central America located south of Mexico and east of Guatemala.

The students would get to study firsthand tropical rain forest ecology, marine biology and Mayan cultural studies, including a variety of subjects such as climate, history, biodiversity, ethnology and human impacts on the environment.

According to the teachers, students participating in the expedition could be granted academic credit if the School Board wishes, or the trip could apply to several of the Minnesota graduation standard principals.

The goals of the trip would be to promote understanding of one of the most complex of all ecosystems -- the rain forest: to learn scientific method and research design; to take part in a cooperative research effort; to develop an appreciation of the viewpoints and lifestyles of foreign cultures; and for the students to understand their present abilities.

Through research, the teachers said they have identified to a company, International Zoological Expeditions, which seems to be the most academically beneficial. The company has been sending students to Belize since 1970 to study, but there are other companies operating in Belize and in Costa Rica that could offer the district alternatives, they said.

Due to the exploratory nature of the adventure, the class would have to be offered in the summer, and because of the extent of academic immersion, student members would be limited to 25-30. The teachers suggested that a minimum of two years of science would be required of students going, and a screening process could be established to pick out those students qualified to go.

According to the teachers, it would cost students about $800 for 13 days in Belize, about $600 for airfare, $250 for scuba certification, and other costs.

"There's not many places to spend money in the jungle," Plum said.

The teachers told the board they would volunteer the two weeks for the trip and not ask for compensation, but asked that the board pay the expenses for Plum's scuba certification. One teacher's expenses are paid by the company for every 15 students who are sent, so there would be no cost to the district if 30 students went.

After the students returned from the trip they would be required to make a presentation to the board, Plum said.

"I think we have an excellent Science Department at the High School, but how do you improve it?" said Plum, who thought of the expedition while reading the magazine. "American Biology Teacher." "You offer more hands-on, minds-on experiences. This is an excellent research opportunity."

Superintendent Rollie Morud said the school district has to be equal about high school students taking trips outside of the country -- since the school allows other groups to make trips out of the country, the board cannot deny the science expedition without a sound reason.

"One of the things we look for in our teachers is if they're willing to stick their necks out to get kids interested in learning," said board members Neil Skogerboe, who seemed in favor of the trip. "I want to commend you two for that."

The board gave the teachers permission to research the trip further, and then to report their findings to the board at an upcoming regular meeting.