BANGOR DAILY NEWS • June 7, 2024
Alan Emery fell in love with the outdoors, and that’s what kept him in high school, he said. The only one among his seven siblings and cousins to graduate from high school, Emery, 18, said the early morning outdoor ed program is what kept him in school. Research shows that outdoor education programs lead to improved academics, fewer discipline problems and happier students, said Korah Soll, founding director of the Rural Aspirations Project, who has been working with East Grand School for several years. For senior class vice president Emery, activities like harvesting and butchering a moose, camping overnight along the Allagash, taking on white water challenges, canoeing lakes, skiing, fishing, camping and open fire cooking built confidence and taught him lifelong skills, he said.