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Aug. 5, 2003, 2:30PM

Academy learning hands-on

Excerpts of Article By MARJORIE EVANS
Chronicle Correspondent

The Houston Outdoor Learning Academy has relocated to offer even more opportunities to area junior and high school students seeking an alternative to the traditional classroom.

Its new campus at 2731 Houston Ave. will feature a renovated house in the middle of a 15,000-square-foot property as well as another building in which classes will be held, said academy co-founder and instructor Laura Zimmerman.

(Laura) Zimmerman and her husband, Dan, are former public school teachers. Dissatisfied with a system of education in which students spend much of their time indoors sitting at desks, the Zimmermans decided it was time to give young Houstonians an opportunity to learn by doing and to do it outside.

"We felt like there was a real need for experiential education because there's just not a lot of that being offered here," Zimmerman said."

"We wanted to be able to teach the way many students learn best, by doing things hands-on," she said. "Our curriculum integrates all the necessary core subjects with travel, community service and other activities. This is hard to do in a public-school setting."

A recent trip to Guatemala gave students the opportunity to learn expedition behavior, to apply for a passport, and to do an in-depth study of Mayan culture and the Mayan and Spanish languages.

"We integrated the whole academic package into their travel preparations and experience," Zimmerman said. "The students had to keep journals and write regularly on assigned topics."

Students also lived with indigenous Mayans and went on a jungle trek.

They took another trip earlier this year to Monterrey, Mexico, to participate in the Commission on the Status of Women at the Model United Nations, a symposium styled like the actual UN.

"Not all learning has to take place inside a four-walled classroom," Zimmerman said.

"The students get everything they would get in a regular school setting except they are also able to travel and explore," Zimmerman said.

Most of the academy's students attend full-time, but Zimmerman said the school also works with home-schooled students seeking supplemental instruction.

"We appreciate home-schooled students and try to accommodate them when possible because we know what was wrong with the environment we were in before as teachers," Zimmerman said. "We've done everything possible to create a learning-centered environment."

"We believe schooling is the student's job and we keep hours to that effect," she said. "Students aren't complaining and, at the end of the day, a lot of times we can't get them out the door."

"We have some students on full scholarship and others who pay on a sliding scale based on their family's income," Zimmerman said. "We feel strongly that we should not turn away a student based on their economic status."

For information, visit www.holainfo.com or call 713-224-4652