KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — One Knoxville school is paving the way for in-person education during the pandemic.
Tate's School is unique —utilizing its 54-acre campus to offer outdoor classes. Since classes are mostly outside, they're seeing more interest for the upcoming school year and are gearing up for in-person summer camps.
The COVID-19 pandemic caused several East Tennessee schools to switch from in-person to virtual education, and Tate's School was one of them.
Unlike many districts in East Tennessee, when schools had the opportunity to open back up, Tate's School knew that it would be easy to do.
"We believe strongly in outdoor education," said principal Kaye Simmons.
The campus has both outdoor and indoor classes. When students are outside, there is plenty of fresh air and room to social distance without the need for them to wear masks.
"Our children have the opportunity to learn in the forest, pond, apple orchard," said Simmons.
Because of their unique learning structure, they're seeing more interest from families wanting to take part in the school.
"They are wanting their children to be away from the computer and in the outdoors, especially for our middle-school-aged students," said Simmons.
Tate's School focuses on teaching kids in preschool through eighth grade, with around 220 students. Since reopening, they increased safety protocols resulting in no reported COVID-19 cases for teachers.
Middle-schoolers and adults are required to wear masks if they're indoors.
"I believe that we'll see more and more families choosing our school because we can offer in-person learning, outdoor learning and hands-on learning," said Simmons.
Last summer, Tate's Day Camp held summer camps for kids. They followed safety protocols while letting the kids experience something new.
"We're very lucky to be able to spread out and have natural social distancing," said executive director Chris Strevel. "Children need these social interactions, they will develop both physically and mentally to learn how to be part of a team."
The school is not just proud to be different but is also glad they have the chance to allow kids to continue their education in person, throughout a pandemic.