The Environmental Literacy and Outdoor Education Office of Anne Arundel County Public Schools provides interdisciplinary outdoor education for AACPS students and teachers. We integrate environmental literacy and outdoor learning into the AACPS school-based curricula at all grade levels for all students. We are part of the division of Curriculum and Instruction of Anne Arundel County Public Schools. For over 50 years we have provided interdisciplinary environmental and outdoor education. Through outreach and our site-based programs, we provide face-to-face instruction to more than 25,000 students and 8,000 adults each school year. In addition, our school-based curricula reach students at all grade levels every year.
Our goals are to:
- Develop and implement environmental literacy curriculum at all grade levels that aligns with the Maryland Environmental Literacy standards and the Maryland College and Career-Ready Standards.
- Provide outdoor and environmental programming in which students investigate and take action on environmental issues and learn to enjoy aquatic environments safely.
- Empower teachers to use the environment and the outdoors as a context for learning.
- Serve as a community resource for building environmental stewardship and educating the residents of Anne Arundel County.
Arlington Echo Outdoor Education Center is the headquarters of the Environmental Literacy and Outdoor Education Office. AACPS purchased Arlington Echo in 1971 from the Arlington Presbyterian Church of Baltimore. The 24-acre youth camp was named Arlington Echo because a call from the bluff would echo back from across the Severn River. AACPS had previously rented the property to be used as the “Arlington Echo Outdoor School.” In 1974, the site became known as the “Arlington Echo Outdoor Education Center.” Arlington Echo now serves as the outdoor education site for the fourth grade environmental literacy program and the “home base” for the many other programs overseen by ELOE Office.
