Last month, the Gravette Schools held a grand opening ceremony for the new Glenn A. Duffy Elementary Outdoor Classroom, a project more than a year in the making. After the ribbon cutting, just beyond a fresh wooden gate tied with orange balloons, students, staff, and families explored the new raised garden beds and fresh plants. The ceremony marked a major milestone for Glenn Duffy Elementary. What was once an empty lawn beyond the playground has become a shared space for students to learn, explore, and connect with nature. This transformation was made possible by students, staff, and community volunteers who stepped up to help bring this vision to life.
The idea for the Outdoor Classroom grew out of a GDE Culture Committee discussion centered on creating more opportunities for student involvement. Crystal Daubenmire and Kirsten May developed the initial proposal alongside committee members Lori Miller, Carissa Crawford, April Jones, Maci Echols, and Gabrielle Hamilton. “I was told to put a presentation together, so I did,” Daubenmire recalled. “It blossomed from there.”
Staff and families of Gravette Schools gathered to be part of the ribbon cutting ceremony.
The Outdoor Classroom was planned as a hands-on learning environment where teachers could bring lessons in science, technology, engineering, art, and math outside the traditional classroom. The committee planned the project in phases, beginning with the essentials needed to make the space usable while leaving room for new learning areas and features to be added as the Outdoor Classroom grows.
Students from the GDE Lighthouse Team helped make a video announcing the project last year.
The proposal also created opportunities for students across the district to take part in developing and maintaining the space. Students could contribute anything from helping communicate the vision and rally community support, to volunteering, building, planting, and eventually using and maintaining the finished garden.
Volunteers from GHS FFA helping to install the fence for the Outdoor Classroom over the summer
“It is excellent to see students, especially our older students, taking part in a project like this,” said Superintendent Jeff Gravette, “They were able to donate their time while also learning something about what it takes to contribute to and improve their own community.”
Turning the vision into reality required substantial labor and community support. Mark Richardson cut lumber for the five raised beds after school and on weekends, also helping secure native plants. Josh Bush helped assemble and anchor the shade canopy, Rick Cloud hauled loads of soil to the site, and Gravette High School FFA students constructed the wooden perimeter fence. Kellie and Chris Garrett donated supplies for the Research HQ shed and assisted with planting and construction, while Serena Scheele and Rebecca Ortiz helped plant the garden beds.
Gravette Schools staff working on the garden beds over the summer
The three lead committee members also spent countless afternoons, weekends, and summer hours doing heavy physical labor in the heat. “Crystal Daubenmire, April Jones, and Kirsten May led this project so well,” Principal Dr. Newsom said, “They worked together with different strengths, and that collaboration brought it to life. What you see out there today came from the vision and hard work of those three ladies.”
Dr. Newsom introducing April Jones, Crystal Daubenmire, and Kirsten May at the Grand Opening Ceremony for the Outdoor Classroom
The summer drought of 2026 presented a challenge in construction and implementation. Rainwater collection alone was not enough to sustain the gardens, so staff regularly ran a hose roughly 450 feet from the nearest spigot to refill the barrels. It also delayed the intended use of the space. Daubenmire has taken each second-grade class out to tour the Outdoor Classroom a few times since the grand opening, but broader classroom use is expected to increase as temperatures cool.
The grand opening gave the committee a chance to celebrate the volunteers, students, staff, and families who helped. For Daubenmire, the ceremony was especially meaningful because it represented a dream that finally happened. April Jones said “Seeing staff, volunteers, and community members celebrating together was a wonderful reminder that this outdoor classroom truly belongs to our entire community."
Staff and families of Gravette Schools explore the Outdoor Classroom at the Grand Opening Ceremony
The outdoor classroom gives our youngest lions a place to observe first-hand and connect lessons across subjects through these real-world experiences. Daubenmire said these natural lessons can also support students emotionally by giving them fresh air, movement, and a setting where they can manage stress and focus more easily.
As the Outdoor Classroom continues to grow, the next major project will be a Butterfly Discovery Habitat featuring native plants for Monarch and Diana butterflies, along with a dry creek area where students can study erosion and water movement. Students will also be able to start seeds, track growth, collect data, and eventually observe butterfly life cycles in the habitat.
Gravette School District extends its sincere appreciation to the Outdoor Classroom Committee and to every student and community partner who contributed time, labor, materials, and support to this project. Their work has created a new learning space for Glenn Duffy Elementary students and laid the foundation for the Outdoor Classroom to continue growing in the years ahead.
Opening Ceremony Photos
