Muddy Sneakers Inc

TO AWAKEN IN CHILDREN A DEEPLY FELT CONNECTION WITH THE NATURAL WORLD - ONE THAT INSPIRES CURIOSITY, STIMULATES LEARNING, AND BRINGS NEW LIFE TO CLASSROOM PERFORMANCE.

MUDDY SNEAKERS SPECIFICALLY SERVES 5TH-GRADE STUDENTS BY INTRODUCING THEM TO THE WONDERS OF THE NATURAL WORLD, SPECIFICALLY LOCAL PUBLIC AND PROTECTED LANDS, THROUGH TEACHING THE SCIENCE CURRICULUM USING EXPERIENTIAL METHODS. MERGING THE ENERGY OF YOUNG STUDENTS WITH THE ENERGY OF THESE OUTDOOR PLACES SETS THE STAGE FOR DEEPLY FELT EXPERIENCES THAT INSTILL A PERSONAL "BACKYARD" AWARENESS TO THE STANDARD COURSE OF STUDY. MUDDY SNEAKERS STRIVES TO CULTIVATE IN CHILDREN A LIFE-LONG LOVE OF NATURE AND TO DO THIS IN A WAY THAT ENHANCES ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT, INSPIRES THE JOY OF LIVING, AND PLANTS AN UNDERSTANDING OF THE INTERCONNECTEDNESS OF ALL THINGS. THE 2021-2022 SEASON MARKS MUDDY SNEAKERS' FIFTEENTH YEAR OF BRINGING AN EXPERIENTIAL FORMAT TO TEACHING 5TH-GRADE SCIENCE CURRICULUM AT PARTICIPATING PUBLIC SCHOOLS ACROSS THE WESTERN AND PIEDMONT REGIONS OF NORTH CAROLINA. MUDDY SNEAKERS BEGAN AS A PILOT

PROGRAM IN THE SPRING OF 2007 WITH BREVARD AND PISGAH FOREST ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS IN TRANSYLVANIA COUNTY AND HAS GROWN EACH YEAR. OUR PROGRAM EVALUATION SHOWS THAT, TOGETHER, WE ARE BRINGING THE MISSION OF MUDDY SNEAKERS TO LIFE, AND PARTICULARLY FOR GIRLS AND STUDENTS WITH LEARNING DIFFERENCES, THESE EXPERIENCES ARE TRANSFORMATIVE. WESTERN REGION THIS YEAR, THE WESTERN REGION SAW SUCCESS IN CONTINUING THE INTEGRATION OF THE VIRTUAL AND REMOTE EXPEDITIONS COMPONENTS OF OUR PROGRAM, WHILE SIMULTANEOUSLY SEEING A RETURN TO OFF-CAMPUS INSTRUCTION ACROSS THE REGION, ALLOWING STUDENTS TO EXPLORE AND LEARN ON PUBLICLY AND PRIVATELY CONSERVED LANDS IN THEIR COMMUNITIES. OUR MULTI-YEAR GROWTH PLAN WITH HENDERSON COUNTY MOVED FORWARD AS WE WELCOMED TWO ADDITIONAL SCHOOLS TO THE PROGRAM, ANOTHER STEP TOWARD THE COUNTY'S STATED GOAL OF PROVIDING MUDDY SNEAKERS TO

ALL PUBLIC SCHOOL 5TH GRADERS BY 2023-24. TWO SCHOOLS IN MADISON COUNTY RETURNED, AND THIS YEAR THE WESTERN REGION SERVED A NEW SCHOOL UNDER THE REMOTE PARTNERSHIP MODEL, REACHING 100 STUDENTS IN DURHAM COUNTY THROUGH A YEAR-LONG PARTNERSHIP ANCHORED BY VIRTUAL LESSONS, THE MUDDY SNEAKERS REMOTE EXPEDITIONS CLASSROOM RESOURCE, AND STRONG COLLABORATION WITH THE CLASSROOM TEACHER. IN TOTAL, WNC SERVED 30 SCHOOLS AND 1583 STUDENTS THROUGHOUT 10 COUNTIES AND 11 SCHOOL DISTRICTS, PROVIDING 42,305 CONTACT HOURS FOR STUDENTS. PIEDMONT REGION THIS YEAR, THE PIEDMONT REGION RETURNED TO FULL IN-PERSON AND OFF-CAMPUS PROGRAMMING WHILE ALSO INTEGRATING SUCCESSFUL USE OF THE VIRTUAL PROGRAMMING PARTNERSHIP COMPONENTS IN MANY SCHOOLS. WE WELCOMED 3 SCHOOLS ACROSS ROWAN-SALISBURY AND STANLY COUNTY SCHOOL DISTRICTS RETURNING TO US FROM PRE-COVID YEARS. WE ALSO INTRODUCED MUDDY SNEAKERS TO 2 NEW PARTNER SCHOOLS ACROSS FORSYTH COUNTY AND ROWAN-SALISBURY SCHOOL DISTRICTS, TOTALING 11 SCHOOLS, 761 STUDENTS ACROSS 3 COUNTIES, PROVIDING 20,502 CONTACT HOURS FOR STUDENTS. REMOTE EXPEDITIONS IN 2021-2022, THE ORGANIZATION FLIPPED ITS REMOTE EXPEDITIONS CURRICULUM, CREATED FOR THE PURPOSE OF CONTINUING TO SERVE STUDENTS AND SCHOOL PARTNERS DURING HYBRID AND VARIED LEARNING PHASES MID-COVID, AND MODIFIED IT INTO A SUPPLEMENTAL, TEACHER-FACILITATED CLASSROOM CURRICULUM THAT COMPLIMENTS THE IN-PERSON EXPEDITIONS STUDENTS EXPERIENCE THROUGHOUT THE SCHOOL YEAR. THIS NEW FORMAT OFFERS TEACHERS A MULTITUDE OF LESSONS AND TOOLS TO BE USED WITH STUDENTS IN THE CLASSROOM AND OUTDOORS ON THE SCHOOLYARD, DEMYSTIFYING OUTDOOR TEACHING AND ENCOURAGING EXPLORATION AS WELL AS INCLUDING NATURE IN INDOOR LEARNING. THESE NEW ASSETS HAVE RECEIVED POSITIVE FEEDBACK FROM TEACHERS AND HAVE HELPED TO FURTHER DEEPEN THE ORGANIZATION'S RELATIONSHIPS. CAMP MUDDY SNEAKERS JULY 2021 SAW THE WRAP-UP OF OUR MUCH-BELOVED SUMMER DAY CAMP, CURRENTLY ON INDEFINITE PAUSE DUE TO SITE CHALLENGES AND EXPLORATIONS INTO PATHS SERVING OUR SCHOOL AND DISTRICT PARTNERS IN THE SUMMER MONTHS. 2021 WAS THE 9TH SUMMER OF CAMP. COMMUNITY PROGRAMMING ACCOMPLISHMENTS THROUGH THIS RELATIVELY NEW STYLE OF PROGRAMMING, MUDDY SNEAKERS RESUMED AND EXPANDED MANY EXISTING PARTNERSHIPS WHILE GROWING INTO ADDITIONAL NEW COLLABORATIONS. IN JULY 2021, WE PARTNERED WITH ASHEVILLE-BASED YOUTH TRANSFORMED FOR LIFE TO OFFER A SERIES OF OUTDOOR EXPEDITIONS WITH THEIR SUMMER PROGRAM. MUDDY SNEAKERS WAS ASKED TO FACILITATE SUMMER STEM CAMPS SPONSORED BY HENDERSON COUNTY EDUCATION FOUNDATION IN BOTH 2021 AND 2022, AND WE EXPANDED OUR INITIAL 2021 SUMMER SUPPORT OF THE HENDERSON COUNTY SUMMER LEARNING PROGRAM (GRADES 3-5) TO INCLUDE MORE SCHOOLS IN 2022. WE RESUMED PARTNERSHIP WITH SALISBURY ACADEMY, SERVING FAMILIES AND STUDENTS ON SPRING AND FALL NATURE HIKES ACROSS ROWAN COUNTY, AND SUPPORTED REGIONAL EVENTS SUCH AS THE EARTH DAY JAM AND ROWAN COUNTY CREEK WEEK. WE PARTICIPATED IN THE ANNUAL, NOW-VIRTUAL MOUNTAIN SCIENCE EXPO AND LED FREE PUBLIC EVENTS ACROSS BOTH REGIONS IN SUPPORT OF THE NC SCIENCE FESTIVAL LASTING THE MONTH OF APRIL. RESEARCH FINDINGS/ADDITIONAL NOTES ON SIGNIFICANT CHANGES IN PROGRAMMING DURING THE 21-22 SCHOOL YEAR MEASUREMENT RESULTS AND FEEDBACK FROM STUDENTS AND TEACHERS ACROSS BOTH REGIONS WERE AS STRONG IN 2021-22 AS THE ORGANIZATION HAS EVER SEEN. WITH THE AID OF AN UPDATED ANNUAL MEASUREMENT TOOL, CREATED IN COLLABORATION WITH OUR LONG-TIME RESEARCH PARTNERS AT NC STATE UNIVERSITY (WHO ALSO PROCESS AND REPORT BACK ON THE DATA COLLECTED), THE NEW TOOL PRODUCED SOME OF THE FOLLOWING STUDENT FINDINGS: - 85% SAID THEY LEARNED MORE ABOUT NATURE IN THEIR PART OF NC - 70% SAID MUDDY SNEAKERS TOOK THEM SOMEWHERE NEW HALF OR ALL THE TIME - 80% SAID THEY WANT TO GO BACK TO SOMEWHERE THEY WENT WITH US - 75% INCREASE IN LEARNING ABOUT NATURE - 50% INCREASE IN EXPRESSED CRITICAL THINKING SKILLS - 100% INCREASE IN EXPRESSED SCIENCE KNOWLEDGE - 100% INCREASE IN OVERALL LEVEL OF INTEREST IN SCIENCE - 400% INCREASE IN EXPRESSED SCIENCE CONFIDENCE ALSO, CONTINUED FINDINGS SHOW GIRLS SIGNIFICANTLY INCREASE THEIR KNOWLEDGE AND INTEREST IN SCIENCE THROUGH MUDDY SNEAKERS AT AN AGE WHEN THE STEM GENDER GAP TYPICALLY SEES GIRLS FALLING BEHIND.