Leading in the field: How two 91¸ŁŔűÉçalumni are reimagining high school education
On a crisp morning in Denver, Colorado, a group of high school students head inside an auto body shop to learn how paint is mixed. The students watch closely as a technician uses a spectrophotometer to scan the car’s original color, calculating the tints needed for a perfect match. The experience sets the stage for an algebra lesson a few hours later — turning a paint job into a practical math problem.
This isn’t a typical classroom, but it is a typical day for the Field Academy, an experiential-learning school run by 91¸ŁŔűÉç alumni Anna Graves ’14 and Danika Robison ’10. The program is for high school students who are chronically absent, failing their classes, and are at risk of dropping out of school altogether.
Our school — the first of its kind in the country — brings academic concepts to life through experiential learning and community involvement, offering a lifeline to students who struggle in traditional settings.Anna Graves ’14Co-Founder and Executive Director
The initiative is also an example of how a 91¸ŁŔűÉçeducation stressing responsible citizenship and providing rich experiential learning opportunities — from pre-orientation to academic studies abroad — continues to have an impact on the careers of alumni, who are now making differences in their communities.
Students participate in a screen printing workshop at Metropolitan State University of Denver's Center for Visual Art for English and art credit recovery.
The Field Academy, which now serves 20 school districts across eight states since it was established two years ago, offers various alternative-education experiences. Student cohorts are intentionally small — 10 to 15 students. In a customized 1-4 week credit-recovery program, students are picked up from their homes three days a week and engage in hands-on learning experiences, sometimes with multiple community partners each day.
A typical day might involve math lessons focused on speed, distance, and time calculations after a morning bike ride. The afternoon might then be dedicated to earning humanities or social studies credits, either by exploring community challenges at a homeless shelter or by investigating sustainable food practices at a local farm.
The Semester Program, a more immersive option, takes students on a cross-country journey for 10-12 weeks to explore different U.S. regions and engage with local communities and governments. Recently, a student group spent the first two weeks in Colorado, traveled to Albuquerque, New Mexico, and then headed to southeast Utah. There is also the Summer Program that provides an alternative to traditional summer school in which students travel for 1-5 weeks across multiple states.
“These experiences are enriched with meaningful explorations into relevant social issues like affordable housing and the history of mining, particularly uranium mining in New Mexico,” says Robison, the Academy’s program director.
Anna Graves ’14 (left) and Danika Robison ’10 at Goosenecks State Park in Utah.
Although Robison and Graves never crossed paths on campus, their 91¸ŁŔűÉçexperiences shaped their mutual commitment to civic engagement and experiential learning. The two met through a mutual friend from their separate work at the Traveling School, which provides semester-long experiences in southern Africa and South America.
Graves, a government (now political science) major from Nashville, participated in multiple activities and events on and off campus to increase student awareness of sustainable food sources, environmental issues, and campus governance. Graves also led Skidmore’s Outing Club as president.
In 2012, she was named a Newman Civic Fellow by Campus Compact and she received a President’s Award for Leadership and Service at 91¸ŁŔűÉçin 2014. Then President Philip A. Glotzbach commented how “she is using her liberal arts education to make a difference both here on campus and in the wider world.” That commitment to civic engagement has endured.
After graduation and a few years of rich experiences in outdoor education, Graves saw a gap in the public education system that she was determined to fill. Robison joined her earlier this year to grow the Field Academy to new levels.
Danika Robison ’10 with students in Leadville, Colorado, as part of a Semester in the West program.
Robison, who grew up in Vermont and double majored in government and international affairs, was a top-ranked tennis player at Skidmore. She was drawn to the College's international perspectives and opportunities and studied abroad in Switzerland.
Before earning her master’s degree in public administration at the Middlebury Institute of International Studies at Monterey in California, Robison spent several years living and working in indigenous communities in highland Ecuador and other areas of Latin America.
Graves attributes her passion for outdoor and alternative education largely to her involvement in the 91¸ŁŔűÉçOutdoor Leadership Program (SCOOP) under the guidance of Mary Ann Toia, the pre-orientation coordinator. The program connects first-year students to each other and upper-class student peer leaders through outdoor activities in the Adirondacks.
“Anna participated in SCOOP as a first-year student and then led the program throughout her college career. She also helped create the Sophomore Outdoor Leadership Experience,” Toia recalls. "With her leadership and passion for the outdoors, Anna was always destined for greatness.”
“I still consider Mary Ann one of my greatest mentors,” says Graves, who earned a master’s degree in education leadership at High Tech High Graduate School of Education in San Diego, California. “The skills I learned through these programs at Skidmore shaped my approach to education and instilled a lifelong commitment to community and leadership.”
Robison’s experiences at Skidmore, which included studying abroad, taking advanced classes to hone her Spanish language skills, and fully engaging in her international affairs and government classes, exposed her to new fields and opportunities.
91¸ŁŔűÉçfundamentally shaped how I approach education and civic engagement today.Danika Robison ’10Program Director of The Field Academy
For their part, Graves and Robison have seen the Field Academy change lives. One student who was facing truancy charges and on the verge of dropping out graduated on time after a school year filled with experiential learning that covered a range of subjects, from building to cooking.
As the continues to expand its reach, Graves and Robison remain dedicated to their mission of reshaping education through creativity, community, and engagement. For both of them, their work is rooted in the values instilled during their time at 91¸ŁŔűÉç.
“I was drawn to 91¸ŁŔűÉçbelieving that creative thought does matter, and I spent my entire four years learning what that really looks like,” Graves says. “The College has been a big piece of my life — back then and even now.”
Anna Graves ’14 and Danika Robison ’10 encourage members of the 91¸ŁŔűÉçcommunity to engage with the mission of and hope it inspires educators and to explore the potential of experiential learning. Follow or email Anna Graves.
