Pine Point School Teacher Named Orion Award Winner at Mystic Seaport

Gay Long, a fifth grade teacher at Pine Point School in Stonington, CT, has been awarded the Mystic Seaport Orion Award for Excellence in Experiential Education. Each year, Mystic Seaport presents the award to a teacher who draws upon the rich array of educational opportunities offered at the Museum to create innovative and experiential classroom lessons.

“Great teachers are like constellations,” said Susan Funk, executive vice president of Mystic Seaport. “They help students navigate by pointing the way, leading them to new lands and then home again, wiser and more experienced.”

In 2007, Long, along with Mystic Seaport Director of Education Lisa Marcinkowski, developed and implemented a six-week apprenticeship immersion program at the Museum. The program, which also serves as the basis for an assessment project at Pine Point School, familiarizes students with historical trades and research in an interactive environment. The apprenticeship includes an orientation visit to Mystic Seaport; six sessions with a “master” from the Museum’s Interpretation staff who instructs students how to cook on an open hearth, do ship carving, study maritime navigation, practice sailors’ tasks or become a Museum roleplayer; a visit to the Museum’s Collections Research Center to learn how to use primary resources while conducting research and an assessment project and presentation for their peers and teachers.

“I attended the assessment presentations the past two years and was amazed by the breadth and depth of what these students learned about historical trades and historical research during the course of six weeks,” said Marcinkowski. “It is a testament to the power of hands-on learning, the power of being immersed in an historical environment and the power of informal learning in museums. “This program has run successfully for two years and we hope it will be a model for other independent school assessment procedures,” Marcinkowski continued. “The apprenticeship program was also one of the inspirations for the Museum’s new immersion program, ‘A Day in 1876,’ which has been designed for public schools. And this is all thanks to one dedicated teacher's wonderful idea!”

Pine Point School is an independent, co-educational day school of 250 students located in Stonington, CT. The School is focused on building dynamic partnerships of students, faculty and parents of diverse experiences who are committed to academic excellence. Children from preschool through grade 9 actively engage in their own learning in a challenging, yet nurturing educational environment. With an eye to the importance of individual accomplishment and the power of collaborative effort, Pine Point has been serving families in Southeastern Connecticut and Southwestern Rhode Island for 61 years. In 2007, Pine Point was named a National School of Character by the Character Education Partnership, an honor granted to only 10 schools in the nation.

Mystic Seaport is the nation’s leading maritime museum. Founded in 1929, the Museum is home to four National Historic Landmark vessels, including the Charles W. Morgan, the last wooden whaleship in the world. The Museum is located one mile south of exit 90 off I-95 in Mystic, CT, and is open weekdays from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and weekends from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. For more information, call 888.973.2767 or visit www.mysticseaport.org.