Friends of Maine Outdoor School for All Commitment to Excellence

Last Updated: July 2026

In pursuit of excellence and to communicate our shared core alignments across centers, the immersive environmental learning centers involved with Friends of Maine Outdoor Schools for All strive to embody the organizational and programmatic practices listed below.

 

Mission Alignment: There is alignment between Friends of MOSFA’s mission and the stated mission of our organization and our programs, policies, planning, and decision-making at the operational and governance levels. Metric: Your organization’s mission statement includes language relating to outdoor, place-based, environmental, youth-centered, and inclusive education priorities. 

 

Collaboration: Involvement in the Friends of MOSFA shows willingness and sustained engagement at a level of significance to the organization. There are multiple ways of showing your engagement, e.g., meeting attendance, evaluation participation, stewarding MOSFA’s mission, performing outreach, etc. Metric: Your organization has communicated its capacity to Friends of MOSFA and then shows follow-through on its commitments. 

 

Commitment to Maine Students: We are committed to ensuring immersive environmental learning experiences are available to all Maine students that foster their connection to Maine and its communities. Metric: Organizations commit to and show movement towards a significant (to your organization) percentage of students experiencing your program who are from Maine.

 

Equity: We are committed to centering equity, diversity, and inclusion within our organizational work and through the experiences we provide. This process is critical to our goal and essential to meeting our vision of serving every student in Maine. Metric: Equity and inclusion is a priority of the organization’s leadership. Organizations evaluate the inclusivity of programs with the goal of ensuring that outcomes are approximately equal across attending demographic groups. Organizations demonstrate policies in support of diversity and create equitable opportunities for staff and participants. 

 

School Relationships: We consider schools to be strategic collaborators. We focus on the care and relationship building with students and adults throughout the partnership. Each partnership will be unique, and organizations will have in place strategies to support the various barriers that each school may face. Metric: Organizations demonstrate open communication with schools in planning for and after programs. Organizations demonstrate the ability to have Maine schools return year after year.

 

Immersive Living and Learning: We consciously design the student experience, including lessons, meals, and on-campus living, to support community building, including environmental awareness and social-emotional learning. Metric: The core of the organization’s school programming is overnight experiences, and this programming is prioritized. 

 

Prioritizing Outdoor Learning: The outdoors and local ecosystems serve as the primary asset to support learning. Metric: Organizations have spaces for outdoor learning and demonstrate that programming is designed to take place primarily in the outdoors. 

 

Science, Ecology, and Sustainability: Science, ecology, and sustainability are core focal points of our curricular offerings. Organizations work closely with schools to ensure that learning goals are met and are standards-aligned. Metric: Programming is informed by state and federal science learning standards and up-to-date research-based practices. 

 

Our Educators: Outdoor educators out in the field with students are essential to our work. We value our educators and invest in their career development, including training our educators in current research-based practices and proven educational strategies. This includes opportunities for professional development, feedback, and growth. Metric: Organizations can provide the professional development and training plans in environmental curriculum, risk management, health and wellness, and social and emotional learning in our unique settings. 

Operational Standards: We implement governance structures, policies, and operational practices that foster organizational integrity, participant and staff well-being, accountability, and continuous improvement, while meeting applicable legal and regulatory requirements. Metric: Organizations can demonstrate current governance and operational practices through documentation appropriate to their size and structure, including applicable licenses or certifications and written organizational policies, procedures, or employee guidance materials.

Leadership: Our organizational leaders seek out an understanding of best practices for ethical behavior at the organizational and individual levels. Metric: Leadership seeks input and demonstrates willingness to act on it from across the organization and its constituents. 

 

Assessment: We conduct evaluations and/or assessments of our program goals that consider the impact on students, teachers, the community, and staff. Feedback is welcomed and part of a culture of constant improvement. Metric: Organizations are committed to facilitating program participants in filling out network-wide surveys. Centers can provide evidence that feedback from assessments informs programmatic decisions.