HURLEYVILLE, NY — Nobody could have said it any better than when Albert Einstein wrote on January 4, 1937, “Look deep into nature, and then you will understand everything better.”

With those prophetic words in mind, the staff at the Homestead School’s Collaborative College High School (CCHS), an educational enterprise established in conjunction with SUNY Sullivan, has created a new “cycle-themed” offering titled “Discovery in Regenerative Planetary Studies,” or RPS for short. Students “will embark on a journey through the universe, exploring the interconnectedness of planetary science, environmental issues and innovative solutions.” It is designed to “uncover the secrets of the Earth’s ability to provide and sustain life.”

At first glance, heady stuff indeed, and where the rubber meets the road, the school could argue it’s impacting the future of humankind.

Abigail Johnson serves as the lead instructor for this three-phase course of study, and came to the CCHS with a master’s degree in conservation biology after working with elephants in Kenya and invasive ants in central Florida.

“I decided the best part of those jobs was teaching the undergraduate students, so I moved back to Sullivan County to be closer to home,” she said of her transition from studying the world’s largest living terrestrial animal and insects with a nasty reputation, to working with local high school students in an atmosphere geared to independent learning.

In describing the core of the RPS program, she said, “It’s an integrated science course, a broad basis of all the different fields of science.” She noted that the first year focused on a general background in science, and this year students concentrated on “the creation of the universe and early life on Earth.” Next school year will pick up where they left off, studying early life.

A total of 32 junior high students are enrolled in the program, plus an additional 23 senior high students taking classes at SUNY Sullivan.

“We are trying to teach in a way that isn’t separating the subjects. There’s a lot of overlap between the sciences,” said Johnson. “It allows students to take learning into their own hands. If something sparks in one of mini-lessons, they can take that and run with it.”

According to Johnson, “A lot of what we do is working towards mastery, working towards achieving a suite of skill they can acquire skills and knowledge in a hands-on way.”

Penelope Hanweck is a 14-year-old eighth-grade student from Callicoon Center. As part of the RPS program, she designed an illustrated comic book which features “An Intro to Ocean Currents” and “The Modern Scientific Origin.” In a nutshell, the latter explains the Big Bang Theory that eventually produced humankind.

She noted that the program encompasses several broad-range topics, ranging from permaculture, environmental studies, history, ELA and “other parts of the curriculum… starting with the Big Bang, as the creation of the universe.”

On the subject of evolution and the future, Hanweck said, “It takes years at a time… I don’t really know what we’re going to be in the future… I read one paper every day, like a science magazine.”

After graduating from high school, she hopes to earn a college degree in mathematics and then advance to a career in law or business.

Sophia Reinhardt is a 12-year-old seventh grader who calls Port Jervis home. “It will prepare us for when we are older,” she said of the program.

Her projects have included a comparison of real photographic images with those generated by AI. That’s illustrated, for example, with photos of a winsome-looking hound looking straight at a camera lens, and a fingerprint identification chart that includes prints “lifted” from classmates.

“I’ve been here my whole life, I love this school,” she said of attending the Homestead School. She started out at the Gley Spey campus. “I can’t imagine anything else, the teachers, the people, the learning style. I can’t imagine sitting at a desk six hours a day, taking tests.”

Looking into the possible future of AI, Reinhardt offered a chilling prognosis. “It’s going to take over everything. In 10 to 20 years, there won’t be any jobs for humans. Bad things are going to happen.”

Atticus McNamara, a 12-year-old student who recently transferred from Liberty Central School, doesn’t have far to travel each morning, as he hails from Hurleyville.

Asked his take on the CCHS, he replied, “It was kind of weird because everything there [at his former school] was much more structured, it was a lot easier to just get by… But here, everything is a bit more complicated. Rather than being given something, it’s much more hands-on; it’s not ‘do this and you’ll pass.’”

McNamara said his favorite assignments include biology and engineering. The latter “actually lets us build stuff and learn the math.” 

He added that in addition to his studies—his eye is on becoming a veterinarian—he has a side hustle in which he draws portraits. “For like 10 bucks, I can draw your picture.”

Jack Comstock serves as director of the Homestead School’s CCHS. Homestead itself was founded in 1978 as a Montessori-based comprehensive educational program by his parents, Peter and Marsha. The CCHS opened as a secondary program in 2020, providing graduates with a high school diploma and an associate’s degree from SUNY Sullivan.

“It’s an integrated approach to a curriculum,” he said of the RPS program. “It offers a deeper context for their studies, it brings the disciplines together, making those connections. We lead with the big questions, and focus on local communities and the environment with student-led projects. It’s very hands-on, very active.”