By MICHELLE ADAMS / Community Columnist
Montevallo High School’s junior class recently embraced the “We are Montevallo” theme through a week-long series of excursions discovering what it really means to be Montevallo.
Included in the week were visits to the University of Montevallo science labs and the UM observatory, Ebenezer Swamp and American Village. Students also participated in a discussion with local author Dr. William Cobb.
“We wanted to expand beyond the daily routine and build on the curriculum with students,” junior class sponsor and history teacher Jennifer Turner said. “Our idea was to take a broad topic and show students how the different subject areas they study work together to form one knowledge base.”
For teachers, it made sense to localize this cross-curricular effort and allow students to see all the opportunities their hometown has to offer, and capitalize on the “We are Montevallo” statement of pride that has become the popular slogan among students and community members.
“It was actually difficult to narrow the list of possible sites to visit because the town of Montevallo offers so many learning destinations,” Turner said.  “In the end, we were successful showing students that ‘We are Montevallo’ means we are American Village, we are UM and we are Ebenezer Swamp.”
Connecting students to locations with real-world applications to history, science, math and English provide them with a deeper understanding of how academics support future endeavors.
“My favorite part of the week was visiting American Village,” junior Jordan Magner said. “Even though I’ve been there countless times before, visiting again while thinking about my history classes in school makes a difference and makes me realize how important our history is to our future.”
Indeed, the junior class learned that Montevallo is comprised of historians, scientists, ecologists, farmers, accomplished authors, as well as artists, business professionals, students and teachers. There is much to be proud of here.