SHT/NCT Part of TrekNorth Education

based on a news article from the Minneapolis Star-Tribune, "Ultrafit: An outside education," April 13, 2009

TrekNorth is a public charter school in Minneapolis, Minnesota, but students participate in an Outdoor Adventure Program that takes them from Alaska to the Appalachian Trail... and the North Country Trail. Backpacking on the Superior Hiking Trail section in northern Minnesota is one of the standard components of the program.

The completion of a high adventure is a requirement for graduation from the school. In the Black Hills of South Dakota, a TrekNorth junior realized, "I could do this for the rest of my life." He is now headed for a career as a geologist and a third-year student at Michigan Technological University in Houghton, Michigan.

Dan McKeon is the school's executive director, and the instigator of Outdoor Adventures. He has taken students to the Needles of South Dakota, the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness, and more. He believes that students build traits on the trips that are impossible to gain in a classroom. "Students learn on trips that they are tougher than they realized, and can do more than they ever thought possible."

One former student commented, "TrekNorth changed my life, and it's so good to see it getting the recognition it deserves. More schools like this across the country would be a boon to future generations."