About Us | thresholdlearningcen

Mission Statement

"To provide a place where students of all ages can experience the natural world around them and understand their connection to and responsibility for this planet."

We are interested in inviting the uninvited to our learning center – the handicapped, the disadvantaged, the smaller rural communities – those who may not have been offered the opportunity to experience residential outdoor education, but also deserve to feel connected to nature.

Threshold Learning Center strives to ensure that students of every background, racial/ethnic group, socioeconomic group, and geography have access to the numerous benefits of our outdoor programs. TLC prohibits discrimination against its participants, employees, and applicants for employment on the bases of race, color, national origin, age, disability, sex, gender identity, religion, reprisal, and where applicable, political beliefs, marital status, familial or parental status, sexual orientation, or if all or part of an individual's income is derived from any public assistance program.

Get To Know Our Board of Directors
Click on the pictures of our board members to jump to a more in-depth biography of who they are and what they do for Threshold!!!

Gretta Reischauer

Owner, Instructor, Naturalist, & Executive Director

William (Bill) Slinger

Longtime Board Member, Site Supervisor, & Earth Science Educator

David Obrecht

Longtime Board Member

Hannah Reischauer

President, Website Manager, & TESL MA Student

Mark Reischauer

Director

Maintenance

Peggy Obrecht

Longtime Board Member

Savanna Ellsbury-Reischauer

Vice President, Site Supervisor, & Veterinary Receptionist

Jacobus Ellsbury-Reischauer

Board Member, Site Supervisor, & Conservationist

Carolyn Walker

Board Member & School Outreach

Sharron

Slinger

Board Secretary, Treasurer, & Site Supervisor

Kaleb

Ruffcorn

Board Member

& Conservation

Student

This Could Be You

Join Our Board Of Directors Today!!

No Child Left Inside

This phrase has become our battle cry! Since the beginning of No Child Left Behind, along with the constant cut-backs in education, we have seen a growing trend of schools who have given up on outdoor education and hands-on field trips to focus on the NCLB testing. We at TLC are saddened by this trend. Not because it hurts our business, but, more importantly, we truly believe that everyone needs more time outdoors. We see the benefits of outdoor education every day at TLC, and we’re hooked, for the following reasons:

Studies have shown a direct link between the rise in obesity, depression, and ADHD and the lack of time spent outside in nature. Nature Deficit Disorder. Nature is essential for healthy childhood development and for the physical and emotional health of children and adults. THIS is the way to teach and raise critical thinkers for the future.
We all learn in different ways. At times, a formal classroom can completely alienate a right-brained student. “Tell me, and I will forget; Show me, and I may remember; Involve me, and I will understand…”
Time and time again, studies and individual teachers have found that an increased time outdoors increases focus and test scores while in the classroom.
Outdoor education is something one needs to see to truly believe, and we feel very fortunately to be a part of it. That is why we have joined the No Child Left Inside Coalition to try and bring outdoor education back to our schools – nationally, at the state level, and locally.