SPRINGFIELD -- It's a museum right now but the Wonders of Wildlife could also be a classroom next year. The Springfield School District is working with the museum to offer a specialty program called Wonders of the Ozarks Learning Facility, or WOLF. Its curriculum would focus on the outdoors.

The job description for the two teaching positions posted for this program include: “a love for the outdoors, rain or shine,” “a desire to facilitate student learning,” and “experience with outdoor education and organizing field based opportunities.” The idea is the teachers will use the museum and the outdoors to teach 40 fifth grade students reading, writing and arithmetic.

As part of its long range plan, the district received feedback from taxpayers that they would like to see more choice in school programs, so the district is starting here.

“We're going to offer to fifth graders two fifth grade classrooms -- 25-30 students -- the opportunity to study a comprehensive curriculum. It will teach everything other teachers teach but the focus of that education will be conservation education,” said Misty Mitchell of Wonders of Wildlife.

The kids would report to class at WOW and teachers would use kids’ love of the outdoors to engage them in learning.

“I don't anticipate they'll spend a lot of time in the classroom. They'll spend a lot of time in the field, hands on,” said Mitchell.

“We're hoping this school will really build on learning and you'll get kids who are just doing okay in school but have interest in science, and that this hopefully helps them, and helps them become the next conservationists,” said Chuck Stockton, special assistant to School District Superintendent Norm Ridder.

The district did an informal survey of fourth grade parents and found about 27 percent of them said they would consider putting their kids in this program. That would mean about 300 kids applying for 50 positions, so the district is in the process of developing a selection process.