The Trout in the Classroom Project provides students the unique opportunity to examine the life cycle of brown trout by growing their eggs into fingerlings within a classroom setting. Brown Trout are hatched and grown in an aquarium where students monitor both water quality and the developing eggs. Student’s monitor the water quality and record their observations in journals paying special attention to fish’s progress (growth and development) as well as the pH, dissolved oxygen, nitrite, nitrate, ammonia, conductivity, and water temperatures. In addition, students ascertain the water quality of the stream in which the trout are to be released. Little Paint Creel WMA at the Paintsville Lake will serve as the potential release site for the young fingerlings in the spring of 2017. Logistics of using chemical analysis along with macroinvertebrate studies (indicator organisms) to determine the health of a freshwater ecosystem will be discussed. Students will use the data they collect along with information gather from their research in order to produce a video documentary of the TIC project. Oral histories obtained from community members as well as water quality experts will be featured in a video documentary produced by students using an iPad. The documentary will focus on the water quality issues affecting the Big Sandy River Watershed, the various developmental stages of brown trout as well as information on how members of our community can improve the health of their watershed. Plans are to air the documentary on local hometown TV as well as the PHS school news. Student success will be measured with a pre-test and post- test aimed to measure student growth in their understanding of the carbon, nitrogen and phosphorus cycles, and water quality issues that affect their community respectively. The nutrient cycles will be examined in great detail as students monitor water quality throughout this project. Along with their research many guest speakers, who are experts in the field of water quality, will be invited to speak with the students to share their knowledge. The experience culminates with a field trip to Little Paint Creek WMA to release the young trout. A post-test will be given to measure student growth. The research, logistics, and problems students will encounter throughout this project mirror many real-life problems associated with water quality in our state. Students will learn how to recognize the components of a healthy natural ecosystem verses that which is man-made. Thus, through their participation in Trout in the Classroom, students will become more environmentally literate. More importantly students will learn how their actions directly impact water quality and what they can do to help maintain and even restore a sustainable healthy aquatic ecosystem.