Discover Our World. Change Yours.
EDUCATION | RESEARCH | CONSERVATION
Cape Eleuthera, The Bahamas
I encourage you to step off the track and push yourself harder than you ever have in your life. Explore new questions, study deep ocean sharks, help turn waste into energy and food, build new friendships, plunge into the ocean at night, run and swim farther than you thought you could, live every day seizing every minute, become a leader hungry to make the world a better place.�
Chris Maxey, Founder
AT A GLANCE
Academic Programs
Institutional Keystones
Semester Program
üü Develop an intimate sense of place
through immersion experiences in the natural and cultural environment üü Model sustainability of individual lifestyles, larger communities, and the systems that support them
üü Create an intentional community
in which members are cognizant of their abilities, limitations, and impact on others
100-day fall and spring semesters for high school sophomores and juniors
Summer Term
30-day sailing expedition for rising high school sophomores, juniors and seniors, and college freshman and sophomores
Expeditionary Summer Term
30-day sailing expedition for rising sophomores, juniors and seniors
Gap Year Program
8-week program for high school graduates 18 years of age and over
Teacher Conference
One week professional development program for educators worldwide
Our Other Institutions
The Island School offers a transformative educational semester and summer term in Eleuthera, The Bahamas. High school students from around the world join our community to learn outside the walls of a classroom. Together, we engage in the process of inquiry in order to discover solutions to real world problems. We explore the framework of Eleuthera’s cultural and environmental landscape through student-centered academics, outdoor programs that support personal growth and leadership development, and community programs that practice a project-based approach to local collaboration.
SEMESTER PROGRAM “How can we live well in a place?”
As an Island School student you will: • Live without a cell phone or internet for three months • Earn a PADI Open Water SCUBA diving certification • Train and complete a half marathon or four-mile open ocean swim • Develop leadership skills and practice mindfulness • Present scientific research and publish a scientific poster • Build cultural intelligence as a mentor to Deep Creek Middle School students • Participate in two sea expeditions, by sail or kayak, and complete a 48-hour solo • Experience living on a small, sustainable, green campus • Experience place-based education • Develop awareness for ethical and sustainable tourism
LENGTH 100 days WHEN Fall (August-December) Spring (March-June) NUMBER OF STUDENTS 52 FINANCIAL AID AWARDED $600,000+
ACADEMICS
What if it were more important to ask questions than to answer them?
WE INSPIRE CRITICAL THINKING THROUGH THE FOLLOWING INTERDISCIPLINARY COURSES:
Literature and Writing
Explores interpretations of the human experience through various place-based texts and challenges students to cultivate their own voice through an intensive focus on writing development.
Land and Environmental Art
Encourages students to develop a personal relationship with the landscape, provides them with the tools to become keen observers of their surroundings, and requires them to view the natural world both as the canvas and the material for their artwork.
Histories
Focuses on the subjective experience of history by encouraging students to learn from Bahamians directly during immersion experiences including community explorations and community outreach at Deep Creek Middle School.
Sustainability Seminar While grappling with this question, what is sustainable development, students integrate learnings from each discipline to explore interdisciplinary and personal applications of sustainability, community mindedness, and cultural awareness.
Marine Ecology
Uses SCUBA diving and snorkeling to explore the beautiful waters and near-shore ecosystems surrounding Cape Eleuthera. Students use weekly dives to develop ecological literacy in natural history as well as the dive skills that support these excursions.
Mathematics and Local Environment
Provides students with opportunities to apply statistical and mathematical analysis tools to better understand the world around them. Each student will have a chance to employ acquired skills in their Applied Science Research course.
Applied Scientific Research
Students collect field data, analyze and interpret their results, and present their findings on research questions of regional significance. Through their work with scientists and engineers students work on groundbreaking research and design projects.
The research conducted by these young explorers expands the frontiers of knowledge of this very poorly understood and sensitive ecosystem, knowledge which will help management and conservation of this alien world.� Dr. Edd Brooks, Shark and Research Conservation Program at Cape Eleuthera Institute
RESEARCH
What if science class involved doing research that mattered to a nation?
In groups of six, students work on one of eight projects every semester. With at least two advisors per group, the low student to teacher ratio allows students to intimately experience real scientific research conducted at the Cape Eleuthera Institute and Center for Sustainable Development. Students investigate the surrounding marine or terrestrial environment with the goal of answering pertinent ecological questions. At the end of each semester, Island School students present their research to the larger scientific community and publish their posters through the Fisheries Conservation Foundation.
Research Project Focus Areas FLATS SYSTEMS
SUSTAINABLE FISHERIES
REEF ECOSYSTEMS
SUSTAINABLE SYSTEMS
OUTDOOR PROGRAMS
What if your education were not about what you know, but what you discover? Our Outdoor Programs help students develop strong bodies that sustain strong minds, while building a deep sense of personal accomplishment and community support. MORNING EXERCISE
A critical part of The Island School experience, the entire community supports each other as students and faculty train for either a half marathon or 4-mile open ocean swim.
SCUBA
All students will acquire a PADI Open Water Diver Certification and log approximately twelve dives, including one night dive.
EXPEDITIONS
Students will participate in three expeditions each semester: 5-DAY DOWN ISLAND TRIP 9-DAY KAYAK OR SAIL TRIP 48-HOUR SOLO 3-DAY ORIENTATION KAYAK
MEET OUR CAMPUS
True sustainability begins with individual lifestyles and requires a commitment from every member of the community to embrace the challenge of personal change. It requires every person to live out the principles of sustainability on environmental, social, and economic levels. This is the sustainability we teach at The Island School.
CAMPUS
What if sustainability weren’t a club, but a way of life? RENEWABLE ENERGY SYSTEMS
Hybrid wind and solar energy systems provide much of the electricity used by our buildings.
BIODIESEL PRODUCTION
By converting recycled cooking oil from nearby cruise lines, The Island School produces biodiesel to run all our school vehicles.
WATER CONSERVATION
Rain is collected from roof runoff and stored in cisterns. Our students learn to become conscious consumers of precious fresh water and keep track of use rates and storage as part of their daily routine.
SUSTAINABLE FOOD PRODUCTION
Through agriculture and aquaponics, we are modeling sustainable food production for many island nations.
COMMUNITY
What if your campus were not only your classroom, but your home? Cross-cultural communication is a critical characteristic of strong leadership. The ability to hold a meaningful conversation across cultural boundaries is key to form effective communication. At The Island School, each member of the community is a provider of education for our students.
DORMITORIES Each dormitory has two main rooms separated by a common room. Students are taught to live respectfully with others and are held accountable for their living conditions through daily chore routines.
COMMUNITY OUTREACH
Students serve as mentors for students at the Deep Creek Middle School. Through their cultural and age differences, Island School students are able to serve as mentors while jointly collaborating on teamwork initiatives.
SETTLEMENT DAYS
Students are given the opportunity to engage with and learn from communities in South Eleuthera. As part of the humanities course, students spend three Saturdays in the settlements.
DOWN ISLAND TRIP
During a five-day expedition of the central and northern areas of Eleuthera, students gain a wider perspective of the culture and economy on the island.
A place promoting positive change to its students, who in turn positively change our world.�
Noelle Cooper (F’04)
TYPICAL STUDENT DAY 6:15 6:30 6:35 7:30 7:50 8:15 9:15 10:15 12:15 1:15 4:30 5:55 6:15 7:15 10:00 10:30
Wake up! Get ready for morning exercise Morning Circle Morning Exercise Chores Personal Space Breakfast - Eggs, grits, bacon, toast, orange juice and local mango Histories Class Applied Mathematics Class Lunch - Local ribs, rice, coleslaw, salad and sandwich bar Marine Ecology Class Exploration Time Evening Circle Dinner - Pizza night! Study Hall and Evening Programming Dorm Check-In Lights out! Ready for another day!
SUMMER TERM Program Highlights • Receive PADI Open Water Dive Certification • Participate in data collection at the Cape Eleuthera Institute • Live on a green campus and interact with sustainable systems in renewable energy, wastewater gardens, water catchment, and food production • Explore and analyze tropical reef ecosystems • Spend a week studying with engineers, green designers and farmers at the Center for Sustainable Development • Train and participate in a 6-mile Monster Run Swim, a course comprised of a mixture of running and swimming • Earn a high school credit in Ecology • Experience a 24-hour solo
Courses Offered • Sustainable Systems • Marine Ecology • Tourism and Development
LENGTH 30 days WHEN July NUMBER OF STUDENTS 52 FINANCIAL AID AWARDED $100,000+
The Island School teaches you to make experiences happen around you. Reach out to people and make connections. Ask questions, go out on an adventure, and do things that are unknown.�
Abby Gordon (S’14)
ADDITIONAL PROGRAMS
AT THE ISLAND SCHOOL AND CAPE ELEUTHERA INSTITUTE GAP YEAR PROGRAM
Who: High school graduates, 18+
The Gap Year Program focuses on leadership, ecology, research and sustainable development. More than simply a travel or study abroad experience, participants are challenged to address human impact on the environment while maximizing their potential for growth through academic and applied skill building.
EDUCATIONAL PROGRAMS
Who: Middle Schools, High Schools, Colleges & Universities Educational Programs allow a variety of school groups to experience The Island School and Cape Eleuthera Institute. Our programs focus on common biological and environmental principles for tropical island ecosystems, sustainability, leadership development and cultural immersion. Programs can vary from one week to three weeks.
EXPEDITIONARY SUMMER TERM
TEACHER CONFERENCE
Expeditionary Summer Term is a unique experience that allows students to explore The Island School beyond campus by exploring remote and untouched landscapes. In partnership with Hurricane Island Outward Bound, students live aboard a 30 feet schooner and sail across the Exuma Sound. Throughout the 18 days at sea, students develop sailing and navigation skills while also participating in marine science research.
Every August we turn our campus into a learning laboratory for teachers interested in probing best practices in experiential education. Our annual week-long Teacher Conference provides a unique opportunity for educators to challenge themselves to become students engaged in sustainable community living and project-based learning.
Program I: High school seniors—college sophomores Program II: High school sophomores, juniors and seniors
Who: 6-12 grade teachers, administrators and guidance counselors from The Bahamas, USA, and beyond
Island School is where the improbable becomes possible and the extraordinary becomes ordinary.�
Robbie Balloch (S’12)
ADMISSIONS
At The Island School, we will ask you to turn off your cell phones and turn on to your surroundings- rich laboratories of learning that include the Caribbean Ocean, Bahamian culture, and our own vibrant community of scientists, faculty and students. By pushing the usual boundaries of classroom education, we create an environment in which critical thinking skills are just a normal part of daily life. A semester and summer at The Island School involves hard work, community living, and constantly facing new challenges.
AFFORDING THE ISLAND SCHOOL • The Island School is founded upon the belief that students will leave the program as engaged global citizens, empowered to be active leaders of their generation. In order to fulfill this mission, we understand that our financial aid program must be supportive to a diverse range of students. • We make our financial aid awards based on demonstrated family need. • Financial Aid Awarded in 2017: $700,000+
ADMISSION CALENDAR September 15: Application opens online October 1 - February 15: Students may book 15-minute video interviews February 15: Applications due April 1: Admission decision mailed out
COLLEGE AND SEMESTER SCHOOL EXPERIENCE The Island School and other semester programs offer students a chance to experience the world around them before college. Island School prepares students by participating in rigorous academics and grappling with real world issues. Our students enter college as risk takers, confident leaders and strong community members.
Application and calendar information available at: www.islandschool.org
In the past five years, Island School alumni have most frequently enrolled in these colleges: BATES COLLEGE BROWN UNIVERSITY COLBY COLLEGE COLORADO COLLEGE CONNECTICUT COLLEGE DARTMOUTH COLLEGE DUKE UNIVERSITY MIDDLEBURY COLLEGE UNIVERSITY OF MIAMI UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA UNIVERSITY OF VERMONT UNIVERSITY OF VIRGINIA
www.islandschool.org | 866.730.6624 | admissions@islandschool.org