The Island School

The Island School is a mind, body, and spirit journey that takes students away from traditional high school curriculum and forces them to confront authentic challenges. Classes are designed to allow first-hand engagement with the people and environment of The Bahamas. English, math, environmental art, history, and marine ecology are offered, and each course focuses on the application of knowledge to real-world problems. SCUBA diving, island exploration, and two short kayaking expeditions complement daily morning exercise, science research projects, and campus work that encourages each student to develop leadership and teamwork skills. This school accepts 48 kids from around the world for the spring or fall semester. The application is very selective and involves numerous essays, transcripts, and teacher reccomdations. Coastal Ecology, Research, Celestial Navigation, Literature of the sea, History of the Bahamas, and Environmental Art are the courses offered. They are all honors classes. Scuba Diving, Kayaking, and Community Outreach are other important Elements of the school. Every student becomes certified! Their are two different kayak trips that students go on through out the semester. Students get to interact with the locals around them, by doing homestays, working with middle school kids once a week, and even getting to do a down island road trip where they become familiar with the whole island of eleuthera The school has done many things to reduce its ecological footprint on the world. Their is a wind generator, solar panels, and water is collected from cisterns. If water is used to freely, then students find themselves having to shower in the ocean! I almost forgot to mention the exercise program...every morning at 6:30, morning exercise takes place. The kids can choose running or swimming as their main focuses, and at the end have to either run a half marathon, or swim four miles in the open ocean. This school is a transformative experience. It gives kids authentic challenges, teaches place based education, and succeeds in helping with leadership. For more information go to www.islandschool.org