Our Kurt Hahn Expeditionary Learning School is in the New York Times for their students' involvement in the City Council's participatory budgeting process, which garnered the school and its 45th district $450,000 to dramatically increase safety by placing lights in the district’s parks and in the field behind the school's Tilden Educational Campus in East Flatbush, Brooklyn.
Caring School Culture
- Our schools promote trusting & caring student/adult relationships.
- Our schools are places where teamwork & collaboration are practiced and valued.
- Our schools feature a strong sense of community reflecting an ethos of “we are crew, not passengers.”
Our schools are places where community, collaboration, inclusion and support are highly valued. Although every school is distinct, all of our schools feature structures that promote a culture where strong trusting relationships are central to creating a quality learning environment.
Students at all of our network schools belong to a Crew: a small student advisory group that typically remains together until graduation. Led by a Crew Advisor, Crews meet regularly (and sometimes daily) to work on college preparation, literacy skills, leadership development and personal challenges. Crews are central to positive school culture and the development of a trusting community. Crews provide a safe, consistent environment for students to practice their leadership skills, and to push each other to do more than they ever thought possible.
Each school has its own unique Crew experiences and structures, such as Crew Councils that function like student government groups, Crew-led Community Meetings and Town Halls, Crew Olympics and special Crew trips. In addition, all incoming Crews and their Crew Advisors are sent on a three- or five-day wilderness challenge called Crew Orientation.
Crew Orientation
Crew Orientation is a three- or five-day, overnight wilderness challenge for all incoming students. Each student, along with a Crew Advisor, attends Crew Orientation as the member of a Crew. Here, they experience the challenges of high-ropes courses and teambuilding initiatives, and develop the skills required to read maps and compasses, to safely backpack and camp, to cook and clean, and to communicate with one another under challenging circumstances.
This transformational week helps students develop individual and group leadership skills, build self-confidence to overcome challenges, and foster a community of mutual support that allows them to accomplish far more collectively than they ever could on their own. It also prepares students and advisors to return to school, where they will translate their new skills, inner strength and mutually supportive relationships into academic achievement.
To read about our crew orientation while it is in session, visit our blog.
Recent News
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NY Times Covers Kurt Hahn Students City Council Involvement April 9, 2012 -
NY Daily News Features Kurt Hahn Senior Expo April 3, 2012Mark Morales of the NY Daily News covers Kurt Hahn Expeditionary Learning School senior exit projects at their public Senior Expo. Students presented their findings and educated their peers on a diverse array of real-world problems endemic to the high school’s East Flatbush neighborhood in Brooklyn such as gang violence, teen pregnancy and immigration issues.
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Univision/Telefutura Explores NYC Outward Bound Schools January 10, 2012Univision's sister television network Telefutura has produced an in-depth, Spanish-language segment on our network of public Expeditionary Learning schools, our mission, and our unique approach to education. "En Tu Comunidad" features NYC Outward Bound's Strategic Sponsorship Officer Deborah Castillero, our Validus Preparatory Academy's Principal Javier Ocampo, and our Washington Heights Expeditionary Learning School's Assistant Principal Jenny Rodriguez.
