Our Partners

New York City Outward Bound

New York City Outward Bound brings the expertise and educational philosophy of Outward Bound and the Expeditionary Learning Schools approach to New York City's public schools. NYC Outward Bound challenges and supports students to do their very best work, brings adventure and discovery into their education, connects academic content with real world issues and concerns, promotes teamwork as well as individual initiative, and fosters the character and academic skills necessary to succeed in college and beyond. Since its inception, NYC Outward Bound has served over 50,000 of the City's young people and Outward Bound USA serves 70,000+ young people and adults throughout the country annually, offering them a greater sense of their potential, increasing their self-confidence, and strengthening their connection to the world. For more information please visit www.nycoutwardbound.org.

Expeditionary Learning

Expeditionary Learning is a national school organization and model rooted in the educational history of Outward Bound. It emphasizes high achievement through active learning, character growth, and teamwork. Expeditionary Learning emphasizes five core practices and ten design principles that support teaching and learning in its schools.

The Core Practices are:

• Learning Expeditions: These challenging, real-world projects and in-depth studies act as the primary curriculum units in Expeditionary Learning schools. Learning Expeditions support literacy and address central academic standards of content, while promoting character development and fostering a service ethic.
• Active Pedagogy: In Expeditionary Learning schools, teachers plan engaging experiences to help students become active and collaborative learners: to make connections, to find patterns, to see events from different perspectives, to experiment, to go beyond the information given, and to develop empathy and compassion for events, people, and subjects.
• School Culture and Character: Expeditionary Learning builds shared beliefs, traditions, and rituals in order to create a school culture which is characterized by a climate of physical and emotional safety, a sense of adventure, an ethic of service and responsibility, and a commitment to high quality work.
• Leadership and School Improvement: Adults in EL schools create a professional community that focuses on students and their learning. Strong relationships with staff, parent involvement and community partnerships are fostered.
• School Structures: Expeditionary Learning schools use longer and more flexible schedule blocks, common planning time for teachers, mixed student groupings, crew (advisory program), and multi year relationships to ensure student success. Intensives (5-10 days special sessions for enrichment or add'l support held 1-2 times per year) and a variety of before/ after school programs provide additional opportunities for students.
• The Design Principles: Expeditionary Learning is built on ten design principles that reflect the values and beliefs of Outward Bound.

The Design Principles Are:

• Primacy of Self Discovery
• Empathy and Caring
• The Primacy of Self-Discovery
• Success and Failure
• The Having of Wonderful Ideas
• Diversity and Inclusion
• The Responsibility for Learning
• The Natural World
• Collaboration and Competition
• Service and Compassion

NYC Department of Education

Validus Prep is a public high school operated by the NYC Department of Education in partnership with NYC Outward Bound. More about the NYC Department of Education at www.schools.nyc.gov.

"There is more in us than we know. If we can be made to see it, perhaps, for the rest of our lives we will be unwilling to settle for less."
—Kurt Hahn, Founder of Outward Bound