Our approach to Social, Emotional and Academic Development (SEAD)
NYC Outward Bound Schools’ approach to working with young people and schools is grounded in the understanding that social, emotional, and academic development (SEAD) are innately interconnected to support young people to thrive.
Our programs focus on creating immersive, deeper learning experiences that help students develop SEAD competencies in their classrooms, Crews, communities, and the outdoors. All of our school-based and Outdoor Adventure programming leads to SEAD.
We envision the integration of SEAD into learning experiences as intentionally anti-racist and liberatory, valuing many ways of knowing and being, and centering students as co-creators of knowledge. By developing skills and competencies like empathy, agency and critical thinking, young people are empowered to lead as their full selves, with their intersectional identities, and collectively respond to and disrupt the systemic inequities that impact them and their communities.
Why is SEAD our north star?
Research shows that when students feel they belong and have a voice, they are more likely to succeed academically and develop a lifelong love of learning. In fact, students who believe they have a voice in school are 7 times more likely to be academically motivated than those who do not feel they have a voice.
At NYC Outward Bound, we are committed to helping schools reimagine how young people can reach their full potential through learning experiences that prioritize student voice and choice. By centering the most marginalized voices among us, we enable young people to be active partners in improving their education and school communities, and charting their own futures.
Why can't school be more like an Outward Bound course?
Our work harnesses the transformative power of the outdoors and brings elements of the Outward Bound pedagogy into classrooms — the mixture of challenge and support, learning as an immersive, communal exercise, an emphasis on student agency, and more.
SEAD Competencies
Social
- Teamwork, collaboration & leadership
- Communication: speaking, writing & listening
- Adaptability & responsiveness
Emotional
- Self-awareness: recognizing & managing personal emotions
- Empathy: understanding the perspectives & emotions of others
- Agency
Academic
- Critical thinking
- Problem solving
- Persevering through setting goals, making a plan & sticking with it
- Reflecting & making connections to their own lives/world
Our Guiding Principles
Our guiding principles support how we approach our work. They help ensure that our common beliefs about learning are clearly aligned with everything we do and develop as an organization.
Center Student Leadership
We trust young people to take ownership of their learning.
Learn Through Daring Exploration
We create immersive learning opportunities and encourage growth through risk-taking and productive struggle.
Find Strength in Community
We lift each other up in powerful learning communities where diverse voices and experiences are sought out and valued.
Mobilize for Justice
We take action to disrupt systems of oppression. As agents of change in our communities, we engage critically and joyfully with the world around us.
Foster Holistic Development
We recognize that people are multifaceted and champion an integrated vision of social, emotional and academic development for all.