Join our Crew Initiative

Partner with NYC Outward Bound Schools to build community and improve school culture.

​NYC Outward Bound Schools recently launched its 2022-23 Crew Initiative cohort — a New York City Council initiative supported by Speaker Adrienne Adams and Education Committee Chair Rita Joseph and adopted by the Adams Administration in their FY23 city budget. Crew Initiative is a joint public/private partnership funded by the City and private grants. Schools that are part of Crew Initiative work ​with NYC Outward Bound Schools to build the capacity to successfully embed a Crew program and culture in their school communities​.

What is Crew?

Crew is a signature advisory program in each NYC Outward Bound school as well as the schools within our national partner EL Education’s network. Crew is both a structure that encourages academic and social-emotional growth among students, and it is also a school-wide culture and mindset. The spirit of “Crew, not passengers” — a phrase coined by Outward Bound founder Kurt Hahn — demonstrates that we are stronger together than we are individually, that we look out for one another. Crew leads to more vibrant, engaged and connected school communities where every student feels a sense of belonging and agency.

 

What does Crew Initiative look like?

Crew Initiative schools:

• Work with NYC Outward Bound to assess their needs in the areas of social-emotional learning and community-building
• Develop a data-driven plan to determine what success looks like at their school
• Receive one-on-one training from a dedicated NYC Outward Bound Schools Crew Coach to meet goals that align with the success plan
• Join a collective of schools that have similar needs and are in similar places in their Crew implementation process
• Engage in cohort-based activities with other partner schools both virtually and in-person to help model what Crew looks and feels like