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WHAT TO EXPECT -- INFORMATION FOR PARENTS We were in Florida at the time that our son was to leave for The Island School. We drove him to Fort Lauderdale to see him off. I have to admit, I was not quite prepared for how I felt. I remember the first day of kindergarten when I gave him a hug and then left him standing in the classroom and drove off… with a backward gaze, a heart tug, and a constant wondering how the day was going. This time, it was him who gave us a hug, turned around, and without a backward look walked off and left us standing there. That was my first real sense of the profound shift that was occurring in our lives. --Island School Parent
1) WHY THE ISLAND SCHOOL? 2) MAKING IT POSSIBLE 3) WHEN YOUR CHILD IS AWAY 4) RISK MANAGEMENT Natural Disaster Contingency Planning 5) WHEN YOUR CHILD RETURNS HOME How Can You Help With Your Child’s Reentry? Reconnecting with Friends and Family Keeping in Touch with IS Friends Post-Island School Opportunities Sending your child to The Island School for a semester is a difficult decision, and maybe you’ve already taken that first step. This parent guide is an opportunity for you to learn what The Island School might mean for you as a family, how to make it possible, and to offer you advice from past parents and alumni about how to make the experience even more powerful and lasting.
Ideally, we’d want you to garner this information by sitting around a dinner table with students and parents who have already been through the program. This written format only serves as a poor substitute; we really encourage you to spend time talking about The Island School with alumni parents and students to know what to anticipate. You are welcome to contact us for families in your area. That said, no two experiences are exactly alike. In fact, because alumni tend to be so pumped up about how “totally amazing” their experience was, they give a glorified picture to students waiting to ship out with their bags packed. It’s almost painful to watch the students arriving off of the airplane slowly realize in the first week that The Island School, for all of its beauty, escapism from home, and opportunity, is actually really very challenging. If there is one piece of advice, in the midst of the others, it’s that you must see the place yourself, to more fully relate to your child’s experience. Our misnamed Parents’ Weekend is really a celebration of your sons and daughters and the growth they have experienced; they are bursting with pride, and they desperately need you to hear the Junkanoo drums, to smell the bio-diesel exhaust from the vans, to see their art exhibited, and to push your toes into the sand of the boys’ dorm beach with them. Without a common language to talk about their experience, they are even more lost and disoriented and un-rooted when they come back home to you than otherwise. More on that later...
We, as a group of educators, are unusually lucky to share our days and nights with yourchildren. It is a powerful motivator to know that you’ve made a positive difference in a young person’s life –something we get to do about 100 times a year – and that’s brought home as we watch the last planes depart after three months. We have gathered these words to help escort you around pitfalls and through dilemmas. We hope that you will invest your energy into making this a living document and share what you have learned with those who follow you. We look forward to hearing from you.
Why The Island School?
“Academically, our daughter returned a more engaged learner. Classroom participation is no longer something to be avoided—she is right in there leading discussions, and challenging her classmates to think outside of the textbook. The Island School experience allowed her to find reward in hard work. While our child is not at the top of her class, she learned from her peers and from her teachers at The Island School that her passions and talents have merit, and that she could make meaningful contributions.”
The Island School is much more than a place of learning. Students are active participants in the educational process, thinking and acting as scientists, ethnographers, and teachers. Forced to push far beyond the boundaries of traditional assignments, beyond the quest for a top grade, Island School students grapple with real, locally relevant problems. In working toward our goals, we push beyond the limits of traditional education – demanding more of ourselves as students and teachers.
The secret sauce of The Island School is packaged deep down in that structured challenge: by motivating your son or daughter to do things they never thought that they could do, they grow. But to get to that place, there’s some disillusionment, some anxiety, some desire to throw in the towel. It’s in those moments that the teenagers you send us decide who they really are and become young adults. We push our students to excel physically, academically, and in their dealings with one another. In the same way that we are very demanding of the students, we also realize our role as models for behavior and safety as teachers. We take those responsibilities very seriously, and think and talk often about how to ensure a positive learning experience.
“My son’s time at The Island School has helped him grow in so many ways and I wanted to thank you all for your part in that. He comes home with new confidence in himself and the things that he can do as well as new ideas about the world around him and what he can do to make it better. You all have created a wonderful atmosphere at the school of caring and acceptance of all different kinds of people. You balance that with pushing kids into taking risks and doing their best. Thank you for helping him to see all of the potential within himself and the possibilities in the world around him.”
Making it Possible
“To help your child out you may want to be in touch with their sending school along with sending your child with a syllabus for each class that they will miss. I would only add that academically there's a bit of adjusting to do and parents should be ready for it: even if it's only tutoring the summer before they go, to try to keep up with a foreign language, or covering the first half of chemistry, etc.”
It is important to work with your child’s sending school to ensure a smooth transition from The Island School. Issues that typically come up are:
To address these issues, many parents have found it helpful to download The Island School curriculum guide from our Web site to share with sending school decision-makers and to encourage advisors, teachers, and administrators to explore the website for more information about our program. Some have even invited faculty to attend our annual teacher’s conference – held in August – to give them a first-hand experience. We can also put you in touch with other families and schools that have gone through the process of sending students to The Island School, for more personalized advice.
Ultimately, we find that students transition to and from our program successfully when they have strong support from their parents in dealing with sending school expectations. The Island School experience needs validation by not only parents, but also by school administrators and faculty in order to have it continue to be an influential and inspiring experience in the lives of our alumni..
“Our school has a great relationship with The Island School, and has sent many students in the past. However, it is very important to carry on an active, working dialogue with administrators of your sending school, particularly in regards to math, science, and language placement. It seems the norm that many students work ahead in these areas before going to The Island School, or work to catch up upon returning. But, regardless of how difficult it might be to catch up on missed material, it is important to keep in mind that the benefits of having gone to The Island School far outweigh the hassles of summer school and tutoring.”
“My daughter goes to public school and, although we received a lot of financial aid from The Island School, we still had a significant portion to contribute to the semester’s tuition. My daughter wrote letters to family and friends soliciting support for her tuition and she even had the local paper write a story on her that attracted some more donors.”
“The Island School semester was about the same cost as a semester at our child’s sending school. For us, cost was not an issue because our school only made us pay one tuition that semester.”
“My son held small fundraisers at his school to cover his travel costs to attend The Island School. The Island School is a need-blind institution, meaning that financial aid does not play any role in admissions. Financial aid decisions are made after admission decisions and families who have requested financial aid are sent the appropriate materials with their acceptance letters. If your child is currently receiving aid at his/her school, you should consult the business manager to ensure that your aid will carry over to The Island School. Currently, 45% of students attending the Island School receive financial aid (grants average approximately $6,000 per student) and we are committed to working with families to arrange aid packages and payment options. Because The Island School strives to create a community that is representative of out society, we have established a program of financial aid based on direct grants that do not have to be repaid. However, part of our philosophy is that all families receiving financial aid will contribute some amount to the tuition. Our objective is to form a partnership between the student, parents, The Island School and other philanthropic sources. We encourage students mon financial aid to seek their own tuition support through working or soliciting financial assistance from local businesses or individuals. Adam Garland’s Story: In 2002 Adam was accepted to The Island School, but for his parents, who are both high schoolteachers, the tuition was a serious stress. The CEF granted Adam and his family half of the tuition. With the help of an Island School teacher, Adam raised and earned over $6,000 to match the Foundation grant and thus made it possible for him to participate in the semester program. His parents helped with travel and other incidental costs. Adam’s hometown of Bremen, Georgia was excited about Adam’s opportunity to study abroad. Friends and local businesses got behind his effort to attend the School. During his semester, the local paper published three front-page articles about his experience. Most important, Adam created this opportunity for himself and consequently he came to appreciate this opportunity in a different way than students who did not have to take on some of the financial responsibility.. Adam was the pioneer student from Bremen and since him have had students every semester from this small town in Georgia
What to Expect While Your Child is Away “There was a full 2 1/2 weeks when I wanted to go home really badly but everyone was there to support me through this period.” -- Alumna “Some have expressed a desire to return home, and parents have expressed (to me) the inclination to let them return home. Perhaps parents can be prepared for the possibility of intense early homesickness. It is heart wrenching to get that eagerly awaited 15-minute phone call and hear your child's voice shaky and weepy (or even sobbing). But, the homesickness seems to lessen considerably after the three-day kayak trip, which is early in the session.” -- Parent
Once students arrive they immediately start absorbing and learning as much as they can about their new place, new culture, and new community. While some people do get homesick at first, just remember that it is natural and they will get through it. You will have the chance to talk to your child during his/her allotted weekly phone time.
Here are some other ways to keep in touch with your child and his/her Island School experience:
Every Monday, during community meeting, students volunteer to write about the past week’s events for our Web site. It’s an opportunity for them to share their experiences on the island with the outside community and it has become a great resource for family and friends to see the goings-on of the campus for each of the fourteen weeks. Updates can be found at www.islandschool.org under “Weekly Updates”.
We understand that leaving home is a huge challenge for some students. We also understand that some students who know themselves to be independent might find that they revert back to a more dependent lifestyle when they arrive on the island. In order to help cushion some of these stresses, each student is assigned a faculty advisor who supports and guides your child throughout the semester. Advisors also act as a liaison between you and your child and can be contacted via email and phone over the course of the program.
“It was the struggles and the challenges that we faced throughout the semester that really made this semester worthwhile. The Island School was truly the best three months of my life. Don't fear difficult times in the classroom, on the runs, or on the kayak trips, because overcoming them is what allows Island School students to grow and learn as much as they do.” –Alumnus
Risk Management
The Island School operates in a remote wilderness environment. We rely on preparation, awareness, and prevention to help us avoid situations that put students or faculty at unnecessary risk. We practice what to do in the event of emergency situations regularly, and undergo independent evaluations of our risk management practices. Our goal is to remain a leader in industry standards and minimize risks wherever possible.
The majority of Island School faculty members are certified in either Wilderness Advanced First Aid (WAFA) or Wilderness First Responder (WFR). In the event of illness or minor injuries, there is an experienced and competent doctor, along with nurse practitioners, on call 24 hours a day at the Rock Sound Clinic, located twenty miles from campus. Should the need arise for a student to be taken to the hospital, a member of The Island School faculty will accompany the student to Nassau where the nearest hospital is located.
We require that parents buy their child medical evacuation insurance through the Divers Alert Network (DAN) at http://www.diversalertnetwork.org/ or 1-800-446-2671. For $35.00 students are covered for the duration of their stay at IS. Remember, DAN covers the cost of evacuation for both diving and non-diving emergencies.
Students and parents often express concern about the possibility of hurricanes or severe tropical storms striking the campus. While its leeward location and relatively shallow waters have shielded Cape Eleuthera from any serious storm-related damage in the past, we are prepared, in the event of an approaching hurricane, to relocate to an established shelter in a local settlement elsewhere on Eleuthera. Given the unpredictability of a storm, evacuating students off the island may put them more directly in the path of a hurricane. Also, large population centers carry many more potential dangers in severe weather than does the relative isolation of Eleuthera; we are self-sufficient with water, energy, and communications while on Eleuthera, but in Nassau or in Florida we are entirely dependent on the preparedness and resources of others. We continuously track weather patterns with real-time data and base decisions on the projected strength and path of each individual storm and the circumstances in each case.
At the beginning of the semester, parents are sent a telephone chain to be used in the event of evacuation or other school-wide emergency. The telephone chain is initiated by on-site Island School personnel and relayed through the Lawrenceville office. If a storm does pass over the school, we are likely to experience lengthy loss of power and cell phone communication. In such circumstances, our satellite email serves as our primary means of communication. Note that severe cloud cover and rain can delay satellite transmission, so sometimes we do encounter communication interruptions.
One tip for parents: Do not rely on television as your primary source of weather information! Commercial media tends to dramatize weather patterns and generalize information for entire regions of the Caribbean, rather than provide data that is specific to portions of each island. This can be misleading and create undue anxiety. For more accurate and detailed weather data, we consult the following sources; along with information from the Bahamian government and local meteorological stationjs.
http://www.nrlmry.navy.mil/tc_pages/tc_home.html
What to Expect When Your Child Returns Home
“Things aren't great...but I am surviving... I left Eleuthera knowing that I would miss everything but also knowing that it was a great experience and that I was happy I did it. I also left very excited to come back home and see my friends and family and knowing it would be weird but I was excited to get back in the swing of things.” - Alumnu “The kids DO return changed, they DO think of themselves as scientists, and returning to friends who have not had The Island School semester can be a lonely and isolating experience that is not short-lived…. Re-entry is a continual lifetime experience (if we are fortunate), and ultimately, the kids may be better off going through it, for the first time, at such a young age. It does much to prepare them for what's ahead.” - Parent
As a parent, when you tell friends or family that your son or daughter is spending a semester in The Bahamas, a sarcastic “Oh really? Life’s tough” is a common response. When students get back home, the effect is amplified.
Some areas in which your child may need time to readjust:
“Wow, I’m "home", it feels so weird. After getting on the Twin Air plane I could not stop crying, leaving everyone behind was so hard… It was also kind of awkward seeing everyone at home because I just felt like on so many levels I couldn’t relate to them anymore. It’s been a hard transition.” - Alumnus
“Many of the Island School students, particularly the girls, reported how difficult it was to come back and be asked by their friends, ‘How was it?’ — only to realize that these friends just wanted a sentence or two and then wanted the returning student to get into the flow of what was important to them (relationships, clothes, happenings at the sending school). The Island School student was often faced with some of their previous best friends seeming, superficial and uninterested in hearing much in depth about the Island School experience. This is when parental support and the support of their fellow alums is essential--reunions are critical.” - Parent “Some of my friends were more receptive than others during my return, and I just learned who would be interested and targeted them.” - Alumnus
How can the adventures, experiences, growth, expansion, and realizations that students have during the fourteen weeks be described? Most are bursting with stories to tell, yet also are apprehensive that they will not be able to really communicate what they have gone through. Then they realize, once they talk with their family and friends, that life has gone on for everyone at home as well.
For some students, the transition from their “new home” in Eleuthera back to their family and friends may not be so difficult; however, most students do feel some level of stress upon their return. Some students even go so far as to say that readapting to their old way of life is more difficult than adapting to The Island School. On the island, students are challenged to loive differently—to constantly think about their environmental impact, waste streams, and energy use. When they return to their home communities, these concepts are not typically part of their dialogue, so sometimes students become angry at the way we live in the U.S. The key is for the student to turn this sense of disparity into positive change and to share with others how their Island School experience is relevant in the new setting
When students finally say good-bye to The Island School and take away what they have learned over the course of fourteen weeks regarding social situations, their environment, and education, they may be overwhelmed. Many students feel their worldview has expanded after The Island School. They have a deeper awareness of global issues and a broader perspective regarding health concerns, international income disparity, and the environment. When they arrive home they are understandably frustrated with superficial priorities and the general lack of awareness in the lives of their friends and family.
"One of my friends thought it would be funny to throw perfectly good plastic spoons from the cafeteria on my friend outside (about 20 of them). She not only wasted spoons, she then did not pick them up, leaving them behind for someone else. When explaining my views on the situation, my friends mocked me and told me to go back to the Island School." - Alumnus The first few days of being home can be exciting. During the weeks after, when the shock of re-entry hits, your child may feel unsure of his or herself and may start to feel depressed or have mood swings. Students may feel out of place, like they don’t belong. Integration back to the home-life and sending school may take weeks or even months. Be patient and encourage reunions.
“The classes at my home school are dragging on. The teachers are reading from the textbook. I wish I could go snorkel in science class again.” -Alumnus
Returning students have just completed fourteen weeks of hands on, place-based, experiential learning, where their education reached beyond the traditional teaching style and classroom. They were able to observe and dive into lessons that were relevant to their surroundings. You may find that your child, once back in the classroom, feels anxious or bored among peers who have no way of relating to your child’s experiences. The Island School holds re-entry classes at the end of each semester to discuss with our students different ways that they can keep their experience alive once they have returned home. Parents can also help by encouraging their child to get involved with environmental groups, political awareness groups, and community service. Most important, your child should be in touch with our alumni coordinator to keep abreast of opportunities for alumni and ideas on how to get involved.
“When your child comes back, there will be ‘reunions’ all over the place. Groups of kids will congregate in various cities and your child may want to travel ((sometimes far) to go to these informal gatherings. Encourage and support your child in this…it helps ease the pain of separation and solidifies future friendships. You won’t believe how close these kids get and how much they want to continue to be together. Don’t worry, it gets down to normal after a while, but for the first several months, it is intense! After a while, your child will stay in touch with 3 to 5 close buddies, but at first the ‘keep the herd intact’ instinct rules!” - Parent “Transitioning back home was also helped by circulating Island School emails (at least 5 a day), phone calls, and then just listening to music that we listened to at The Island School.” - Alumnus
Island School alumni are a very cohesive group. When they arrive back on the mainland, students are known to get in touch with each other before getting in touch with friends that they have known for years. Encourage them to do so because it helps with their transition. “Prospective parents, don't feel bad that your kids miss The Island School. Just support them and try not to fight it because that is how it will go (and will continue to go) so be ready to expect it. They may become somewhat depressed because everything they were taught to do or not to do down there is almost completely opposite of what we do here in America and they will feel very overwhelmed. Encourage them to keep in touch with other Island Schoolers and to pursue the goals they set for coming home.” - Parent
Remember that your child may have just completed one of the most life-altering experiences he or she will ever have—be patient with the readjustment process, listen to your child’s thoughts and feelings, and simply support. There is no timeline as to when they will regain their footing, but they will in due time.
Post-Island School Opportunities
“The Island School gave our son so much introductory information in so many categories that we wish he had been able to solidify his knowledge in all of them. On the other hand, it is now up to him to go out and seek opportunities to further his own education in these areas and he is starting to do that. He is pursuing internship opportunities in marine biology for the summer and will design his coursework next year to fit his interests in this domain.” - Parent
The Island School is a close-knit community not just during the semester. Students who graduate from The Island School also have the opportunity to pursue related internships, jobs, and research opportunities during their high school, college and post graduate years at the Cape or elsewhere. We are constantly updating a comprehensive list of available opportunities and you can check our Web site’s “alumni” section for more information.
We hope that this Parents’ Guide helps you prepare for your child’s upcoming semester at the Island School. The Island School community is continuously growing and we are excited to have you be a part of our family. If you would like to be put in touch with other Island School parents in your area, please contact Pam Maxey in our New Jersey office.
(609) 620-6700
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Copyright 2006
The Island School