Shaping Tomorrow Together
A Strategic Vision for Leadership and Growth
At The Island School, we cultivate an intentional community from all walks of life. We support over 1,000 students from all over the world each year in our Elementary Learning Center, Deep Creek Middle School, high-school Semester and Summer Term, and Visiting Programs. Our dedicated, international staff, teachers, and scientific researchers train students in scuba and research techniques and serve as active contributors to students’ academic and daily life.
Empowering students to be leaders involves creating an environment that fosters growth, responsibility, and confidence. Our model encourages accountability, provides one-on-one mentorship, builds critical thinking and decision-making skills, requires community involvement, and promotes collaboration across all activities. Island School students become leaders who embody resiliency, emotional intelligence, adaptability, grit, and vulnerability. We take action on environmental issues by providing hands-on environmental science research experience, involving students in wind and solar energy projects and allowing them opportunities to explore our Cape Eleuthera and greater Island community.
Belonging
Celebrate and Support Our People
Excellence
Strengthening Place and Sustainability
Longevity
Embrace and Extend Our Financial Sustainability
Unity
Honor Our History and Collective Identity
What you’ve created and continue to nurture at The Island School is nothing short of extraordinary. It’s clear that this isn’t just a place of learning; it’s a living, breathing ecosystem of purpose, passion, and transformation.
Skip Borghese, PST25
My child has so much more resilience. He takes things at a slower pace. He seems more grounded in who he is…he is comfortable in his own skin. I have a feeling that many layers will start to show themselves as he is immersed back into real life. I think the sense of community fostered at the Island School was such a profound gift in his life.
Anonymous, PST25
One of the most joyful, intentional and meaningful experiences our daughter and son have had. It continues to shape them each and every day. Always grateful to The Island School.
Sarah McGinley-Smith, PS19, PF21
The older I get and the more reflection I do on my life the more I realize I can tie so many aspects of who I am and the values I hold back to my time at The Island School. From trying to always live well in the place that I am, to envisioning running into a cheering circle around the flagpole at the end of a long run, to honing my skills as a photographer and storyteller, to discovering my love of the ocean‚ the list really goes on!
Will Strathmann, F07
The Island School has truly changed my life. I have taken away lifelong connections, learned how to be where my feet are, and have found how to be grateful in some of the most challenging situations. The Island School has also taught me that I am capable of accomplishing so much more than I could’ve ever imagined. I have already applied many of the mindset shifts… I learned… at home, and I have no doubt that I will continue to take parts of The Island School with me throughout the rest of my life.
Lily Smith, F23
My biggest takeaway was my self worth. I used to doubt myself so much but now I know how capable I am. I also just absolutely adored the community.
Ella Finlay, F23
I always tell everyone Island School is the best thing I have ever done. It taught me so much about myself and who I am as a person plus how I relate to others. It taught me to be a better teammate and work for the better of the group and it taught me that the only way out of challenging situations is through. I learned that I can do anything I put my mind to and therefore that I am stronger than I thought I was.
Alexa Vázquez, F23
Our classes were interactive and everything we did was collaborative which I really enjoyed and I learned so much from the hands-on nature of all of our courses. It was such an amazing and unique experience to be able to participate in fieldwork with visiting scientists and to help play a role in real life [published] research… I also loved going out into the community … and interacting with the locals. I came away with a greater understanding… for both the positive and negative effects tourism has on a small island community.
Quinn Maley, F23
I was surprised by how meaningful it was for me to be a part of a close community. Also, I was not expecting to feel as close as I did to the greater community outside of the semester program, like the researchers, the facilities staff, and the students at the Early Learning Center as well as Deep Creek Middle School.
Isabel Dolan, S24
One thing that surprised me about The Island School was how interesting all of the classes were. I think a lot of people put themselves into categories — whether they excel in math and science or history and English. But at The Island School, all of the classes had elements of each subject, and the curriculum was all woven together. …I was able to find a connection with every other student and people within the community. I was not expecting to relate to [and befriend] so many people on such a global scale… in the unlikeliest of places.
Amelia Etter, S24
