Explorations Academy is an experientially-based high school established in 1995. Explorations serves capable young people in grades 8-12 seeking an education for the 21st Century that meaningfully addresses real-world issues.
What makes Explorations unique is our focus on context: The context of the school environment, the context of our local area and region, and the context of global systems are each directly incorporated into our curriculum. In this way we are educating young people for our contemporary changing world.
Explorations has been fully accredited by the Northwest Accreditation Commission since 1998, and in 2010, became a candidate member of the Pacific Northwest Association of Independent Schools.
Mission Statement
Global Community Institute and its program, Explorations Academy, ignite a passion for learning that inspires participants to collaborate effectively and take responsibility for positive global change. Our vision is to cultivate diverse communities of healthy, creative, and engaged learners and leaders, working toward a socially just and ecologically balanced world.
Explorations impacts youth in many ways. Many parents and students are profoundly changed by their experience at our school as in the comment below by a parent:
"Explorations Academy has been truly influential in shaping the man my son is becoming. My 17-year old son has had four years at Explorations. This fantastic school has really focused on character building. All of the students are self-aware, confident and appreciative of themselves and others. The theme-based curriculum and international travel program are challenging and thought-provoking. These students have a global outlook on life that instills confidence."
Location and Size
Explorations Academy is located in downtown Bellingham, Washington, a city of over 80,000 people. Bellingham is the largest city in Whatcom County - a county of immense beauty, diverse ecosystems, plentiful opportunities for outdoor leisure and adventure as well as a thriving sense of urban and rural community and an active arts and entertainment scene.
Our facility is an historic building located along the banks of Whatcom Creek. It comprises about 3000 square feet of classrooms, library, offices and project areas. However, much of an Explorations Academy education takes place outside our building; students average about one day per week of field outings, including local, regional, and international expeditions.
School enrollment has been increasing every year, and we are expecting to enroll up to 40 students for the 2013-2014 school year. We currently have four full-time faculty and five part-time faculty. Our curricular program is based on interdisciplinary clusters of courses which follow a common theme, with class sizes of about ten to twelve students. We run three academic terms from September to June, and offer optional summer, intersession, and independent study courses.
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