About

About Explorations Academy

Welcome to Explorations Academy

An Explorations Academy education is grounded in delivering a meaningful, relevant curriculum. Our experiential approach draws students into the real world with field excursions that complement classroom learning. Our goal is to emphasize academics in a context that ensures that those studies are meaningful, and which helps young people with the profound undertaking of becoming adults.

What makes EA exceptional?

Interdisciplinary curriculum

Core classes are presented around interdisciplinary themes, or “clusters,” which help students see connections across disciplines.
Core classes are presented around interdisciplinary themes, or “clusters,” which help students see connections across disciplines. These term-long clusters integrate science, history, literature, civics, service work, and art to provide a seamless learning experience. Our faculty are empowered to adapt curriculum and lessons to meet classroom needs, current events, and student interests. Freed from the demands of “teaching to the test,” the classroom becomes a site of lively discussion and big-picture thinking.

Excursions and Field Learning

Explorations Academy provides a REAL education. Relevant, Engaged, Applied Learning means that students regularly take...
Explorations Academy provides a REAL education. Relevant, Engaged, Applied Learning means that students regularly take their lessons outside of the classroom and are aware of the importance of what they’re learning personally, within their communities, and for our global community. Our students participate in ten or more field excursions every school year. These excursions take us onto university campuses, into professional workplaces, and through remote backcountry areas. They range in length from a few days to a full month, and each is designed to foster leadership, stewardship, collaboration, curiosity, and connections between the curriculum and the world beyond the classroom.

Education for Sustainability

Explorations Academy is the first school in Whatcom County to formally adopt Education for Sustainability as a teaching and learning model.
Explorations Academy is the first school in Whatcom County to formally adopt Education for Sustainability as a teaching and learning model. Education for Sustainability emphasizes the skills, knowledge, and mindsets needed for our changing world, and encompasses every aspect of the school environment. In alignment with Education for Sustainability, EA’s 7-year curriculum emphasizes systems thinking, place-based learning, and collaborative solution-finding across all subjects. Education for Sustainability is a comprehensive learning framework that helps us achieve our mission to equip students to make positive global change.

Faculty Mentorship and Advising

In our small school environment, students build close relationships with all of their teachers over many years, a core...
In our small school environment, students build close relationships with all of their teachers over many years, a core component of the most successful education systems in the world. All students at EA have an advisor that they meet with weekly throughout their years at the school. Advisors are the first point of contact for students and their families, and offer social, emotional and academic support. They help students set long-term goals, build strong academic habits, maintain healthy relationships, and track their course to graduation and beyond. Strong advising relationships provide guidance and stability for adolescents as they grow into their future.

Contemporary Curriculum

An Explorations Academy education is grounded in delivering a meaningful, relevant curriculum. Our experiential approach draws students into the real world with learning opportunities that complement classroom learning.

At Explorations we deliver a dynamic education focusing on the personal, social and global learning of the student. We believe that the core of the student experience is not about accumulating information, but an intentional mix of intellectual complexity, outdoor education, global awareness, and self-directed learning in a small school setting. Students are treated as intellectuals as they explore ethics, philosophy and contemporary issues.

We hold students to high academic standards emphasizing self-directed learning and independent study skills. They work closely together on projects and on a regular basis must organize materials, articulate their ideas, and respond to challenging questions.

Faculty design a customized curriculum each term that weaves together traditional academics, current events and field study. Curriculum is college-preparatory and integrated in a thematic format called a cluster. Instead of attending classes with no relation to each other, student learning benefits with common themes that unite cluster classes through a more in-depth, holistic view of the subjects.

Interdisciplinary Coursework

Explorations Academy organizes our curriculum into comprehensive, interdisciplinary themes called clusters.

Our most popular clusters include: Energy, Shelter, Meaning and Purpose, Media, Gender, Revolutions, and Food. Our integrated topics include English, Science, Social Studies, World Language, Art, Technology, Math, Physical Education, as well as Wilderness Education and Cohort Classes.

The Salish Sea cluster, for example, contains Marine Biology, Northwest History, and Northwest Literature courses.

Assessment

Creating meaningful assessment strategies is a priority at Explorations Academy. Evaluation methods emphasize individualized assessments, self-reflection and projects that require students to demonstrate knowledge and skills learned. Rather than focusing on standardized tests, students record their milestones of learning in a comprehensive, individualized portfolio maintained under close faculty guidance.

Hours

The evidence is clear: adolescents are better learners when they are not sleep-deprived zombies stumbling through the day. Consequently, we have chosen to have our program start later in the day than typical schools. High school students attend 9:00 am – 4:00 pm. Middle school students attend 9:00 am – 4:00 pm.

Meet Our Staff

Jennifer

Executive Director/ Head of School

Angela

Administrative Manager

Marley

Director of Curriculum and Instruction

Ben

Core Faculty- Mathmatics

Janice

Administrative and Student Support

Position Description: Advancement Director (A.D.)

The Advancement Director is a key staff member in our small, nonprofit, educational organization.  This person is responsible for taking the lead role in fund development and donor relations, while also supporting the outreach work of our organization.  The Advancement Director (A.D.) interacts with other staff as well as volunteers, students, and parents, collaborating with and at times leading them to generate necessary philanthropic revenue.  The A.D. will influence our organization through innovation, professional expertise, commitment, personal integrity, and a sense of humor.  This 3/4 time position is an ideal platform for an energetic and experienced individual to deliver results and to earn the satisfaction of being a valued team member in a hands-on human service environment.

The successful candidate will be highly organized, efficient, skilled at handling multiple projects, and possess excellent interpersonal and administrative skills. The A.D. will manage major donor relations, grant writing, fundraising events, partnerships with businesses, and annual giving efforts.  In each of these areas the A.D. will be supported by other staff and in many cases by volunteers.  In addition, the A.D. will assist with promotional activities such as newsletters, public events, and outreach communications.  The A.D. will also play an important role in supporting and contributing to our administrative team, working closely with the Administrative Manager and Executive Director.  Further, this position involves being part of our overall staff team including faculty and program leaders.  Flexibility, integrity, time management, and openness are crucial to successful performance in this highly dynamic and social setting.

About EA: 

Our school was founded on three pillars of thought that a REAL education (Relevant, Engaged, Applied Learning) is personal, social, and global. Our mission is to ignite a passion for learning that inspires participants to collaborate effectively and take responsibility for positive global change. We value experiential learning, healthy individuals and communities, and environmental awareness. Since our founding, we have incorporated environmental education, field study, and ecological literacy into our core academics and summer programs. This helps students build an ethic of environmental stewardship and volunteerism into their life as a direct result of first-hand experiences where nature is the classroom. Community responsibility is also central to our mission, and students engage in service learning work with a variety of environmental, social justice, and other organizations.

 

Responsibilities

Fund Development:  Take the lead role in developing philanthropic funding.  This will include major donor cultivation and grant writing, maintaining and improving our Salesforce donor database, assisting in event coordination, and building partnerships with local businesses.  Further, collaborating with the Executive Director, working with Board of Directors members as leading volunteers, preparing and delivering donor materials, coordinating annual giving, and donor acknowledgement and tracking are key components of this position.  Ultimately the A.D. is our primary staff member responsible for leading fund development efforts and achieving fund development results.

Public Contact/Outreach: Help to increase the visibility of the organization through outreach activities, publications, and events; be present at community events, at times act as a spokesperson representing the organization.  Assist in public contact and recruitment, at times answering phones and greeting visitors. 

Communication: Website, & Newsletter: Provide leadership in writing, editing, producing and distributing publications.  Assist with building our social media presence and with updating and expanding our website.

Staff Support:  Provide assistance to other staff members as time allows. Tasks may include data entry, phone calls, running of errands, printing, and mailing. 

Qualifications/Criteria

  • Outstanding personal integrity, commitment, and emotional maturity
  • Strong and demonstrated interpersonal, presentation, leadership, grant writing, and team development skills
  • Excellent organizational skills, detail oriented and professional
  • Personal passion and enthusiasm for the mission of our organization
  • Highly articulate with excellent writing skills, including successful grant writing experience
  • Training and experience in a variety of fund development strategies essential; college degree required
  • Computer skills in the Mac and PC platforms, and solid grasp of Microsoft Office applications
  • Proficiency with Adobe Creative Suite, Salesforce, and website development strategies a big plus
  • Experience in non-profit organizations and valid Washington State Driver’s License required

 

Reports to

The A.D. reports to the Head of School.

Contact
Before applying for this job please review our website, curriculum, mission, and program descriptions. This position requires incredible amounts of passion, dedication, flexibility, a high tolerance for adaptation, and a special measure of brilliance. Please provide an electronic resume and cover letter to jennifer@explorationsacademy.org.  Applications received by May 20th, 2024 will receive priority. We maintain a nondiscrimination policy and are an equal opportunity employer. 

 

Salary/Benefits

This is a .75 FTE salaried position (based on 30 hours/week), which may grow to 1.0 FTE.  The salary range is $45,000- $60,000 per year depending upon experience. Work hours are somewhat flexible, and will include Fridays, and some evenings and weekends.

Expectations:
Employment under this contract is subject to all current policies, rules, and regulations and those that may hereafter be adopted or amended by the Board of Directors of GGI. Explorations Academy seeks individuals of all ethnic, socio-economic, geographic, and religious backgrounds to apply for this position. We are committed to maximizing the diversity of our organization and recruiting a team to reflect the diversity. Explorers Academy does not discriminate in any programs or activities on the basis of sex, race, creed, religion, color, national origin, age, veteran or military status, sexual orientation, gender expression or identity, disability, or the use of a trained dog guide or service animal and provides equal access as required by law. 

Application Procedure:

Please submit an application by email by May 20th, 2024 to admin@explorationsacademy.org

The application should include: 

  • Cover Letter: Please address the qualifications specified. 
  • Resume 
  • Contact information for three (3) professional references.