Return to Travel – Considerations for 2022 and Beyond

The global pandemic has changed the way students, families, educators, and schools view travel, both domestically and abroad. 

This webinar will discuss the pitfalls to look out for as well as the opportunities that are available to schools as they get back out into the world. We will discuss risk management, destination choice, vaccination requirements, and the optimism that travels brings to a population locked down for over a year. Throughout the webinar, Jean-Paul and Andrew will create an open dialogue to bring forth your thoughts, ideas, and concerns; allowing for thoughtful discussion, in addition to presenting existing solution-focused information. Jean-Paul will offer a complimentary top-down analysis of your current programming, risk management policies, and future plans to any member who attends the webinar and would like a deep dive examination into their school’s particular circumstances. This would take place after the webinar, on a request-only basis.

Facilitators:

 Jean-Paul Houlette has been a global educator for over a decade and currently acts as the Director of Educational Partnerships for WorldStrides.  With entire departments dedicated to Health and Safety, Academics, Travel Planning and Student Success, he is uniquely fortunate to work with some of the best and brightest staff in the world of educational travel.  Jean-Paul focuses his efforts of creating the highest quality bespoke travel programming based on the 4 cornerstones of: Community Engagement, Language Immersion, Academic-Study, and Leadership.  Jean-Paul studied Philosophy at UNC with an emphasis in Ethics and Public Policy – he also credits his wife, a high-school French Teacher, for keeping him engaged with real world examples of what educators are looking for.  Jean-Paul has worked for various educational travel organizations from the largest in the industry, all the way down to his own 2-person operation.  His goal is to bring educational travel to as many students as possible and to create avenues for new programs based on equity, sustainability and responsible travel.

Dara Martin, Associate Director of Global Programs at The Hun School - Princeton, NJ

Andrew Hammond has been an educator in many different roles over the past 15 years.  He is currently the Director of Extension Programs for St. Margaret’s Episcopal School in San Juan Capistrano California.  Andrew, in his current role wears several hats, but has the unique opportunity to plan Educational Travel opportunities for St. Margaret’s students.  Being innovative and creative, Andrew has been able to plan unique immersion opportunities for his students at St. Margaret’s that allows them to immerse themselves in different cultures and increase their cultural competency.

Education for Sustainability: Holistic Systems Thinking for the Future We Want

As a springboard for this session on Education for Sustainability, Jaimie Cloud will provide a virtual transformative learning experience that models one aspect of systems thinking. Einstein once said, “the significant problems we face cannot be solved with the same thinking we used to create them”. Following the springboard, we will explore the attributes of Education for Sustainability that embody the “different way of thinking”  Einstein was calling for, and that can be embedded into any course or unit you are teaching.

Facilitator: Jaimie P. Cloud, founder and President of the Cloud Institute for Sustainability Education in New York City. The Cloud Institute is dedicated to the vital role of education in creating awareness, fostering commitment, and guiding actions toward a healthy, secure and sustainable future for ourselves and for future generations.  A pioneer in the field of Education for Sustainability (EfS), Jaimie is an international keynote speaker, thought leader and educational consultant. She writes and publishes extensively, and is a leadership advisor and curriculum development coach to administrators, educators in schools and school districts, governments and civic organizations, and corporations around the country and in other parts of the world.

Diversity in the Outdoors- So What/Now What?-Going from Discussion to Action!

Diversity in outdoor education is a well-intentioned goal and ideal of programs in independent schools, but how do we take tangible steps to realize those goals?  In this 90 minute workshop, participants will hear from outdoor professionals and leaders about ideas and initiatives surrounding diversity in the outdoors and have the opportunity to design strategies for lasting change.  Outdoor education practitioners will come away from the session with an actionable plan to implement diversity, inclusion, and belonging initiatives in their programs.

Facilitators: 

Rachel Hailey is the Owner/Transformationalist at Rachel Hailey & Associates Consulting, a firm which deals directly with the outdoor industry to foster DEI in organizations. Rachel is committed to creating an industry where anyone can experience, thrive, and lead in the out of doors no matter their circumstances, and has a focus on underserved and underrepresented communities. She has served and inspired over 100 organizations in the creation of actionable systems aligned with creating diversity, equity, and inclusion in outdoor spaces. She is a frequent writer for industry publications like Adventure Park Insider and SAM, and has given talks on DEI & Social Justice on international platforms. Outside of her endeavor to bridge the gap between racial and ethnic diversity in the outdoors and social justice, Rachel can be found hunting fairies in the woods with her daughter.

Gavin Ware joined the Chesapeake Bay Outward Bound School in December 2019. Gavin was born in Washington DC and graduated from high school in Montgomery County Maryland. Gavin then went on to graduate from the University of Maryland Eastern Shore with a degree in Business Administration with an Emphasis in Marketing in the spring of 2009 and is a proud brother of Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity Inc.  Gavin has always believed in the power & impact of service to a cause greater than self and has dedicated his life to the service of others. For the past ten years Gavin has served the DC community as an Americorps member, program director, and lead fundraiser with City Year Washington DC.  Gavin is also a recent alumnus of the Voyageur Outward Bound School having spent eight-days camping in northern Minnesota and has a newfound love for dog-sledding & cross-country skiing. Gavin loves movies, dancing, hiking, and french fries. Gavin is incredibly excited to support the CBOBS expansion and growth in the DC area.

"I prefer to be true to myself, even at the hazard of incurring the ridicule of others, rather than to be false, and to incur my own abhorrence." — Fredrick Douglass

[FREE FOR MEMBERS] Dialogue Energized by Curiosity: How to Encourage Curiosity in Your Students THrough Letting Go of Control

The workshop will focus on how to have better conversations and better dialogue by letting go of our own agenda and letting go of control. Teachers can encourage curiosity in their students through their own self-reflection. The workshop will also focus on belonging. When do we feel like we belong the most? When someone shows an interest in you. Belonging is not an outcome. Belonging is who you are. It is not a door that you walk out of, rather belonging is an open door that people walk into.

Members: to sign up check the Winter Newsletter, the weekly email, or email Taras ([email protected]) for the registration link.

Facilitator: 

With 12 years corporate experience and 31 years in the field of education (children & adults), Vishwas Parchure brings to his facilitation a variety of experience from Sales & Marketing, Teaching, Training, Peace building in communities, Outdoors and Adventure to the Experiential Leadership Institute. His travels with Play for Peace and desire to build peaceful communities has taken him to Canada, USA, N. Ireland, South Africa, and the Middle East to work with organizations involved in building peaceful communities. His Corporate facilitation work has taken him all over India, and other countries - Dubai, Costa Rica, Peru, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Croatia, Czech Republic. His experience and application of experiential methodology in the classroom over 30 years includes working with teachers to have more exciting classrooms, and travels into the outdoors with children. Expeditions of body and mind are common practices in his methodology. He has the ability to manage large groups, creating for them powerful experiences short and long, so that the meaning emerges as a result of their own initiative and engagement. He also has considerable experience with Senior Leadership teams, and has designed experiences for teams in Peru, Costa Rica, Croatia and Sri Lanka.

[MEMBERS ONLY WORKSHOP] Community Partnerships with a Lens of Reciprocity, Dialogue and Justice

What does it take to build reciprocity?
Essential to our work in experiential education is fostering reciprocal community partnerships. This requires a commitment to open dialogue with our partners, where we both seek to listen, understand, inform and build trust. Join us for a panel discussion to hear how two different partnerships have navigated this commitment.

Members: to sign up check the Winter Newsletter, the weekly email, or email Taras ([email protected]) for the registration link.

Facilitators: 

Christen Clougherty, PhD is the Founder and Executive Director of the Nobis Project. She brings over twenty years of experience as an educator and administrator in community organizations, K-12 public, charter and independent schools, and colleges/universities. Christen attributes her commitment to using service-learning and civic engagement to promote global citizenship to her experiences as a student at the Carolina Friends School. Her honors include recognition as a National Emerging Scholar for K-12 Service-Learning Research (2008 and 2009) by the National Service-Learning Partnership at the Academy for Educational Development. Christen received her Ph.D. in Quaker Studies from the University of Birmingham in the United Kingdom. She completed her doctoral research on the synthesis of experiential education, service-learning, creative-process theory, and global citizenship education. Her Masters of Arts is from Savannah College of Art and Design where her thesis explored how socially conscious artist instigate social change. Christen is also a founding board member of two charter schools in Savannah, GA; Tybee Island Maritime Academy and Susie King Taylor Community School.

Mark Cutler is the director of Andover’s Learning in the World (LITW) student travel program. Cutler joined Phillips Academy in 2003. He has taught in the Spanish and Interdisciplinary Studies departments, been an instructor and director (2004–2016) of Outdoor Pursuits, served as a house counselor in small and large dorms, and contributed to numerous committees, including the Faculty Advisory Committee, Alumni Council Executive Committee, and Community Service Advisory Board. Since 2005, he has served as co-director of B.A.L.A.M. (Bilingual Archaeological Learning Adventure in Mesoamerica) and H.U.A.C.A. (Human Understanding through Archaeology and Cultural Awareness), both programs that he co-founded. Cutler has supervised community engagement projects and developed local LITW and place-based learning opportunities, and he has served as a board member and vice president of Lawrence History Center and as a founding board member of the Independent Schools Experiential Education Network.