May 7, 2012

By: Paul Lamoureux, Vice President of Programs

Thompson Island Outward Bound Education Center’s Annual Gala was recently held at the Seaport Hotel and was the most successful event in recent memory. More than 500 people filled the Seaport’s largest ballroom. Student ambassadors and young alumni from Thompson Island Outward Bound programs acted as guides, shepherding attendees from the many hotel entrances to the registration areas while revealing stories of Thompson Island experiences.

Principal Teresa Harvey-Jackson of the Marshall Elementary School in Dorchester spoke about the impact of the Summer Connections program on the students who attended, as well as on her larger school community. As Principal Harvey-Jackson made her remarks, teachers and students from the Marshall Elementary School and the Orchard Gardens K-8 Pilot School in Roxbury shared the stage with her to the delight of the audience.

According to Principal Harvey-Jackson, Marshall School students returned after their summer experience on Thompson Island “changed.” The following is excerpted directly from her remarks.

“What is truly remarkable about this story is how a five-week program for 40 students made a difference for all 90 rising fourth graders. The fourth grade teachers and I had observed how difficult the third grade year had been for some of them, especially our children who struggle with emotional and social needs. However, when they returned in the fall they looked different. They were happy and chatted about their summer learning. During writer’s workshop they eagerly shared stories about the island. Their vocabulary had grown. They were more curious. They also behaved differently. They were nicer to each other. In cooperative math and reading groups they worked well together. They filed through the building modeling appropriate behavior. I was beginning to think they had been hypnotized but they were still their loud, animated selves at lunchtime in the cafeteria.”

She goes on to characterize the experience for some of her students on the island.

“While you struggled academically during the school year, you are amongst students that excelled, yet you are all learning new things together. You became risk takers. This is all new to everyone so you are willing to expose yourself. You discover that there are things that you do better than your academically talented peers. You all rely on each other for support. You laugh together not at each other. It now feels childish to taunt one another. With each new experience your self-esteem grows. On the ferry ride home you wonder where the day went. How can it be 4:00pm when it was just 8:00 a.m.?”

By way of thanking the assembled donors for their support, Principal Harvey-Jackson closed with the following:

“I’m going to ask you to give yourselves a great big hug. That hug is from the many, many children who are grateful to people like you that make it possible for them to have the same summer experiences that my own biological children, as well as your children, take for granted. Without you I could not provide my students with this amazing, memorable opportunity. On behalf of Boston Public School students, thank you for caring and your commitment to making a difference for children. Finally I would be remiss if I didn’t thank our superintendent of schools, Dr. Carol Johnson for embracing non-traditional summer programming and seeking partnerships that provide our children with valuable learning opportunities.”

The Gala was once again a wonderful way to hear directly from those most impacted by Thompson Island programs. It is particularly gratifying that we are able to serve so many from the communities most at-risk and most in need. In 2012, Connections will ignite a love of learning in 4,000 students from over 40 schools, 75% of which are located in Boston’s under-served communities.

As the Gala was winding down, the Thompson Island spring expedition season was ramping up. Harbor Connections instructors were following-up on more than 150 preparatory classroom visits this spring with the first field expeditions of the year.

Students and teachers from the Curley K-8 School in Jamaica Plain, the Condon Elementary School in South Boston, and the Winthrop Elementary School in Dorchester all traveled to Lovell’s Island. Under the guidance of Thompson Island instructors and National Park Rangers, students explored the island’s extensive tide pools collecting specimens, handling animal life, gathering and recording data and having a wonderful learning experience directly within the tidal ecosystem.

Thompson Island came alive with students and teachers from the Edwards Middle School in Charlestown and the Mildred Avenue Middle School in Mattapan. Thompson Island instructors and National Park Rangers co-facilitated impactful, hands-on learning expeditions based on weather and water curriculum. Students traversed the island, collecting water samples, using instruments to determine the water’s salinity, creating hypotheses and learning about how salinity relates to density.

One of the teacher’s had the following to say:

“Thank you so much for the wonderful, well-planned field trip you and your staff provided yesterday. The students learned a lot about the different kinds of water and their density. Our teachers and chaperones thought that this was the best field trip we have ever had. Thanks again.”

Although well-articulated by principals and teachers, it is clear that the impact of Thompson Island does not only apply to students. This holds true for everyone who comes to Thompson Island from the conference attendee, to the wedding guest, to the professional group, to the corporate volunteers, to the company outing, to the runners in our annual 4k race. No matter what the program or event, Thompson Island has the power to touch and transform lives and to create lasting memories through learning or bonding experiences.

Attending our recent Gala was yet another reminder for me of this impact and I’m truly thankful for the incredible generosity of all those attending the event. I’m extremely proud and grateful to be part of an organization that inspires such support from the community.

I also want to thank the corporate and student volunteers who worked at the Gala. We couldn’t have done it without you. But mostly, I want to thank Principal Harvey-Jackson who so clearly demonstrated her passion for the value and impact of the Thompson Island experience.

To view additional photos from the Gala click here.

March 22, 2012

By: Paul Lamoureux, Vice President of Programs

It’s March, clocks have been set ahead, spring has officially begun and Thompson Island youth programs are underway.

Thompson Island instructor in the classroom.

On March 7th, the first youth program of the year began with Thompson Island and National Park Service staff co-instructing a Harbor Connections lessons for 5th graders at the JFK elementary school in Jamaica Plain.

Concurrently, our program staff were meeting with teachers and planning the Environmental Connections expedition at the Rogers Middle School in Hyde Park and the Lilla G. Frederick Pilot School in Dorchester.

Summer Connections student recruitment efforts are also underway. Program staff visited two returning schools, the Marshall Elementary School in Dorchester and the Orchard Gardens K-8 School in Roxbury, to get this year’s 3rd grade students excited about enrolling in Summer Connections as rising 4th graders. When we arrived, it was clear that word had spread about previous year student’s positive experience, as both schools 3rd grades were “abuzz” with anticipation.

Equally exciting were our visits to two new elementary schools that will participate in Summer Connections this year: the Mather Elementary School and the Holland Elementary School, both located in Dorchester. We are extremely pleased to welcome these two new schools to the Thompson Island family. Mather Principal Emily Cox and Holland Principal Jeichael Henderson seemed equally pleased with our new partnership.

As we prepare for 2012, we are in the process of improving and enhancing our programs based upon all of the feedback we received in 2011. From evaluations, surveys and teacher interviews we have gleaned insight and received input that we are directly incorporating into our programs in order to best serve students and teachers. 

Arthur Pearson recently distributed his President’s Winter Update to many of our stakeholders in which he details some of the evaluation data received by our Connections Program in 2011.  Concurrently he distributed a white paper entitled “Evidence of Success: Using the Outdoors to Improve Academics and Character Development for Boston’s Young People.”  Arthur has agreed to be our guest blogger and below we have included excerpts from his update.

To request a copy of the “Evidence of Success” report, please click here.

- Paul Lamoureux, Vice President, Programs

Thursday, February 2, 2012
By: Arthur N. Pearson, President and CEO

While Thompson Island hibernates in winter silence, we have great news to share about the impact we are having on Boston’s young people.  Through independent evaluation, we have crossed an important threshold in demonstrating strong evidence of success in improving academic skills and developing character.

In 2011 the National Institute on Out-of-School Time completed a second year of independently funded evaluation which included Thompson Island Outward Bound Education Center.  In both years our students showed 2 to 3 times the improvement in character-related skills compared to their peers in equivalent programs across Boston and Massachusetts.  This past summer the Institute also evaluated gains in Mathematics and English Language Arts and in these skills our students again showed 2 to 3 times the improvement compared to local and statewide benchmarks.

Furthermore, a separate independent evaluation provided insight into how we generate those striking results. In 2011 the RAND Corporation utilized a rigorous observational protocol to score the quality of dozens of hands-on learning sessions at Thompson Island.  From insect collection to challenge course events, these sessions are the experiential building blocks of all our programs, whether a one-day science exploration, overnight team building retreat, 12-day sailing expedition, or five-week summer learning program.