It has been so exciting to be part of the planning and support for our ambitious global travel program. Thanks in large part to the efforts of Forbes Cone, our Director of Experiential Education, along with the new assistance of Daniel Lopez, our International Program Coordinator, we have put together a great line-up of opportunities for our students in grades 5-12.

One of the specific and most formative experiences available to Upper Schoolers is our yearly trip to Nordette, Haiti, where our faculty and students have been traveling since 2012. Partnering with the non-profit The Road To Hope, Colorado Academy has helped provide materials like solar-powered lights and school supplies to this remote village in central Haiti. More recently, a Colorado Academy contingent helped to lay the foundation for a new school for the village last March. On Monday of this week we were fortunate to host the Venerable Jean Joseph Jeannot, the episcopal priest who oversees a large (geographically speaking) and impoverished diocese in the region. Pere Jeannot, as he is called, had much insight and wisdom to share with the groups of students he encountered in all three divisions. “There is a Haitian proverb that says… to hear and to see are two; they are different,” he told us, noting that experiencing Haiti firsthand profoundly affects and deepens one's understanding of the country. That is one of the main reasons we have established this amazing relationship with Nordette and why we will continue to bring students and teachers there.

Meanwhile, we have identified three other locations where we will be exchange partners with schools around the world: Buenos Aires, Argentina (St. Andrew's School), Glasgow, Scotland (Hutcheson's School) and Istanbul, Turkey (Uskudar American Academy). Last summer, five of our students went to Argentina where they attended school and lived with host families. In February, Colorado Academy will return the favor and host the Argentinians here for three weeks. Similarly, our two Scottish exchange students came to Colorado in October, and our two juniors will visit their school in March. Turkish teachers from Uskudar visited our campus in October in anticipation of their students coming to CA in February; our three students will be in Istanbul (as will Tom Thorpe and I) in March.

The idea behind exchanges is that we expose our students to different schools and different cultures. In some cases there is a language immersion component involved, which also expands the students' learning opportunities. And the relatoinship with the four countries involved extends well beyond the specific students and faculty involved; the entire community benefits from the knowledge and experiences, and many students can learn from their interactions with the exchange students who come to Colorado Academy. If you are interested in knowing more about any of these programs, please contact Daniel Lopez.