NYC Outward Bound Schools

💥 UPDATE: Thanks to a generous match, your gift goes TWICE AS FAR — now through midnight!

----

We're super excited to kick off Basecamp to Career next month, a 6-week program that combines outdoor adventure with career exploration in the youth development field.

Students like Djene, a sophomore at the Institute for Health Professions at Cambria Heights, will get the chance to earn micro-credentials in youth mental health first aid and restorative practices while getting paid.

"I'm hoping this experience gives me the chance to become a better leader," said Djene.

Donate to support transformational summer programming TODAY: https://givebutter.com/fuel-a-transformational-summer-adventure

Today is the day! ☀️ Help us raise $3,000 to fuel outdoor adventures for New York City Public Schools students this summer.

Invest in a summer that sparks possibility: https://bit.ly/4umPRyx

June 22: Summer Day of Giving By NYC Outward Bound Schools

Happy First Day of Summer, Crew! ☀️

Tomorrow is our summer Day of Giving, an opportunity for you to help fuel transformational outdoor adventures for over 200 students — from backpacking and rock climbing, to urban adventures and a brand new program that explores careers in youth development and outdoor education.

These programs help our city's young people build the skills they need to thrive in the classroom and BEYOND: https://givebutter.com/fuel-a-transformational-summer-adventure

Crew Olympics 2026 brought the heat! 🔥 Last week, students from across our Compass Rose network competed for the coveted golden climbing shoes in a series of Crew challenges in Prospect Park, demonstrating how they've grown as a team this year!

Congratulations to this year’s winners and kudos to everyone who gave it their all the hottest day of the year! ☀️

🥇 M.S. 839
🥈 Community School for Social Justice
🥉 Channel View School for Research

Save the Date: June 22 is our Day of Giving!

We’re rallying the Crew to support our return to summer programming — and students like Aldahir, a junior at The International High School at Prospect Heights.

This summer, he’ll join our new 6-week Basecamp to Career pilot, exploring outdoor education and youth development while earning college credit and pay. The program kicks off with a 3-day backpacking trip in Harriman State Park.

"November was my first time camping, and I loved it," Aldahir said. "What inspired me to do Basecamp to Career is wanting to learn more about how Outward Bound does this kind of programming for students like me."

💙: https://bit.ly/4umPRyx

In her recent New York Times letter to the editor, CEO Laurie Adams writes that the principles of belonging, agency and growth through challenge should be the standard in education, not the exception. We are proud to partner with over 100 schools throughout the five boroughs that serve as models for this type of impactful learning.

Read the letter 🗞️ https://nyti.ms/4uJK9I0

Opinion | The Benefits of Real Work in a College Setting (Gift Article) Readers respond to Michal Leibowitz’s Opinion guest essay about Deep Springs College, an experimental school in the California desert.

What a gorgeous day for a climb! 😎 It was great to see students from The International High School at Prospect Heights take on an end-of-year challenge on our building's climbing wall today.

We’ll be seeing more of these students this summer through our SYEP Basecamp to Career program, too. Once you've got the taste for outdoor adventure, it's impossible to let it go!

On Friday, we welcomed 100 students and 12 staff members from four partner schools — West End Secondary School, City-As-School, Channel View School for Research and KAPPA — for a day of creativity, collaboration and celebration!

Students came together as Crew, assembling a collective rug using pieces they had each created back at their schools. 🧵

“The community we strive to connect branches out into creative bursts," said Elijah, a student from KAPPA, reflecting on the experience. "This is life. Something this art personifies in a gorgeous way.”

Relive the joy and excitement of this year’s Gala by browsing and downloading selects from our photo album and watching speaker & featured videos: https://bit.ly/4vvX8xd

If continuous improvement feels rigid or stuffy to you, you're not alone. Senior Crew Coach Jeff Boxill came to the work a skeptic, but soon adopted a mindset shift:

"The truth is what we now call 'continuous improvement' has been alive in the DNA and lived experience of African and Indigenous diasporic communities long before it was ever named, studied, or Columbusized."

➡️ More from Jeff on improvement as culture, as the work of community — via High Tech High Graduate School of Education Unboxed:

The Cypher, The Stoop, The System Improvement isn’t just a method. It’s culture.