Semesters Away
Middlesex is proud to facilitate unique opportunities for students to participate in an off-campus semester program. Students may pursue these opportunities in the second semester of 10th grade or in either semester of 11th grade. Below are the programs that we are currently equipped to work with.
School Year Abroad
From SYA - Since 1964, School Year Abroad (SYA) has sent high school juniors and seniors to study abroad in distinctive cities and towns throughout Europe where their safety and security is a priority. Widely considered the 'gold standard' of high school study abroad programs, SYA's rigorous academic curriculum, paired with complementary educational travel and varied extracurricular activities, ensure students are in an optimal position to return to their home schools or proceed to college. At SYA, you have the advantage of earning high school credit for your year studying abroad while learning from exceptional U.S. independent schools and locally-hired faculty. We offer Advanced Placement (AP) courses and standardized testing, college counseling, and progress and end-of-year reports for parents and home schools to ensure that you are on track when you return home. Unlike other high school study abroad programs, SYA independently operates its own schools, so instead of enrolling in a local high school, you'll be learning from hand-selected local and U.S. faculty who serve as advisors to SYA students as they navigate their new environment. In SYA's unique intellectual environment, learning takes place in the classroom and in the larger global community. Each SYA school provides a unique educational environment that brings together the high educational standards of top U.S. prep schools with the excitement of experience-based learning.
The Island School
Located in Eleuthera, The Bahamas, The Island School provides a transformative experience for all who come here. With a focus on conservation and sustainability, and an experiential education informed by world-class research, we are developing responsible citizens and leaders who can ensure a more sustainable future for our planet. United by a shared purpose — to develop leaders who inspire and drive change — the Island School is a single organization made up of several interconnected parts including: High School Semester and Summer terms, Deep Creek River Middle School, Elementary Learning Center, Cape Eleuthera Institute. Whether you’re an educator or student, or a scientist or engineer, you’ll work and learn side by side with others across our community — united in a common purpose to grow together as intentional leaders and responsible stewards of our environment.
The Island School Semester and Summer Term are designed for high school sophomores, juniors, and seniors in the summer time only. The programs are place-based and experiential, immersing students in both the natural and cultural landscape of South Eleuthera. Whether you choose the 100-day Semester program or 6-week Summer Term, you’ll learn what it means to live well in a place and how you can become a leader in helping to drive positive change.
https://islandschool.org/high-school-semester-summer-term/about-us/
The Mountain School
Each semester, 45 motivated high school juniors from all over the country come together to live and work on the school’s farm in rural Vermont. Students and faculty build together a semester based on trust and an appreciation of difference, creating an academic and work-based community in which every voice matters. While living with teachers in small houses, students help to make important decisions concerning how we live together. Courses provide a demanding, integrated learning experience that takes advantage of the school’s small size and mountain campus. Balancing intellectual inquiry and experiential learning, the curriculum challenges students to think flexibly, speak their minds, and return to their schools equipped for continued academic success. Engagement with the farm and forest sparks an appreciation for their food, their fuel and their labor. (From The Mountain School website)
For further details, including costs, please consult the website.
Maine Coast Semester at Chewonki
This program provides a rigorous academic and experiential program in both the fall and the spring semester for about 40 highly motivated, capable, engaged students. Chewonki is known for its campus on a 400-acre saltwater peninsula in mid-coast Maine with outstanding field-based learning experiences that illuminate the relationships between human beings and the natural world. The program has a special focus on science, environmental sustainability, and outdoor adventure while also providing advanced-level courses in math, English, history, environmental issues, science, language, and art. On field trips, students study and explore rocky inter-tidal zones, sandy shores, coastal forests, and freshwater streams. On wilderness trips, they might snowshoe beside moose tracks, kayak or sail along the Maine coast, hike part of the Appalachian Trail, or scale legendary Mt. Katahdin. Parallel to their intellectual pursuits, participants work on the organic farm, in the woodlot, and on campus projects, deepening their understanding about how to create sustainable communities and the positive impact they can have on the world around them. Chewonki students possess an adventurous spirit and a desire to learn. They live close to nature with teachers and peers who value them and their participation. Sense of self grows as they meet and celebrate challenges and acquire skills while taking a greater interest in and ownership of their education. A spirit of common purpose, love of learning, friendships, and passion for the natural world endure long after students leave Chewonki Neck.