Semester school

Semester school is a term used to describe a school that complements a student’s secondary education by providing them with the opportunity to step out of their regular school for half an academic year and step into a uniquely different educational setting while continuing their required academic studies. The academic curriculum at semester schools tends to be college preparatory, interdisciplinary, and experiential.

Characteristics

• Semester school curricula are built around themes including environmental sustainability, marine ecology, organic farming, ethics and leadership, visual arts, and others. The curricula tend to be place-based and experiential drawing on the resources and opportunities of each school's unique location.
• Semester schools are boarding schools. Community living is a key element of the experience. Through living closely with peers and teachers and working together to benefit the school community students develop their communication, leadership, and cooperative skills.
• Semester schools enroll college bound sophomores, juniors, and or seniors. Most semester schools focus primarily on students from just one grade level.
• Semester school programs run from 14 to 18 weeks.
• Semester schools tend to be small, enrolling from 15 to 60 students a semester with average class sizes ranging from 5 to 15 students.
• Semester schools are private schools that charge tuition and offer financial aid. Depending on the school and a student’s family situation the cost can range from no cost to several thousands of dollars.
• Most semester schools are located in the United States.

Benefits

Attending a semester school can:

• Intensify a student’s interest in and motivation for learning.
• Allow a student to pursue a special area of interest in depth.
• Complement a student's education with experiences that aren't available at their home school.
• Broaden a student’s range of skills and interests and increase their maturity level.
• Give students a head start on developing the independence, good judgment, and life skills necessary for living away from home before they leave for college.
• Provide students with a unique, eye-catching experience that sets them apart from other applicants when applying to colleges.
• Provide students from public schools a boarding school experience without the cost or time commitment of a four-year school.

Growth of Semester Schools

The first semester school was Milton Academy's Mountain School which opened in 1984 in Vershire, Vermont. Since then more than a dozen additional semester schools have opened across the United States of America and in other countries. The list of opening dates below shows the growth in semester schools over time and their geographic diversity.

1984 – Mountain School, Vershire, Vermont

1986 – Swiss Semester, Zermatt, Switzerland

1988 – Chewonki Semester School, Wiscasset, Maine (originally named Maine Coast Semester)

1995 – The Outdoor Academy, Pisgah Forest, North Carolina

1996 – CITYterm, Dobbs Ferry, New York

1997 – Discovery High School Semester at Sea, Western North Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean Sea

1998 – HMI Semester, Leadville, Colorado (originally named Rocky Mountain Semester)

1999 – The Island School, Cape Eleuthera, Bahamas

1999 – Oxbow School, Napa, California

2004 – Woolman Semester, Nevada City, California

2004 – Kroka Semester School, Marlow, New Hampshire

2009 – School for Ethics and Global Leadership, Washington, D.C.

2009 – Finding the Good, Nevada City, California

2010 – Coastal Studies for Girls, Freeport, Maine

2010 – Conserve School, Land O’ Lakes, Wisconsin

Projected launches of new semester schools

2012 – Alzar School, Valley County, Idaho

2013 – New England Friends Semester School, Rindge, New Hampshire