Become a leader who inspires and drives change. “Leadership effecting change” is the mission of The Island School. It is a mantra, not a statement; it is a powerful goal that resonates in the minds of every community member, with the understanding that the potential for leadership exists in every situation.
On the beautiful island of Eleuthera, surrounded by clear blue Bahamian waters, The Island School brings together students from pre-K through Ph.D., and world-renowned researchers to create transformational learning experiences.
By connecting primary research to education and outreach, we create unique opportunities for students and scientists to learn about native ecosystems and environmental sustainability through immersive, place-based experiences.
The Island School is positioned in an exceptional location for ocean and coastal exploration. Cape Eleuthera sits on the edge of the Exuma Sound where the Bahamas shelf drops thousands of feet into the Atlantic Ocean.
A campus immersed
in green and
surrounded by blue
Push your boundaries. Change the world. The Island School will push you beyond what you think is possible for yourself. Our program provides opportunities for you to learn about yourself, confront your limitations, and realize your potential to make a difference in the world.
With our campus and the surrounding ocean as a laboratory, you’ll study, research, and live in a learning community dedicated to a more environmentally responsible and sustainable future.
Here, students, educators, and researchers work side by side, connecting with the environment and engaging in the process of inquiry in order to discover sustainable solutions to real-world problems.
Cape Eleuthera Institute
Pursue rigorous science at CEI, a renowned hub for environmental and conservation research, where scientists, engineers, and educators work alongside each other.
High School Semester & Summer Term
Immerse in the natural and cultural landscape of Eleuthera, as you engage in hands-on learning and real scientific research to effect solutions to real-world problems.
Middle & Elementary Schools
Thrive as part of an alternative, experiential approach to education that provides opportunities to engage in exciting, meaningful learning in and out of the classroom.
Programs & Partnerships
Read about our local and visiting programs and partnerships. Or, work with us to design and implement a program that aligns with your interests and our expertise.
What will be your transformation story?
The Island School offers a life-changing educational experience. Immersing in the diverse habitats of Eleuthera and its wide array of terrestrial and marine environments, you’ll learn about the natural world. You’ll learn about yourself.
Mia
Research Faculty
“At CEIS, I get to be part of work that really matters — using aquaculture research to tackle food security challenges in island communities. From growing out lobsters and queen conch to developing fish feeds using local ingredients and managing our aquaponics system, everything connects back to building more sustainable and resilient food systems. One of the most rewarding parts of the job is working with students and early-career scientists — helping them build confidence, apply their skills, and see how their work can have real impact. I also love being part of a broader network of researchers, farmers, and community leaders across the region who are passionate about making aquaculture work for the Caribbean.”
Mia is a Researcher at the Cape Eleuthera Institute from Saint Lucia. She is an aquaculturist by training but her educational and professional background also expand to include environmental and marine science. Her intention is to ensure that there will always be fresh lettuce available to all on campus, among other hydroponically produced vegetables. At CEI, Mia manages our aquaponics systems and is investigating opportunities for expanding aquaculture.
Sanchia
Deep Creek Middle School parent
It pushed our kids to explore locally and internationally, engaging in class trips, summer camps and boarding schools.
“My family and I chose Deep Creek Middle School for our son and a year later for our daughter because the experiential approach toward education allowed our children to develop outside of the classroom with School Without Walls, and we shared the same expectations of kindness, responsibility, self-control, respect, honesty and perseverance.
DCMS provides opportunities for our children to become leaders and to grow academically and socially. It pushed our kids to explore locally and internationally, engaging in class trips, summer camps and boarding schools.
We have enjoyed DCMS and look forward to more great times! Our son has now moved on to settle into his new environment abroad and our daughter is an active and valuable member of our DCMS community!”
Sanchia lives in Nassau, The Bahamas and is the mother of two Deep Creek Middle School students.
Bill
Visiting scientist
You are welcomed into a wider community whose values are centered around scholarly inquiry and education.
“Conducting research at Cape Eleuthera Institute is unlike most field stations. Whether as an intern, graduate student, or visiting scholar, you are welcomed into a wider community whose values are centered around scholarly inquiry and education. With the facilities and resources to see projects from proposal to publication, CEI has been an ideal location to carry out my research.”
Bill is a Visiting Scientist at the Cape Eleuthera Institute. He is currently conducting research in Land Crabs as he works toward his PhD. Bill teaches a research class with Semester students, supports educational programming at a variety of levels, and uses CEI as a home base for his own work.
Robin
Elementary Learning Center parent
They have a full understanding of [different learning styles] and implement various teaching styles for their students to thrive and achieve their highest potential.
“We chose the ELC for our kids because we felt as if it is the best option on the island, hands down. Seeing the excitement in their eyes with the stories they told when they returned home at the end of the day, along with the weekly updates from the teacher, only confirmed our initial inclination about the school and teaching staff. Learning can be taught in many different ways, especially to accommodate every child’s needs and learning styles. The ELC has nailed it. They have a full understanding of this and implement various teaching styles in their school for their students to thrive and achieve their highest potential.”
Robin and her family live in Savannah Sound, Eleuthera. They have two children enrolled at Deep Creek Middle School, and a daughter at the Elementary Learning Center.
Shicardo
Participant in Young Men’s Leadership Program
We also interact a lot with our ecosystems and keep our environment clean.
“My experience with the Young Men’s Leadership Program has been very informative and educational. The YMLP is an active group. We work on skills that relate to the world such as leader skills, work skills, grooming, and more. I like this group because we also interact a lot with our ecosystems and keep our environment clean.”
Shicardo is a resident of Deep Creek, Eleuthera and a current participant in the Young Men’s Leadership Program. Shicardo has been part of The Island School community for a long time. He has worked as an Apprentice in the Boathouse, and as a child he participated in the After Schools Program, South Eleuthera Kids Camp and other community based programs.
Amy
High School Semester student
I learned that asking questions, sharing ideas, collaborating, and participating in discussions are as important and effective as individual work.
“Before coming to The Island School, my motivation to learn was to do well on tests and get good grades. However, being in Island School classes taught me that asking questions, sharing ideas, collaborating, and participating in discussions are as important and effective as individual work.”
Amy Xu is a Semester Alumna from Spring of 2019. She attended Bronxville High School in New York and is currently a student at Columbia University.
Reneisha
Deep Creek Middle School student
We are a loving and nice community.
“Deep Creek Middle School is an experiential learning school. We interact with the ocean and nature. We are a green school, which teaches us to be more responsible, such as reducing plastic waste. We are a loving and nice community.”
Reneisha is a graduate of DCMS DCMS. She’s a former participant of South Eleuthera Kids Camp, as well as the After Schools Program and a Plastics Club alumna. She lives in Deep Creek, Eleuthera.
Silia
Research Faculty
The work we do at CEI looks to implement different techniques and methods of coral restoration.
“I grew up near the ocean and began scuba diving at a young age, where my love for coral reefs began. The work we do at CEI looks to implement different techniques and methods of coral restoration to help increase our efforts in restoring coral reefs in The Bahamas and other comparable environments.”
Silia Woodside is Research Faculty at the Cape Eleuthera Institute, where she works with the Bahamas Coral Innovation Hub. She grew up in West End, Grand Bahama.
Jump Out of Your Comfort Zone
The High School Semester and Summer Term programs are place-based and experiential, immersing students in both the natural and cultural landscape of South Eleuthera in the Bahamas. Whether you choose the 100-day Semester program or 30-day 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.
Specialized Research at the CEI
Our coral research at the Cape Eleuthera Institute aims to develop, implement, and disseminate three scalable coral restoration strategies: nursery-reared coral fragments, coral microfragmentation, and larval propagation.
A Deep Dive into Sustainability
A longstanding feature of our sustainable campus is our aquaponics system. In this closed loop system we raise tilapia for consumption and grow greens and vegetables to feed our community.
Hands On!
The Elementary Learning Center uses a blend of the best evidence-based practices in early childhood education, while following the same educational principles as the overall organization — learning and growing in an environment that values hands-on, place-based education.
Conduct Cutting-Edge Research
The Cape Eleuthera Institute welcomes scientists from around the world to do research at their facility. CEI works closely with Island School Semester students, providing hands-on experience with data collection and analysis.
Vibrant Academic Programs for Middle School Students
Deep Creek Middle School provides an educational experience that is markedly different from other schools on the island, bringing an alternative, experiential approach to the Bahamian national curriculum.
CEI Laboratories & Facilities
Visiting scientists and students can conduct their research at Cape Eleuthera Institute or use our facilities as a base of operations for research throughout Eleuthera and The Bahamas.
Programs & Partnerships
With a shared focus on education, conservation, and sustainability, our aim at The Island School is to match our unique mission and expertise with the needs of our partners. We collaborate with local schools, youth, families, community leaders, government organizations, and area partners to design and implement community engagement programs that have been requested.
Live Well and Transform
Ultimately, our immersive programs provide a transformative educational experience. Here, in a pristine natural environment, without the distractions of cell phones or the Internet, you’ll truly experience the beauty, the significance, and the possibilities of the world around you.
Our campus is located on a peninsula known as “Cape Eleuthera,” surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean and separated by six miles of mangrove creeks and bush from our nearest neighbors in Deep Creek.
World-Class Researchers Creating a Sea Change
The research conducted by The Island School’s renowned scientists, and by scientists who visit us from around the world, focuses on the diverse habitats of Eleuthera and its wide array of diverse terrestrial and marine environments.
Coastal
The seas surrounding the 700 islands, cays, and islets that form The Bahamas create a mosaic of interconnected coastal habitats, ready to be explored.
Coral Reefs
Coral reefs, known as the “rainforest of the sea,” support 25 percent of all marine life, but there are coral species that are endangered and in need of restoration.
Open Ocean
The Island School’s CEI researchers are studying the behavior and interactions of animal species that live in our nearby open ocean habitats.
Deep Sea
Situated next to the continental shelf of the Exuma Sound, CEI researchers have immediate access to the deep sea, a rarely seen world we hope to explore.
Atmospheric Science
Our research introduces a physical science component to understand how the ocean works and the role of the atmosphere in oceanography and biogeochemical processes.
Food Security
Our food security program is establishing working models that demonstrate viable and sustainable methods of planting, production, and harvesting.
Resource Management
Our researchers are helping to discover real sustainable solutions, not through theoretical abstraction but through practical application and experimentation.
Visiting Programs for Lasting Change
These short, customized programs provide a progressive and dynamic environment for visiting student groups of all ages to engage in meaningful experiential learning.
South Eleuthera: Our Home, Our Community Our close connections to the ecosystems and communities of South Eleuthera foster in all of us at The Island School a deep appreciation for the environment and cultures that surround us, and inspire us, each day.
Some of the most important work we do involves outreach and partnerships with local schools, organizations, and community groups. We collaborate with these local partners to design and implement community outreach programs that meet their requests and that align with our expertise in education, conservation, and sustainability. Learn more about our local programs.
Give to the future leaders and stewards of our planet.
Contributions to the Cape Eleuthera Foundation will support students and researchers who are working together to build a more sustainable future.
