Community Engagement
Welcome to The Bahamas
Each member of the community provides a learning opportunity for our students. Engaging in thoughtful conversations with local schools, youth, families, community leaders, and local organizations allows students to foster meaningful relationships focused on education, conservation, and sustainability, all to advocate living well in a place.
There are many opportunities to collaborate across schools and programs daily at The Island School as well as through participation in nearby community events and off-campus excursions.
Unfamiliar with The Bahamas?
Here are a few facts and statistics to help you understand where The Island School is located.
Facts and Statistics
| Location | Caribbean, chain of islands in the North Atlantic Ocean, southeast of Florida, northeast of Cuba |
| Capital | Nassau, home to 70 percent of the country’s population |
| Climate | Tropical marine; moderated by warm waters of Gulf Stream |
| Population | 400,000 (est. 2019) |
| Ethnic Make-up | Black 85% White 12% Asian and Hispanic 3% |
| Religions | Baptist 35.4% Anglican 15.1% Roman Catholic 13.5% Pentecostal 8.1% Church of God 4.8% Methodist 4.2% Other Christian 15.2% None or unspecified 2.9% Other 0.8% (2000 census) |
| Government | Constitutional parliamentary democracy |
| Money | Bahamian dollar |
Archipelago n. 1. an extensive group of islands
The Bahamas is an archipelago of nearly 700 coral islands. Around 30 of the islands are inhabited. The Bahamas sits in the West Atlantic Ocean.
The Island School is located on Eleuthera, one of the Family Islands of The Bahamas. The Family Islands are characterized as more remote destinations in The Bahamas, rather than the “big cities” with resorts and many amenities that are found in the more known destinations of Nassau and Freeport.
Learning From One Another
Community Engagement and service learning are critical components of the intercultural connection programs in the Semester and Summer Term. Whereas students spend some time in the history course developing a conceptual understanding of intercultural communication, the time spent with Deep Creek Middle School students, as well as Down Island Trips and collaboration across the organization with local and international staff allows them to put those understandings into practice. Ultimately, students learn some of the most important skills necessary to being a leader—empathy and communication.
The Community Engagement program is structured to assure that students from the Semester and Summer Term, Deep Creek Middle School, and our Early & Elementary Learning Center are provided with ample and regular time to learn from each other throughout their time together and in our community. Early in the semester, much of this time is dedicated to structured activities that encourage Semester and Middle School students to learn from and about one another. As the Semester progresses, however, that learning happens more naturally as the students work together on collaborative projects and interact with a wider community in South Eleuthera.
Cape Eleuthera Island School
Freetown, The Bahamas