The Deep Creek Middle School (DCMS) is an independent school for Bahamian students in grades seven through nine located on the southern end of the island of Eleuthera. DCMS, a grantee of the Cape Eleuthera Foundation, offers an experiential approach to the Bahamian curriculum for students in South Eleuthera.
DCMS was founded in September 2001 with the goal of increasing access to educational resources for people of South Eleuthera. DCMS works closely with The Island School and the Cape Eleuthera Institute to offer students and staff a unique experience that connects them more intimately with their environment and on-going efforts for sustainable development and environmental stewardship in South Eleuthera.
The cost of education for a DCMS student for one year is $8,500. Â Families of students contribute up to $1,500 per year; the rest of the tuition is financed by generous individuals or foundations who choose to sponsor a student during their time at DCMS through the Cape Eleuthera Foundation.
Over the past several years, DCMS has had 16 alumni attend boarding school in the United States. Five of the current grade
nine students will travel to the US this fall to study at The Lawrenceville School (NJ), Wilbraham and Monson Academy (MA), Lawrence Academy (MA), The Pennington School (NJ), and Perkioman (PA). These students will receive in total almost $1,000,000 in scholarship and aid packages over their four year high school studies.
Students at The Island School work with the students of Deep Creek Middle School on community outreach projects each semester. The partnership offers Island School students the opportunity to serve as mentors to DCMS students and to develop strong bonds with local families. This semester the students are working together on community initiatives developed by grade 9 students at DCMS, ranging from raising awareness for the need for better medical care on Eleuthera to developing a speaker series directed at young men on Eleuthera to reduce school drop-out rates.