Michael, a Junior from Providence says,
"Regardless of our own diverse and unique backgrounds, this daily commitment to show up, come together as a community, and make a difference is part of being a Greene School student. My school is a mini community of kids from all over who find common ground within our culture. To me, being a Greene School student is about showing up and making the world a little bit better, all while still having some fun doing it.
For those of us who come from urban communities like Providence, The Greene School was a brand new experience. It’s in the air we breathe, the campus we walk on, and the people we go to school with. Coming from the city and now going to school in the woods is wildly different, and I’m proud to be a part of the community."
Adriel, a Junior from Pawtucket says,
"One thing that has always stood out to me in our school community are the teachers—coming from different schools where connections were never really made with the staff, I can speak on behalf of many when I say that it makes a difference. I have never seen a school where the staff works so hard to bring out the best in their students. Where students feel like they have someone to go to if they need help.
Experiences that stood out to me the most at my time at TGS has been the International Travel Programs and Wilderness retreats. During my freshman year, I was completely new to the environment and was scared to take the big step of camping. Same with traveling, I was nervous because it was all so new to me. Having the staff and teachers by my side during those crucial moments of personal growth helped create a level of trust. Trust that I was going to be okay because I was surrounded by students and staff that wanted me to be okay. Trust that I could believe their words when they told me that I could do it."
Khadijah, a Senior from Johnston says,
"My freshman year I was chosen to work with a group of fellow students to create an environmental initiative to improve environmental education for students in the state. Our group was given creative liberties and our teachers worked to support us and bring our initiative to life. We got to design the project ourselves and decided to bring urban students to our campus to teach them about the interconnectedness of our ecosystem. That year we reached fifty students and the next year we did another environmental project to reach another fifty students.
EL Education has a Student Advisory Council (SAC) and in my sophomore year I applied and was accepted into a new cohort of six students. My principal, Ms. Edelmann, has been with me at every part of this journey helping me with my application and balancing my SAC and schoolwork. I really appreciate Ms. Edelmann helped me get this opportunity because it has been the best opportunity I've had.
Through the Student Advisory Council I have gotten to organize two virtual conferences, advise on creating a curriculum, create two sessions for a conference, and write two blogs. This has been the most rewarding experience because SAC has given me space to be surrounded by like-minded people who I get to learn from."
Batoul, a Senior from Warwick says:
"To start us off today, I will let you in on us: TGS is part of an Expeditionary Learning curriculum that helps set up students to focus on the core aspects of academic outcomes, like character and high-quality work. Being structured by the EL education model, my school focuses on different opportunities, like hands-on learning, ranging to our Wilderness retreat experience, where students explore the environment and connect with their peers. This kind of natural learning is integrated throughout our curriculum, enhancing how environmentally focused we are as stewards of the natural world.
A memorable experience of mine, at The Greene School, was when my entire sophomore class collaborated to address a pressing issue in our community. We conducted a presentation at the State House, lobbying for the regulation of PFAS chemicals, (which are just very toxic chemicals). As a result of our efforts, we were invited to testify in support of a bill to ban PFAS production. Within a week, the bill was passed and is now a law in Rhode Island. Our involvement in an opportunity like this demonstrates how The Greene School students engage with critical issues ( like turning research into advocacy for real legislative change)."