News and Blog

Evidence of Success

As we prepare for 2012, we are in the process of improving and enhancing our programs based upon all of the feedback we received in 2011. From evaluations, surveys and teacher interviews we have gleaned insight and received input that we are directly incorporating into our programs in order to best serve students and teachers.

Arthur Pearson recently distributed his President’s Winter Update to many of our stakeholders in which he details some of the evaluation data received by our Connections Program in 2011. Concurrently he distributed a white paper entitled “Evidence of Success: Using the Outdoors to Improve Academics and Character Development for Boston’s Young People.” Arthur has agreed to be our guest blogger and below we have included excerpts from his update. Photos are also included from “Evidence of Success.”

To request a copy of the “Evidence of Success” report, please click here.

-Paul Lamoureux, Vice President, Programs

Thursday, February 2, 2012
By: Arthur N. Pearson, President and CEO

While Thompson Island hibernates in winter silence, we have great news to share about the impact we are having on Boston’s young people. Through independent evaluation, we have crossed an important threshold in demonstrating strong evidence of success in improving academic skills and developing character.

In 2011 the National Institute on Out-of-School Time completed a second year of independently funded evaluation which included Thompson Island Outward Bound Education Center. In both years our students showed 2 to 3 times the improvement in character-related skills compared to their peers in equivalent programs across Boston and Massachusetts. This past summer the Institute also evaluated gains in Mathematics and English Language Arts and in these skills our students again showed 2 to 3 times the improvement compared to local and statewide benchmarks.

Furthermore, a separate independent evaluation provided insight into how we generate those striking results. In 2011 the RAND Corporation utilized a rigorous observational protocol to score the quality of dozens of hands-on learning sessions at Thompson Island. From insect collection to challenge course events, these sessions are the experiential building blocks of all our programs, whether a one-day science exploration, overnight team building retreat, 12-day sailing expedition, or five-week summer learning program.

Thompson Island earned the highest quality score of all seven program sites observed by RAND in Boston. Our students’ success is not by coincidence. It is by consistent investment in program design, curriculum development, staff training, evaluation and investment in the extraordinary outdoor classroom that is Thompson Island.

Our mission is to create opportunities that raise young people’s aspirations and teach the skills they need to achieve them is more relevant than ever. These are opportunities that all parents want for their children. These are opportunities that researchers, policy makers and educators know are essential to closing the pervasive achievement gap that burdens those students who are most at risk and most in need—the highest priority of public education for more than a decade.

This past August, Massachusetts Secretary of Education Paul Reville visited Thompson Island to observe our program. His remarks put our work in perspective:

“Six hours a day, 180 days a year just isn’t going to be enough to close the achievement gap. It’s a failing strategy. The idea that schooling alone will solve the problem is too narrow a conception… Those of us who have the advantage of privilege in our life, this is what we do for our own children… we should want for all children what we want for our own children.”

It won’t be long before the frozen salt marshes thaw and we again hear the excitement of young people in search of their first encounter with hermit crabs… or in kayaks and sailing boats seeking new horizons of adventure and challenge… all of them discovering themselves along the way. And, as Secretary Reville agrees, it is these special experiences, in settings filled with wonder and amazement, which will create lasting learning moments and memories… and is ultimately what we want for all of our children.

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Happy New Year!

An amazing amount of work is necessary to manage Thompson Island, an island operation that supported nearly 28,000 visitors in 2011. Buildings and infrastructure spanning two centuries, antiquated electrical and water systems, 204 acres of grounds and trails, motor vessels to ferry passengers back and forth, motorized chippers, tractors and carts, food storage and preparation facilities, campsite shelters and sailing vessels all need to be continuously inspected, repaired and maintained at high-levels of functionality. What’s more, everything that is used or consumed on the island must come over on the ferry in a constant “food-on, garbage-off” system!

It could not be done without the yeomen’s job performed by the Operations department. To honor all this hard work, I’ve asked Director of Operations, Bill Dowd, to be this month’s guest blogger. Please read on to see a glimpse of his “state of the island.” On behalf of the entire organization, I’d like to thank our Operations colleagues for all they do.

– Paul Lamoureux, Program Director

Thursday, November 10, 2011

By: Bill Dowd, Director of Operations

The last 85 6th grade students from the Needham High Rock School have departed and that means we finally have a second to take a deep breath. I can now take this opportunity to share where we stand, what we’ve done, and where we’re heading because there is no “offseason” for island operations.

We had our final hot meal of the 2011 season on November 4th. Those of us staying to wrap things up and start the winter season enjoyed the last of Chef Richie Deas’ leftovers.

We completed this season in great stead as all of the good work done last year stood up to the wear and tear of 28,000 visitors in 2011. Improvements made over the season included the renewal of rest rooms in the Hughes Classroom building, hot water heaters in Hughes and the Gardner Classroom building, new floor coverings and equipment in the Adams guesthouse bathrooms.

Through a grant from the Richard and Susan Smith Family Foundation, the gymnasium roof was repaired and a covering installed that should last 15 years. This winter we will complete the gym project by repairing the small area of the parquet floor damaged by earlier rainwater.

The kitchen made it through once again without incident, directly attributable to the preventative maintenance program.

Based upon the quadrupling of the Summer Connections program and the resulting increase in daily diners, we conducted a study of our freezer and walk-in capacities. The results led to our rental of a wheeled storage freezer for the duration of the summer. This solution proved successful and will be repeated next year.

We conducted some repair work on the grill units used at the event sites and more will be conducted in the offseason. In addition, I am implementing a grill replacement program as most are 10-year-old units and have done their duty.

Due to Hurricane Irene, our biggest loss this year was the 40 x 60 foot pavilion tent and brand new canopy used at the large event site. The hurricane simply lifted it up, tossed it aside and smashed it to pieces. We immediately rented a similar unit that was installed within six days and resulted in no lost revenue. We are presently working through the insurance process for the replacement.

A collaboration between the operations staff, youth jobs program students from Green Corps and Island Ambassadors, and three groups of corporate volunteers (spearheaded by the leadership of a large group from IBM) helped to create the new outdoor Family Learning Center which was opened at the original farm house site in early August.

The Ambassadors also created the island’s first sculpture debuting “Hands” representing the hands-on learning that has occurred on Thompson Island for more than 175 years. The garden, decks, and climbing area, as well as a few flourishes such as decorative flowering trees, form the basis of a continuing project that will grow each year.

This fall we completed repair work and completely painted all of the outbuildings on the island including the sheds for the Alpine Tower and Low Ropes areas, as well as the events and programs storage sheds in the Hollow. We also managed to get a coat of paint on the staff housing in the Duplex, utilizing another gang of corporate volunteers.

The re-vegetation plan began this summer by planting 18 oak, four apple, three pear trees, and 40 hemlock shrubs. The process will create shaded areas and replace those trees that have been damaged or are in danger of toppling from old age.

This year we were also inspected by the National Park Service to ensure our compliance with the Conservation Restriction. We passed with flying colors and over the winter will improve the visual cues that mark the boundaries between conservation and non-conservation land to better determine the lines of demarcation when everything is in bloom.

The new chipping machine was used to full advantage on all of the accumulated brush from myriad trail and sumac clearing projects, as well as the debris from Hurricane Irene, gales and the recent snowstorm. The chips have been used to form the bed of the new Family Learning Center and four solid inches were laid down as bedding material for our well worn low ropes challenge course area. The chips also augmented the beach sand we used in the refurbishment of Highland Road, the new section of the 4K Trail Run course to accommodate the greater number of runners. The 780 runners and celebrity host Bill Rodgers said it was a great change for the race.

After a yearlong search we are welcoming a new member to our Operations Team: Tom Taylor is the new Manager, Facilities and Grounds. Tom has been part of the TIOBEC family for the past three years working both for the events department and in the programs department as an instructor with Green Corps and Connections. Prior to that he spent five years as Project Manager and Project Estimator for Suffolk Construction. His attention to detail and his understanding of our clients will make him a great addition to the operations department and as a liaison to other departments.

The waterfront also fared well this summer. The Motor Vessel Outward Bound (MVOB) carried more people, traversed more miles, and visited more islands than any other year in my tenure. In addition, Captain Nate Puritz utilized every vessel in the harbor, no matter how big or small, to create a seamless “bridge to the islands” for the students we serve. The Motor Vessel Invictus is now in Gloucester having gearing repairs and she will return in a week to serve as our winter transport.

This year we reassessed stability for the MVOB and pulling boats due to changes in allowable weights for passengers. The US Coast Guard raised the weight from the original design of 165 lbs per passenger to 185 lbs per passenger. The MVOB was designed at 165lbs and with the new weight requirements in place, it will reduce our passenger capacity from 149 to 132, a fairly substantial loss.

Based upon the new weight guidelines and the increased traffic of Connections students, the need for a second boat (or another boat) is becoming readily apparent. During the winter we will negotiate the purchase of a new float to replace our current float, which has been on loan from the Department of Conservation and Recreation (DCR). The DCR is re-appropriating this float for use elsewhere in the Harbor Islands.

Winter projects include painting the dorms, and quite a bit of plumbing and porcelain work will bring long forgotten bathrooms back online, and office space will be refreshed. In addition, the dormant teacher’s lounge in the Hughes classroom building will be transformed into another classroom for Summer Connections to accommodate continued expansion of the program. Outside work will continue as weather permits, and some trees must come down and the chipper will be in full swing.

All in all it will be a busy winter for Operations and, as we have less than 100 working days until we reopen, I had better wrap this up and get back to work!

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Youth Jobs – Stewarding Responsibility

October 3, 2011

By: Paul Lamoureux, Program Director

As I tour around this beautiful island called Thompson, I can’t help but be reminded of all the great work done this past summer by Green Corps and Island Ambassadors, our two fantastic summer youth jobs programs for Boston high-school age youth.

Perhaps their most visible work project is the “Hands” on the east facing meadow in the middle of the island. Two massive 20 foot “sculptures” in the shape of large hands signify the legacy of Hands-on learning on Thompson Island and, for me, showcase how creative and talented our students and staff are. The hands were cleverly constructed from frames built of medium-sized tree branches and creatively woven with the invasive species Oriental Bittersweet and Phragmites. The hands can be seen from a good distance, either over land or water, and are sure to instigate a conversation about the good work done on Thompson Island.

The Green Corps and Island Ambassador youth jobs program are made possible through a partnership with the National
Park Service.

Green Corps annually employs 25 high school students from Boston and their assignments focus on garden, trail, and facilities maintenance, including developing a composting and recycling program for Thompson Island. Youth also participate in life and work skills development workshops and are provided opportunities for peer leadership and mentoring development for other TIOBEC youth programs.

The Island Ambassadors program employs 15 High School students from Greater Boston whose focus is on park visitor services, public outreach, citizen science, and career exploration in the Boston Harbor Islands National Park area. A fundamental aspect of this program is that Island Ambassadors are protectors, providers, and caretakers of the park. Youth are trained to develop leadership skills and educate their communities about the Boston Harbor Islands National Park Area.

Both of these jobs programs are designed to develop life skills, workforce readiness, and environmental stewardship. The youth experience hot, buggy conditions clearing trails, monitoring invasive species, and constructing public use features on the beautiful Harbor Islands, all while building teamwork, having a blast, and learning job skills. In addition, youth are exposed to career paths with Outward Bound, the National Park Service, and other “green collar” careers.

One of my most memorable experiences with Green Corps and Island Ambassadors this summer stemmed from the soft-shell clam seeding project conducted with the support of the Division of Marine Fisheries (DMF). Green Corps and Island Ambassadors acted as island hosts and teamed up with DMF scientists to lead a group of nearly 100 volunteers in a large project to seed the tidal flats east of Thompson with about 100,000 soft shell clams.

After equipping volunteers with marsh boots and rakes, numerous marked plots were prepared, raked and seeded with 20,000 1/4 inch seedlings, then covered with protective netting. Volunteers included representatives from the Fish and Wildlife Service, the Mayor’s Office, U Mass Boston and Salem State Marine Science faculty and students, the National Park Service volunteer program and youth from the Mystic River and Hyde Park Green Teams, as well as Save the Harbor/Save the Bay. I was proud of our youth as they led the large group in logistically and physically challenging work that ultimately resulted in great satisfaction over an important stewardship project. This project highlighted both the continued improvements in Boston Harbor water quality and how teamwork can produce both personal and ecological benefits. The project also provides a long-term learning and stewardship opportunity for youth in Thompson Island programs.

This theme of stewardship, learning, and the benefit of teamwork was present all summer long as Green Corps and Island Ambassadors cleared or created new trails on Thompson Island and other Boston Harbor Islands. Two new trails on Thompson will be particularly well utilized. The first, on the northern end of the island, was created in partnership with another National Park Service youth group called Branching Out that specializes in arborism. The youth groups created a beautiful new trail that allows groups easy access to the shoreline on the north end of the island. The previous shore trail had eroded into the sea during winter storms last year. Access to the beach is important for the geology class lessons that highlight the erosion on the north end of the island. Geology lessons at this site are particularly memorable to students when they see how massive trees have fallen into the sea from 40 foot, eroding cliffs. Also on the north end shoreline is wonderful learning area for tide pool ecosystem studies. Without this new trail, students would not have access to these fantastic place-based learning opportunities.

Another trail that is equally important, from a geological point of view, is the new “kettle hole” trail on the island’s west side near the weather station. This new trail was blazed through an amazing amount of brush in order to provide access to another of the island’s amazing geologic features: it’s kettle hole. A kettle hole is created when a chunk of glacier breaks off as the glaciers recede and sits and melts over many years, carving out a deep depression in the land with melt water. Now, with the trail down into the Kettle Hole, and a newly built wooden debrief circle within, students can actually sit where a part of a glacier sat and melted thousands of years ago. Sitting in a hidden depression, surrounded by woods, 20 feet below ground, is an extremely powerful way to learn by “experiencing” geologic forces.

A final example, however, of the power of these youth, was in their roles as mentors. For the younger middle and elementary age students in our summer learning program, the Green Corps and Island Ambassador youth acted as powerful role models and mentors. Time was dedicated during summer learning for the older youth to lead the younger groups in conversations and activities. I consistently observed how the younger kids looked up to them and wanted to follow their example. The wide-eyed looks of respect and admiration from the younger students towards their mentors said it all. Undoubtedly, the relationship between both groups served to make both programs stronger.

To all the Green Corp and Island Ambassadors youth that participated this year, I say thank you for your hard work and dedication. For those that are in their final year with us, I look forward to seeing your applications for instructor intern positions next summer! Wherever you go from here, however, know that you have left a lasting impression on Thompson and other islands, with visitors to the park, with all of the Thompson and park staff, and with our summer learning students. An impressive legacy indeed! We wish you the very best success wherever your “trail” leads from here.

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Enrichment, Education, and Summer Learning

August 10, 2011

By: Paul Lamoureux, Program Director

Academics and enrichment: two promises that describe a powerful Summer Learning experience for 75 6th and 7th grade students from the Orchard Gardens K-8 School in Roxbury.

They’ve just graduated from the first session of summer programming on Thompson Island and 200 students, teachers, park rangers, and family members are departing the Island in a bittersweet farewell. It’s dawning on the students that their incredible experience over the last five weeks has just ended. It is our fervent hope that they go back to their school better equipped for the academic rigors of the school year and as leaders of their school community. Certainly bonds among their peers and their teachers have been greatly strengthened through their common experiences.

The Summer Learning program has been packed with activities that served to prevent summer learning loss and give the students a strong head start on the upcoming school year curriculum. The key to these academically oriented experiences is they are place-based and hands-on, designed to be memorable and therefore lead to retention of the material.

When I say place-based, I mean on the beach collecting and sorting specimens (creatures, shells, plants, etc.) and recording, graphing, and analyzing the data. A lot more memorable perhaps when it is say, hermit crabs or sea glass on a Thompson Island beach rather than book-based activities in a classroom. Perhaps the “place” in place-based is the meadow, among waist high grass, where insect collection and identification occurs. Are the insects pollinators or decomposers? Or the “place” could be at the mouth of the recently restored salt marsh, where students collect water samples and test and record salinity levels. Or perhaps we are in the pristine salt marsh, removing traps that are filled with mummachogs, or Atlantic silversides or three-spined sticklebacks. (We don’t merely call them minnows in this program!)

There are so many learning opportunities on Thompson Island and so many wonderful places and habitats on the island to solidify this learning. In order to best utilize all of these place-based learning options, there needed to be significant collaboration among all of the partners in these students’ experience. Teachers from the participating school, Thompson Island instructors, and National Park Rangers jointly deliver the Summer Learning Program on Thompson Island. Senior program staff from Thompson Island guide teachers, instructors, and Rangers in utilizing each person’s talents in academics and enrichment to blend a memorable experience for the students. An experience so engaging and interesting, that students bristle at the thought that this is actually “summer school.”

Not to worry students, the Summer Learning Program on Thompson Island is not like any summer school that most people are familiar with. After arriving on Thompson Island in the morning, all students “circle-up” with teachers, rangers, and instructors and a daily check-in occurs. Then, the students head off with teachers and instructors for teacher-led, place-based learning opportunities throughout the 200-acre island.

After lunch, while teachers planned the following days activities, students either embark upon challenge-based activities with Thompson Island instructors or environmental-based activities with National Park Rangers. Again, these activities happen throughout the entire island, whether on low or high ropes courses, orienteering areas or in meadows, fields, beaches, forests, or marshes.

Students were constantly outside, immersed in nature, immersed in place-based learning and immersed in challenge-based activities. They were actively engaged in their learning. They were truly challenged; physically; mentally; and emotionally. They learned to work effectively, independently, and as a team. Activities were most often a blend between academics and enrichment, and students were expected to work together to achieve an outcome.

All in all, the entire experience was truly a partnership in student learning. Everyone was engaged on a daily basis. All were part of the Thompson Island community. Everybody grew from the experience. This was abundantly clear at the student’s graduation experience. Through the student “trade show” where they demonstrated examples of their learning, through the images in the slide show and through remarks expressed by all present, it was clear what an impactful five weeks it had been.

I want to thank all of the students and staff from Orchard Gardens, the National Park Service, Citizen Schools, and Thompson Island for all working so hard, during a long hot summer to make the experience so wonderful for these 75 students.

Next up: our second Summer Learning session for 75 4th graders. All of our partners stand ready to deliver on the promise of Academics and Enrichment for another powerful summer learning experience for Boston’s urban youth.

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Outward Bound: An Inward Journey

July 7, 2011

By: Paul Lamoureux, Program Director

Summer expeditions have begun on Thompson Island and three crews of 12 & 13-year-old students are at the beginning of what promises to be a transformational experience. Ten young women are participating in the Connecting with Courage (CWC) expedition and 18 young men are embarking upon two separate Passages expeditions. All of these courses are 12-day kayaking expeditions that will depart from Thompson Island after approximately 2½ days of training. As part of the course, students will paddle among and camp on numerous islands in the Boston Harbor Islands National Park Area. Students will learn kayaking, navigation and camping skills; however these technical skills are only the tip of the iceberg on a Thompson Island Outward Bound expedition.

All Thompson Island Outward Bound expeditions are based upon the Outward Bound Pillars of Compassion, Service, Physical Fitness, Self-Reliance and Craftsmanship. Unique to Thompson Island’s CWC and Passages courses are additional instructional objectives that address issues of early adolescence. Course curriculum addresses Courage, Responsibility and Emotional Freedom, as well as Finding One’s Voice (for CWC) and Positive Masculinity (for Passages).

For the early part of course, all three kayaking crews are working to establish roles, responsibilities, course structure and guidelines. Much of the time during the initial days on course is focused upon safety training and teaching students the important skills necessary for kayak “pods” to travel through the waterways of the Boston Harbor Islands National Park Area.

Kayakers learn how to don and fit all of the safety gear, including paddle jackets, personal flotation devices (PFDs), spray skirts, hats, footwear and sunglasses. Students are also instructed in the use of whistles and signal mirrors, as well as the miniature flashlights and strobe lights that are affixed to each shoulder. Crews learn about the various parts of the kayak from cockpit and deck bungee to hatches and rudders. They also learn about parts of the paddle and conduct dry-land practice on how to use the paddles effectively to move the boat through the water.

Prior to any significant paddling practice, instructors ensure that students are comfortable in the water and in their kayak. Water comfort assessments are conducted, as well as the “wet exit” assessment. In the wet exit, students learn to exit their kayak in the event of capsize. In this assessment, instructors are positioned in chest-deep water at each end of the boat, and the kayak is rolled. Upside-down students “clap” the side of the kayak three times (to show that they are not panicking), remove their spray skirt, push out of the capsized boat and rise to the surface.

Students learn to get back into their boats in an “assisted rescue” scenario, then how to use hand held pumps to remove water that has collected in their cockpits, and finally how, while floating, to reattach their spray skirts.

After all students have become comfortable with this process, paddling skills are taught. These include the sweep, forward and back strokes as well as braces to stabilize a boat in choppy seas. It is also important that pairs of students learn to work together as all youth are assigned tandem kayaks.

After students become more maneuverable in their tandem kayaks, instructors begin to move the groups around in a pod. Instructors facilitate the group management and indicate to students the necessity of remaining in close proximity during paddling so that effective communication can be maintained.

When all of the preparatory safety and skills training is completed to the instructors’ satisfaction, the kayak crews prepare to depart Thompson Island.

The CWC crew did a remarkable job of getting to bed early on the second day of their expedition and waking the following day at 4:30am for an “Alpine Start.” After eating breakfast and cleaning up, the young women completely packed their kayaks with all of the group’s gear. This is an impressive undertaking in itself. All of the tents, tarps, sleeping bags, sleeping pads, clothing, cooking gear, eating utensils, stoves, spare equipment, med kits and numerous bags filled with water and food must fit into the kayaks.

The crew conducted a morning circle-up on the beach and after a review of the Harbor Islands chart, a discussion of the day’s navigational route, planned island stops, possible bailout locations and a timetable, the CWC crew hits the water for the first day of serious paddling.

The CWC instructors have been impressed with their crew’s drive, ambition and group cohesion thus far and have indicated that they seem to have a very high functioning group. Today, however, should be challenging as the day’s paddling itinerary is the most ambitious of the course and represents a 6 ½ mile paddle to Bumpkin Island.

On a 6 ½ mile paddle on the first day of group travel, I am sure that there will be significant hurdles for the young women. The challenges, which are an integral part of an Outward Bound course, will create significant discomfort for many. The true test will be how individuals within the group deal with (and learn from) the day’s challenges. As I see CWC depart Thompson Island, I wish I could be a fly on the wall for their evening debrief. I can picture them sitting in a circle in the dark with their tents pitched behind them, on the remote wilderness of Bumpkin Island, talking about the day’s issues and challenges.

The process of discovery and transformation has begun for all of the kayak crews. It is my hope that these students face and overcome obstacles and challenges of all types. That they face their fears and continue on despite them and that they return to Thompson Island not only with lasting memories, but tools and life skills that will help them overcome any of life’s challenges. Perhaps they will have developed more compassion or confidence. Perhaps they are more service-oriented or self-reliant. Perhaps the notion of emotional freedom is not foreign to them. Perhaps they are more responsible and see themselves as role models or as the next generation of leaders. Perhaps they have found their voice and are not afraid to use it.

After all, this is not simply a kayaking trip. This is an Outward Bound expedition and inherently an Inward Journey…one of self-discovery and transformation.

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Boston’s Island Classroom Captivates BPS Students

June 7, 2011

By: Paul Lamoureux, Program Director

It seems I’ve just said goodbye to 60 6th grade students from the Rogers Middle School in Hyde Park and Steve Greene, their fantastic science teacher.  Today, however, Thompson Island is filled with 6th grade students from the Mildred Avenue School in Mattapan. It is the last day of May, and the weather is beautiful for the 60 new students who are on Thompson Island for the first day of their Environmental Connections expedition.  The day is even more special because I’ve just finished hosting a visit by Boston Public School’s Superintendent, Dr. Carol R. Johnson.  Dr. Johnson, an impressive woman, came to Thompson Island to see what all the excitement was about, and also to interact with the students, something she clearly enjoys.

While Dr. Johnson was on the island, the Connections students were engaged in an island-wide activity that required six separate groups of 10 students to follow instructions, work together as a team and, by using a map of the island, find designated locations.

At each of these locations, National Park Rangers and Thompson Island curriculum specialists lead students through place-based activities that included conducting experiments, collecting data, performing analysis and thinking critically.

By riding in a golf cart, Dr. Johnson and I were able to catch up with, observe and interact with numerous groups of students, despite their dispersal throughout the island.  It was wonderful to see the smiles on the students’ faces, the sense of awe and wonder as they interacted with nature, the rapt attention as they listened to direction from National Park Rangers and Thompson Island staff, and the “ah ha” moments when the understanding occurs and (you’ll forgive me) connections are made between the ‘place-based’ activities and the desired curriculum outcomes.  Students not only learn to work together effectively, but also about topics such as salinity and density and evaporation in ways that are relevant, exciting and impactful.

Along with one of the groups of students was science teacher Chris Burdman, the lead teacher from the Mildred Ave School and a key partner with Thompson Island.  Chris was recently named one of Boston Public School’s Educators of the Year.  This prestigious award (which will be presented at an official ceremony on June 20th) recognizes Mr. Burdman’s effectiveness as an educator, which is no surprise to those at Thompson Island and the National Park Service that have worked with Chris for a number of years.  Chris is exactly the type of teacher that helps make the Connections program so successful.  By working with Chris early in the school year to integrate the Connections curriculum into his classroom activities, we make the program more deep and memorable, ultimately enabling students to have greater understanding and retention of the material.

In the Connections program, National Park Rangers and Thompson Island Curriculum Specialists visit school classrooms to co-instruct preparatory sessions prior to the students’ island-based expedition.  Chris’s approach is to provide the students with relevant activities even before park rangers and Thompson Island instructors visit his classroom.  Then he follows up with more activities after the rangers and instructors have left, in order to further prepare the students for their expedition.  After the expedition, Chris reinforces all of the learning that occurred on Thompson Island with related activities that solidifies the learning for the students.  This is the mark of a successful program and partnership.

As Chris and I explain this partnership to Dr. Johnson and then as she hears directly from the students on the island, I am extremely honored to be part of this experience for these young people.  Some of the students shared their experience earlier in the day on the Thompson Island ropes course, where fun and challenging activities served to build rapport, communication and respect among peers.  These are key attributes for groups embarking upon collaborative field studies.

Other students are enamored by the island’s historical dorms and classroom buildings.  These colonial style brick buildings, located in the center of the island, evoke the feeling that you are enrolled at a small New England college. Dr. Johnson recognizes the value of this atmosphere to reinforce her goal for Boston middle school students to perform well, move on to high school, graduate and enroll in college. Thompson Island and the Connections program provide a major opportunity to help deliver on that goal.

As we head back to the Pier and the boat waiting to bring Dr. Johnson back to the mainland, she shares her thoughts on what a magical place Thompson Island is and how impressed she is with the work we are doing.  I couldn’t agree more and again stress the importance of working in partnership with the schools, the teachers and the National Park Service.

This effective partnership truly brings out the most of this wonderful place: Thompson Island.  A place of transformation, where numerous forms of learning occur and where lasting memories are made.  I thank Dr, Johnson for taking the time to come to the island and know that she will remember her experience.  And I’m absolutely positive, that the students from our BPS middle school partners will have deep and lasting memories from their experiences and that school hallways will be buzzing with chatter about the expedition to Thompson Island.

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Inspiration and Transformation

April 28, 2011

By: Paul Lamoureux, Program Director

Thompson Island Outward Bound Education Center’s Annual Gala was recently held at the Seaport Hotel and was an unmitigated success. More than five hundred people over flowed the Seaport’s largest event room. Student ambassadors and young alumni from Thompson Island Outward Bound programs acted as guides, shepherding attendees from the many hotel entrances to the registration areas while regaling their charges with stories of Thompson Island experiences. Corporate volunteers, many of whom provide service days of physical labor on Thompson Island, were extremely helpful staffing the registration and silent auction areas. The teachers, principals, and most importantly the students we serve shared their Thompson Island experiences on stage and spoke about the great impact that Thompson Island has had on them and their schools.

As I listened to students from the Orchard Gardens K-8 School in Roxbury, I felt extremely proud to work for Thompson Island Outward Bound Education Center. Their stories reinforced for me the impact that our programs and our island have on people, in this case students from one of the historically worst performing schools in the state.

It was heartening to hear from the new Orchard Gardens principal, Andrew Bott, as well as from an award-winning science teacher, Erin Dukeshire, about how important Thompson Island experiences have been for their students. They discussed how Thompson Island program curriculum has been integrated into classroom curriculum and has helped jump-start learning. Thompson Island, they said, has also helped change the culture at the school and has created strong bonds, both among students and teachers, as well as among peers. Thompson Island program alumni are now student leaders at the school and are pivotal in aiding the school’s “turnaround” process.

I recently visited Orchard Gardens School and the first thing I noticed upon entering the spacious foyer was a huge collage of photos of Thompson Island experiences. Given this entry way, I was not entirely surprised that as I walked through the hallways with my Thompson Island shirt on, I was repeatedly stopped by students who wanted to say hi and talk about their island trip, or those with eyes wide when they asked, “Do you work for Thompson Island? I want to go to Thompson Island!”

I’m reminded that the Thompson Island experience is so rich and has so many different aspects that you are never sure which one will be the most impactful. Will it be the ferry ride to Thompson Island? The vast majority of Boston inner city youth have never been on a boat before. Will it be camping in the fields or sleeping in a dorm room that feels a little bit like you’re in college? Will it be getting stuck in the salt marsh mud or climbing the Alpine Tower? Could it possibly be the Nitro swing or will it be catching and identifying insects in the meadow? Tide pooling or beachcombing? Catching minnows or eating the awesome food in the dining hall perhaps? The list goes on and on. What is undeniable, however, is the effect, the glow, the impact. I could talk about the fantastic evaluation results, both academically and developmentally, but not here, not today. Today, I’ll just glow myself and bask in the positive feelings that Thompson Island experiences generate.

It is equally clear that this impact, this feeling, does not only apply to teachers and students. This holds true for everyone who comes to Thompson Island from the conference attendees, to wedding parties, to professional groups, to the scientists and researchers, to the corporate volunteers, to the company clambake outings, to the runners in our annual 4k race. No matter what the program or event, Thompson Island has the power to touch or transform lives and to create lasting memories through learning or bonding experiences. And all of this on a beautiful island only one mile from downtown Boston!

Attending our recent Gala was yet another reminder for me of this impact and I’m truly thankful for the incredible generosity of all the stakeholders attending the event. Apparently guests could clearly see Thompson Island’s impact because their donations enabled us to exceed our fundraising goals. I’m extremely proud and grateful to be working for an organization that inspires such support from its board and its donors.

I also want to thank the corporate and student volunteers who worked at the Gala. We couldn’t have done it without you. But mainly, the youth who stood up on stage, in front of more than five hundred well dressed, successful adults and bravely and articulately spoke about their Thompson Island experiences. After seeing their poise and hearing them speak, I understand what Principal Bott means about a new culture emerging at Orchard Gardens fed by student leaders from Thompson Island programs.

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Thompson Island’s Nautical Heritage

March 18, 2011

By: Paul Lamoureux, Program Director

As the snow finally melts and Spring rapidly approaches, the entire organization at Thompson Island Outward Bound Education Center is kicking into high gear. Pre-expedition, preparatory classroom sessions for the Connections program are occurring in middle schools throughout Boston and surrounding communities. The operations department continues to work tirelessly preparing the island and its facilities. The development department is humming with activity preparing for the Annual Gala on April 14 at the Seaport Hotel, a huge event that seems to grow in size and donor generosity every year.

In the midst of all this activity, the waterfront department’s work on our marine vessels signals, for me, the onset of Spring more than any other sight. With an island operation, it is absolutely crucial that we have fully operational motor vessels to move staff, equipment, food and waste to and from Thompson Island. Our motor vessels are also crucial for transporting students and clients to and from other Boston Harbor Islands for various programs, events and projects. Further, our motor vessels are used for resupply, as well as to transport staff and students to and from our sailing and kayaking expeditions.

Our marine fleet includes the 65-foot, 149-passenger Motor Vessel Outward Bound (MVOB), the 30-foot Invictus, a reliable workboat that is also capable of carrying cargo and passengers, and a 19-foot, outboard-powered Carolina skiff for nimble, light duty. Our expedition vessels include six, 30-foot sailing vessels referred to as “pulling boats,” and twenty, 19-foot sea kayaks.

As this blog is being written, word has just been received that the backbone of our island operation, the MVOB, has just received United States Coast Guard approval, following an exhaustive hull survey that received no recommendations for improvement. This is the third consecutive year that she received a result that amounts to “passing with flying colors” and is a testament to the hard work and professionalism of our waterfront department. It won’t be too long now, before the MVOB makes her annual pilgrimage back to Thompson Island from her Gloucester marine yard dry dock where all of the off-season maintenance occurs.

The workhorse of Thompson Island, the Invictus, is crucial to Island operations as well. She bears the brunt of the workload during the winter months, while the MVOB is being serviced in Gloucester. She is also crucial for all of the other jobs where a flexible workboat is necessary. The poem “Invictus,” by William Ernest Henley, is mounted on a plaque in her pilothouse serving as inspiration for generations of Thompson Island staff and students. This timeless poem ends with the powerful words, “I am the master of my fate: I am the captain of my soul.”

Throughout Thompson Island’s educational history of nearly 180 years, there have been numerous motor vessels (some steam powered) that have moved people and goods back and forth to the island. Vessels named Pilgrim I, II, III, IV and V served admirably for most of these years, navigating through New England storms and fog to keep the island operational and serving the youth of Boston.

The value to the island of fully operational motor vessels that serve passengers and “deliver the goods” is almost incalculable. In addition, however, sailing vessels for both recreational and educational purposes have played a significant role in the history of Thompson Island. During the Farm and Trade School era, sailing on the school’s schooners was often an earned privilege and a day of fun and recreation. This was a respite from working on numerous other island tasks, including maintenance and repair of her transport vessels.

Since Thompson Island became an Outward Bound center in 1988, the proud OB sailing tradition has been upheld. Sailing programs on our historic “pulling boats” hearken back to the nautical roots of Outward Bound in Britain in the 1940s. I am reminded of this tradition now as I see these vessels poised upon the beach. The melting of snow on Thompson Island marks the beginning of preparatory work on our pulling boat fleet. Laborious work will now begin in order to ensure that they pass Coast Guard inspection and are “ship-shape” for our Summer expeditions. No rest for the weary, as our waterfront department ends their tireless work on the MVOB and begins the project of pulling boat preparation.

 

For me, it’s official: the sight of pulling boats on the beach at Thompson Island marks the beginning of Spring. Regardless of the date on the calendar or whether Punxsutawney Phil sees his shadow, I now feel the imminent approach of the thousands of students and guests who will soon come to our island home. I am thankful that throughout the entire organization, we have a well-oiled machine of professionals in our various departments and board committees that are also tirelessly preparing the way for the coming season. I am heartened to see these dedicated professionals are perhaps even more “well-oiled” than the MVOB herself.

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Running Thompson Island: Then and Now

February 24, 2011
By: Paul Lamoureux, Program Director

On another recent winter visit to Thompson Island, I observed all of the work being conducted by our operations department to prepare the way for the island opening in the spring of 2011. Work projects abound in a valiant attempt to maintain an island battered by winter storms and buildings constructed, for the most part, prior to 1942.

As our operations crew attends to winter structural, infrastructural, and beautification projects with equal zeal, I had an opportunity to reflect upon island life 100 years ago. At that time, World War 1 had yet to begin and the Farm and Trade School was nearing its 80th year of operation on Thompson Island.

I am further reminded of these hearty students of a bygone age as I spot a trench which has been newly dug by our operations department. The long trench runs from the Classroom building (built in 1909) up the hill to our most popular dormitory, the Thomas building (built in 1941), in order to augment and enhance electrical capacity to meet 21st century demands.

In 1911, electricity had yet to be connected to Thompson Island from the mainland. Imagine life, if you can, on an island in the winter of 1911 without electricity! A hearty bunch of students and staff, indeed!

It was during this era, as students learned both agricultural and industrial skills, that one of the earliest “Boys towns” was created on Thompson Island with the blessing of school administration. On the northern end of what is now the “Football Field” and very near where our newly constructed Gazebo stands, the boys built numerous wooden buildings to create a “Cottage Row” that extended eastward across a clearing to the Bowditch Grove of trees. Three to five boys typically owned each of the cottages. Adults did not participate in the construction or maintenance of the buildings.

The boys were granted a charter by school administration for self-governance. Students elected a 3-person board of alderman, as well as a clerk, a street commissioner, a 5-person jury and a 3-person police force. Adults did not participate in decision-making at town meetings, or in the police or court systems. Other positions evolved to include a “pest-control” department that included “rat inspectors.” A code of conduct was established and, if breached, fines and punishment were levied. One example of a punishment occurred for a boy who repeatedly teased a tethered pet goat. He was “sentenced” with the care and feeding of the goat for the remainder of the term!

I can fully imagine this “Boys town” during the warm weather months; however, with cold and dark winter nights lit only by lamp, Cottage Row must have been a formidable place indeed. But yesterday, as today, Thompson Island produced young people who overcame intimidating challenges, tapped into inner strengths and persevered through difficulties in order to achieve their goals and to succeed.

These same qualities can be attributed to Thompson Island’s operations department as they continue with the daunting task of reversing the ravages of both Time and Mother Nature to ensure today’s youth and clients are served in well-maintained facilities, outdoor trails, meadows, and beaches while visiting the island.

It is clear to me of the importance of stewardship of Thompson Island, as well as the commitment by Thompson Island staff, volunteers and trustees to maintain and develop the island’s resources in order to serve students through another 100 years of operation.

Whether in the boardroom or in the maintenance building, it is equally clear that all stakeholders in Thompson Island strive to provide the best possible facilities and outdoor classrooms for the youth in our care. In effect, a 21st century version of “Cottage Row” where students will live and work together to create a positive community that they are fully invested in, regardless of the challenges they face.

It is our fervent hope that, like the students of the Farm and Trade School, the students of Thompson Island Outward Bound Education Center bring positive community values and strength of character back to the greater world community when they leave their temporary home and the “classroom” of Thompson Island.

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Winter Reflections

January 19, 2011
By: Paul Lamoureux, Program Director

Winter on Thompson Island is a time for reflection and preparation. The island, although still beautiful, is stark and empty. This is partly due to the cold, the snow and the leafless trees, but mainly because winter programs occur on the mainland and the energy of students and staff is missing. It feels like the island is taking a deep breath, in preparation for another season full of growth, both within the students who visit her and the flora and fauna that flourish on her.

I visited the island recently, both to reconnect and to prepare the way for next year. When I say prepare the way, I mean that literally. I was out to help create a new trail from the meadow to the beach on the north end of the island. The previous trail was eroded away by a series of winter storms, preventing access to one of our prominent outdoor classroom locations. The geology curriculum on Thompson revolves around students directly viewing the eroding cliffs from the beach. On the beach, while standing among trees that have toppled over, students gaze up at a cliff that has eroded away, exposing roots and trees perched precariously on the edge. This poignant and memorable example of erosion is one that students do not soon forget.

The last time I was out on this cliff, I had an even more poignant and memorable experience and it was also a reminder of the amazing value that a trip to Thompson Island provides. It was late last fall during a Harbor Connections geology expedition with fifth grade students from the Josiah Quincy school in Boston’s Chinatown.

Among the students was Kai Leigh Harriott. Kai Leigh, now 11, was paralyzed after a stray bullet severed her spine when she was three. When she was five, in a powerful courtroom moment, she sat in her wheelchair and looked directly at the man who had just pleaded guilty to firing the shot that paralyzed her. Through her tears, Kai Leigh spoke to 29-year old- Anthony Warren who had fired three rounds at the house where she was sitting on a porch with her sister singing songs.

“What you done to me was wrong,” she said to the man seated just a few feet away. “But I still forgive him.”

The Boston trial was videotaped and Kai Leigh’s emotional scene has replayed on television, over the Internet, and in newspapers across the country and beyond. Kai Leigh’s demonstration of forgiveness was hugely inspirational to many, many people.

So, as you might imagine, it was truly an honor to host Kai Leigh Harriott, her mom and her classmates on Thompson Island. We borrowed an “all-terrain wheelchair” from our DCR friends at Spectacle island, which made a huge difference in enabling Kai Leigh to get – down to the beach. This, after traveling through a woodland path (which has now eroded away), over numerous boulders on the beach and around felled trees, right to the base of the cliff.

There she participated, along with all of her classmates, in a truly experiential session on geology with National Park Rangers and the Thompson Island Outward Bound Harbor Connections team. I overheard Kai Leigh’s mom, herself a Thompson Island graduate, talking excitedly to a family member on her cell phone. She was along as a chaperone sharing what a fantastic day it was for Kai Leigh and how she never had envisioned that we could accommodate them in such an amazing way. As tears fell down Mom’s face and as she gave me a huge hug, it reminded me of why I’m here and what is important.

Now in winter, as I help clear the new trail down to the beach cliffs, I think of Kai Leigh’s experience and that of so many other children who come to Thompson Island and are truly transformed and I’m so grateful to help provide that “path” for all of them.

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