The Island School

This interesting school, associated with Lawrencevile Academy in New Jersey, takes students for semesters to orient them to the ecology of the Sea. Located in Cape Eleuthera, this unique school is one of the few places on the island that uses solar energy for part of the schools power needs.

The Maxey family

HISTORY

Chris and Pam Maxey founded The Island School in 1998 with the goal of conserving the wild population of marine life by providing alternative food sources and jobs for the people of South Eleuthera.

The concept for The Island School evolved when Chris Maxey was a teacher at The Lawrenceville School in NJ. In 1996, Chris Maxey received the Joukowsky Fellowship from The Lawrenceville School allowing him to work towards his Masters in Marine Resource Management at the Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science at the University of Miami. During this year-long sabbatical Chris began his research work in sustainable aquaculture. He formed the Cape Eleuthera Marine Conservation Project (now the Cape Eleuthera Foundation) and began to set the framework to build a school and research station at Cape Eleuthera in The Bahamas. Since his first trip to Eleuthera during his freshman year in college, Chris fell in love with the magnificent seascape and the friendly Bahamian culture.

In the fall of 1998 construction began to build a campus and on March 15, 1999, Pam and Chris Maxey welcomed 22 students and 6 faculty members from Lawrenceville to launch the first Island School semester. The Island School and The Lawrenceville School continue to work in collaboration on projects but now students also come from over 160 schools across the U.S., Canada, and The Bahamas. The Island School is a mind, body and spirit experience that challenges students by immersing them in the ocean and introducing them to another culture. Now seven years into the journey the Cape Eleuthera project has expanded to include a community school and resource center for local students in Deep Creek and a new Institute that can focus more energy on sustainable development initiatives. The Island School maintains strong contacts with the scientific community, as several leading research organizations as well as the Bahamian government.

Our community at Cape Eleuthera is modeling a shift toward a more livable future. For all who come to live and learn at Cape Eleuthera there is an opportunity to feel like people can make a difference – that we can begin to turn the tide and effect positive change in the way we live.

See Website about solar energy in the Bahamas, and the Island School