Our Vision in Action
Students will enter into an international community with the knowledge and skills to practice freedom of thought, expression, and persons.
How does our vision live in The Green School?
FEBRUARY 2025: FRANCE
Being able to converse and write in more than one language is one of the skills in highest demand for by employers today. Similarly, students receive a distinction through the Seal of Biliteracy offered by New York State that is considered on par with taking advanced classes.
At The Green School, we offer a French Language pathway because it is the most spoken foreign language, internationally. Students practice speaking, writing, and listening to the language in our classrooms to prepare them for international trips that fully immerse them in the beauty of French language and culture. These meaningful experiences help push our students to go above and beyond the requirements for the Seal of Biliteracy, and enable them to bring back aspects of their adventures to our school community!
SPRING 2025: COSTA RICA
Our students will immerse themselves in the local language by speaking with experts about ecotourism and learning how Costa Rica uses it to develop its economy while protecting its biodiversity. They will engage in sustainable agricultural practices and discover renewable, alternative energy sources that fuel structures within the country. Students will experience the cuisine, culture, history, music, adventure and the ‘Pura Vida’ lifestyle as they travel through the country with tour guides and reflect on their experiences to propose an environmentally sustainable project upon their return to school.
Puerto Rico:
It all began with an idea. The idea that, in order for students to become international citizens, they needed to actually go to the places they were researching and learning about.
Thus began Green Travels. Our staff and students collaborated to develop a Human Rights trip to Puerto Rico in the Spring of ‘22, where students engaged in community service activities that helped address the issues with food instability due to the pandemic’s interference with the island’s ability to import goods.
Immersed in the culture, language, and the needs of this community, our students established meaningful relationships and learned a lot about themselves and the world that they are a part of.
This trip inspired our next trip to a nearby location, the Dominican Republic in the Spring of ‘23, and now to farther shores: Costa Rica.
Dominican Republic:
Our students understand that language is the very medium of thinking, and that, to be a thoughtful member of any international community, they have a responsibility of practicing multiple languages while at UAGC.
While in the Dominican Republic, our students fully immersed themselves by learning and improving their Spanish. They worked with younger students to also teach them English while engaging in community service work at neighborhood schools in Cabarete. This approach towards practicing language really highlighted the beauty of being able to express yourself in multiple languages to reach a wider audience.