Block Island School from the Composite Perspective of the Class of 2011
Students at the K-12 Block Island School receive a very personalized education and a lot of individual attention from teachers. Students also develop life-long relationships with their peers and with the dedicated faculty of the school.
Living on an eleven-square-mile island located about thirteen miles off the coast of mainland Rhode Island; students are given some different opportunities from those provided at mainland schools. For example, they may explore a beach or hike greenway trails or do a winter bird count with a naturalist from the Nature Conservancy or the Ocean View Foundation. They may travel by boat and bus on an all-day expedition to play a baseball, basketball, or soccer game with a mainland team. They may develop special off-season activities like pickleball tournaments or faculty-student basketball games, which involve most of the high school students to make them work. And when all grades, kindergarten through twelve, come together to conclude the annual holiday concert by singing "The Twelve Days of Christmas," the close-knit, family-like relationship of our school community is truly illustrated.
Arrangements are often made for juniors and seniors to do internships. For example, a senior might work with the kindergarten teacher to obtain hands-on experience with kindergarten students three to five times a week. Such internships help high school students to discover or to rule out possible career choices and, in this way, can impact important career decisions.
A week-long sailing trip for the seventh-grade class, a three-night trip to New York City for the eighth-grade class, and a week-long trip to Washington for seniors are among many opportunities provided for Block Island students.
Walking down the halls, you will see teachers and students talking and laughing together and high school students high-fiving with elementary school students. Teachers become mentors, and older students grow to inspire the young ones around them.
A class might have from one to sixteen students. Small class sizes encourage students to fully interact with each other and their teachers.
Parts of the Block Island School have recently been renovated, and the school has a new full-sized gym, the home of the BI Hurricanes. In addition to attractive classrooms, the school has a large cafeteria, a beautiful art room, a music room, a light-filled library, wood-working and machine shops, computer rooms and resource rooms. The school fields a co-ed soccer team as well as girls' and boys' basketball, baseball, and softball teams.
Block Island School is a tightly knit community that has something to offer every young student. It is committed to academic excellence and providing the academic, social, and emotional support needed by each student to grow up as a successful individual.
The school environment is unique and provides about 130 students with opportunities to bring out the best in themselves.
