Overview of All Group Programs
(ages 7 - 18)

Group Programs meet one or two days a week with an emphasis on nurturing each youth’s intrapersonal (knowing yourself), interpersonal (communication and collaboration), and impersonal skills (problem solving, critical thinking) in a group setting. These programs explore a variety of YOUTH AND FACILITATOR INITIATED content and offer multiple opportunities to engage in both INDIVIDUAL AND GROUP PROJECTS. Because we recognize the richness and value that VERTICAL AGE GROUPS provide, each program spans multiple years and youth are typically enrolled in each Group Program for two years. Days are planned with a focus on HANDS-ON, PROJECT-BASED WORK. Some projects will be one-time events while others will continue for multiple weeks. Group programs provide each youth EXPOSURE to a variety of topics, tools, and activities, because sometimes “we don’t know what we don’t know” and it can be helpful to be introduced to something new.

Ultimately, our goal is to provide a rich and nurturing environment that will support each youth in becoming thoughtful, dynamic, and engaged participants in society, leading them to live lives full of purpose and fulfillment. 

We are strong believers in the value of multi-age/developmental learning opportunities. Different levels of Group programs will occasionally work with each other.

Group I (ages 7 - 9)

Group I is a one or two day program (Tuesday and/or Thursday) that may be best described as a transition program – a hybrid of the Open Program and the traditional Group Programs. It offers a mix of play-based self-directed learning, characteristic of the Open Program, and structured facilitator-initiated activities, characteristic of the Group Programs. 

Activities are planned with an emphasis on helping youth develop intrapersonal, interpersonal, and impersonal skills including: self-regulation skills, collaboration skills, creative expression, communication, problem solving, critical thinking, and further nurturing and deepening youth's understanding of OC core values and philosophy. Group I takes advantage of OC’s resources including the Art Studio, Woodshop, kitchens, and 28 acre campus.  

Activities and projects can vary from year to year with one exception – the Comprehensive Project. All youth will have the opportunity to work on a Comprehensive Project, a self-directed research project, in which they select, research, develop, and share their learning about a topic of their choosing with their peers, on a level that is developmentally appropriate for each individual. 

Examples of program activities and projects include:

• Collaborative building challenges
• Math challenges
• Conceptual Development (CD) activities
• Reader’s Theater
• Language Arts activities (reading, writing, speaking, listening)
• Science labs and experiments
• Baking/cooking
• Exploration of the natural environment (trees, birds, gardening, animals, insects, plants, water etc.)
• Art experiences with clay, origami, paint, collage,  etc.
  
• Hand sewing
• Wood whittling
• Real work experiences
• Putting on a play
• Service learning projects

Group II (ages 9 - 11)

Group II is a two day program meeting on Tuesday and Thursday. Group II’s hands-on, project-based activities keep in mind that “we don’t know what we don’t know.” In addition to exposing youth to a variety of materials, tools, and ideas, Group II activities are also geared toward developing each youth’s intrapersonal (knowing yourself), interpersonal (communication and collaboration), and impersonal skills (problem solving, critical thinking). While the day’s activities are mostly facilitator-initiated with youth input, the flow of the Group II day also allows for flexibility to spend additional time on topics as desired. Some projects and topics will be one-time events while others will continue for multiple weeks. Group II makes broad use of OC’s resources including the Art Studio, Woodshop, Multimedia Room, and 28 acre campus. Activities and projects can vary from year to year with one exception – Group II offers Comprehensive Projects on both days. In the Tuesday program, the Comprehensive Project provides youth an opportunity to research and present on a topic of their choosing. The Comprehensive Project for the Thursday program has a science focus and provides the youth an opportunity to design and run an experiment, and present their findings to the group. The majority of the planning and execution of these projects are done outside of program time.

Examples of program activities and projects include:

• Book discussions/ Reading
  
• Solo and group math challenges
• Pond and stream studies
• Whittling and knife skills
• Fire building
• Cooking over a campfire
• Collaborative games and game development
• Watercolors
• Pencil drawing
• Weather studies and predictions
• Puppet building
• Woodshop projects
• Trail clearing on our campus and also in Ridley Creek State Park
• Property hikes
• Birding

Group III (ages 11 - 13)

Group III is a two-day program, meeting on Tuesdays and Thursdays, supporting pre-teens in their personal and social development through activities and experiences that allow for pursuing youth-driven interests as well as exposure to new ideas and content. Multiple areas of study are explored in a variety of approaches, providing opportunities for growth in self awareness and self knowledge, as well as in the communication and collaboration skills needed to work effectively with others. Whether engaging with language arts, social studies, visual/performing art, health and wellness, logic/math, science or technology-there are opportunities for independent and/or group engagement with content that is accessible and relevant to the youth and utilizes the resources we have available in the Makerspace, Multimedia Room, Woodshop, kitchens, Art Studio, and the 28 acre campus. Some projects will be one-time events while others will continue for a number of weeks, allowing for deeper investigation and the valuable iterative process.

Examples of program activities and projects include:

• Group read-aloud - Sharing a book together fosters a deep dive into a novel and the world encountered and questions raised there. Lively group discussions, debates and inspired activities take the story off the page.
• Comprehensive Project - With a focus on nurturing sparks of ideas and personal interests, quality research and reliable sources, youth complete a Comprehensive Project, honing their research, writing and presentation skills.
• Community service and volunteering - These experiences allow for youth to take action to make a positive impact in the world, while developing their understanding of its complexities.
• Citizen science projects  - These Real Work opportunities invite youth to develop observation skills in a hands-on way to act locally and contribute globally, applying critical thinking and analytical skills through gathering and examining data.
• Comprehensive Science Project - Each year, each youth designs and conducts an experiment exploring a testable, science-related inquiry, applying the Scientific Method. Discoveries are presented and shared with peers.
  

Group IV (ages 13 - 15)

Group IV is a two-day program, meeting on Tuesdays and Thursdays, designed to support and develop a broad range of skills in teens ages 13-15. This program offers a combination of facilitator-initiated, youth-led, and self-directed activities that encompass the intrapersonal, interpersonal, and impersonal realms of knowledge. An emphasis is placed on supporting strengths and providing opportunities for further development in areas such as executive functioning, communication (oral and written), critical thinking, collaboration, and problem solving, with the goal of providing teens the tools necessary to personally incorporate OC values and philosophy into their lives as they develop into autonomous young adults. Special attention is given to the unique social/emotional needs of this age group as they work to develop a healthy and stable sense of self and increase their level of confidence in their ability to understand and assume greater ownership of their education and life choices.

Throughout the program year, youth in Group IV have the opportunity to make full use of the OC campus as they engage in a variety of program activities that provide exposure to higher-order concepts in multiple areas of study, which can include math, science, language arts, social studies, visual & performing arts, and health & wellness. Activities and Projects may be one-time events or continue over a number of weeks.

Examples of program activities and projects include:

• Current events exploration
• Service learning projects and community engagement 
• Outdoor group games 
• Team building challenges
• Large-scale Group Collaboration such as creating a film or planning and executing a group event
• Weekly collaborations with youth in the Shaping Your Life program 
• Two long-term Comprehensive Projects of the youth’s design: one incorporates experiential elements, research, a critical essay and an interactive presentation; the second is a science or engineering-based experiment that youth design, conduct, summarize and present at a Science Expo held at OC. 
  

Through these youth-led and facilitator-supported projects, group members have the opportunity to demonstrate increasing maturity and self management as they prepare for the significant degree of independent learning and increased responsibility that the latter teen years bring.

Shaping Your Life (ages 15 - 18)

Shaping Your Life (SYL) is an extended two-day program, meeting on Tuesdays and Thursdays until 3:30pm, that aims to provide a fulfilling, enriching and dynamic educational experience for teens ages 15-18. This final stage of the OC journey exposes older teens to a wide variety of content areas and skill sets that are critical to their becoming thoughtful, vital and engaged participants in society, while encouraging each group member to more fully define, explore, and take charge of their own alternative educational paths. 

The SYL program is designed to mindfully combine group collaborations with independent study in an inclusive, facilitator-supported environment that strives to place learning in a meaningful context for young people and allows for maximum initiative, ownership and autonomy of group members. Unlike the younger Group programs that utilize parents as gatekeepers, we invite the teens in SYL to display a high degree of self-reliance and personal responsibility through direct contact with facilitators around program parameters and administrative requirements.

The collaborative nature of SYL invites connection-making and strengthens the teens’ sense of belonging, along with their ability to make meaningful contributions to group experiences. Facilitators solicit feedback during all phases of program planning, affording each participant an equal voice and the opportunity to influence program content to reflect their curiosities, strengths, and needs. Facilitators serve in an advisory capacity, supporting group members in the development of a broad range of practical life skills and project management capabilities, while ensuring that a balance of intrapersonal, interpersonal, and impersonal knowledge is explored.

Teens in SYL enjoy complete access to all campus facilities as they engage in both individual and group oriented, short and long-term projects that hold relevance and significance for them. For example:

• Independent Projects - These are self-directed opportunities for SYL youth to explore an area of personal interest and further their own development through an activity of their own design. Individuals are responsible for completing a project proposal, documenting their work, and presenting periodic progress reports as well as the completed project to the group. Teens are encouraged to engage with community members as resources/consultants.
  
• Large-scale Group Collaboration - This experience can take many forms, most often it is in the form of an overnight trip that the young people take charge of planning. From researching possible destinations, creating an itinerary, and formulating a budget, to raising funds and booking hotel rooms, the SYL teens have full ownership of the project.
• Comprehensive Project - for the SYL group this is the Teen Symposium, a night of presentations by SYL group members of findings from individual research investigations, organized around a common theme, and presented to a community-wide audience. Group members engage in a collaborative process to choose the organizing element, pursue threads of individual interest through conducting research, then reconnect to formulate and produce a cohesive public speaking event.
• Facilitator-designed Activities - These expose teens to a wide variety of content areas and topics they may not have been exposed to previously. Whether it is a scientific deep-dive into the properties of light and the electromagnetic spectrum, a culinary exploration of Gullah culture, or a unique team-building exercise, facilitators engage teens in new learning experiences that gently push them outside of their comfort zones and expand their horizons, encouraging constructive risk taking and building confidence in navigating the unknown in a broader experiential context. We can invite outside speakers and visiting artists to provide expertise around specific topics of special interest to teens, such as financial planning, human sexuality, and college admissions.
• Additional important program components include current events, service learning, community engagement, and outdoor group game weekly collaborations with youth in Group IV. 

The Shaping Your Life program provides a framework for teens to feel comfortable expressing their beliefs, pursing their ideas and uncovering their hidden talents and interests as they continue to incorporate OC values and philosophy into their lives and develop the tools necessary to create a life of purpose and fulfillment during their final years at OC and beyond.

​Program	​​Ages	Days	Time	Tuition
Group I	7 - 9	T and/or Th (attend 1 or 2 days)	​​9:00am - 2:30pm	​$4,450​/day, annually (range is $1,000 - $4,450*)
Group II two day program	9 - 11	T and Th	​​9:00am - 2:30pm	​$8,900, annually (range is $2,000 - $8,900*)
Group III two day program	11 - 13	T and Th	​​9:00am - 2:30pm	​$8,900, annually (range is $2,000 - $8,900*)
Group IV two day program	13 - 15	T and Th	​​9:00am - 2:30pm	​$8,900, annually (range is $2,000 - $8,900*)
Shaping Your Life two day program	15 - 18	T and Th	​​9:00am - 3:30pm	​$9,500, annually (range is $2,000 - $9,500*)

The Program Year runs from September 11, 2023 through June 3, 2024.

* Typical tuition range based on demonstrated financial need and available funding.

Open Programs (ages 4 -10 yrs.) Info

Choice Programs (ages 9 - 16 yrs.) Info