Cathleen Stone Island Outward Bound School, Inc.

The core mission of Cathleen Stone Island Outward Bound School (CSIOBS) is to build stronger, more equitable school communities by partnering with public schools to deliver free experiential learning programs that boost academic success and foster personal growth. We believe all young people, regardless of background, deserve access to opportunities that challenge them, build confidence, and expand their sense of what is possible.

CSIOBS focuses on addressing persistent educational inequities faced by students in urban public school systems. The young people we serve often encounter systemic barriers, including economic disadvantage, limited access to enrichment opportunities, and widening academic and social-emotional gaps. These challenges have intensified in recent years as schools continue to respond to learning loss, increased absenteeism, and growing mental health needs among students. In this context, schools are seeking programs that not only support academic achievement but also strengthen belonging, engagement, and resilience.

To meet these needs, CSIOBS delivers a continuum of programs that integrate hands-on learning, social-emotional development, and real-world application. Our school-based experiences are closely aligned with academic standards and are designed to reinforce classroom learning through active, inquiry-based exploration. Across all programs, students are encouraged to collaborate, solve problems, take healthy risks, and reflect on their growth.

Connections, our middle school program, brings science and social-emotional learning together through immersive, hands-on lessons that make academic content tangible and relevant. Students engage in experiments, field-based activities, and structured reflection that build both conceptual understanding and interpersonal skills. The program is designed to strengthen confidence, curiosity, and peer relationships at a critical developmental stage.

Our outdoor and environmental programs extend learning beyond the classroom and into natural settings, often providing students with their first structured experience in outdoor education. These experiences are intentionally designed to build resilience, teamwork, and self-efficacy while helping students develop a deeper sense of connection to their environment and to one another.

Green Ambassadors, our paid high school work readiness program, offers students meaningful employment experience in environmental stewardship and leadership. Participants develop job skills, professional habits, and environmental literacy through hands-on conservation projects and community-based work. In addition to technical skills, students build leadership capacity and gain exposure to pathways in environmental fields and green careers, strengthening both college and career readiness.

Together, these programs form a cohesive pathway that supports students from middle school through high school, deepening engagement over time and reinforcing the belief that learning is most powerful when it is active, relevant, and connected to real-world purpose.