Ocean Schools

A number of schools and educational organizations around the world use the ocean or maritime themes as the focus of their activities and learning. Below is a list of some outstanding formal educational institutions that we have found to be outstanding in their dedication and creativity to teaching about ocean issues.

The Sound School

The Sound School is an accredited college preparatory public high school of choice in New Haven Connecticut serving students from New Haven and over 20 cooperating school districts. As a part of the Connecticut Vocational Agriculture System, the Sound School offers its students unique oportunites in marine and agricultural science and technology. Located on the banks of New Haven Harbor in historic Oyster Point, Sound School students take courses in maritime history, literature of the sea, boatbuilding, oceanography, marine biology, aquaculture chemistry andmarine technology. Since 1982, the school has demonstrated the success of using marine studies as a focus of curriculum and the development of critical thinking and professional skills. This site contains a complete course listing and an extensive articulation of the school’s philosophy.

The Harbor School

The New York Harbor School is a maritime-theme based New York City public school founded in 2002 by The Urban Assembly, South Street Seaport Museum and Waterkeeper Alliance, through an initiative of New Visions for Public Schools, The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, The Carnegie Corporation of New York, and The Open Society. Students explore their connection to the New York Harbor by studying its history, its essence, and the relationship people have to the water surrounding them. By studying the harbor that gave life to the city, the school hopes to foster student inquiry of self, community and world. Situated in Bushwick, Brooklyn, the school strives to create an environment more conducive to learning, graduation, and student success by accessing the all of the waterways connected to the Harbor and by using marine studies as a means to broaden the learning experiences of its students. Student and teacher writings and reflections can be found on this site along with curriculum descriptions and course overviews.

Sea Education Association

SEA Education Association (SEA) is an educational institution dedicated to the study of the ocean environment and its relationship to the Earth and to human affairs. Its mission is to challenge high school and college students intellectually and physically within a rigorous, interactive, interdisciplinary curriculum, while providing opportunities for significant personal growth. Students focus on three disciplines: Oceanography, Nautical Science and Maritime Studies. Through intensive coursework and practical experience acquired both ashore on a residential campus and at sea aboard deep-ocean sailing research vessels, students acquire a comprehensive understanding of the world’s oceans and our relationship to them. A complete list of offerings for semesters can be found here together with course descriptions, ships’ specifications, crew and faculty listings, and downloadable applications.

Ocean Classroom Foundation

The guiding principle of Ocean Classroom Foundation is authentic experience. All programs are structured sailing expeditions integrated with academic studies. All academic activities are related to the sea. Participants live onboard ships, in the ocean world, and interact with its natural and cultural forces every day. Their learning occurs in context, as sailors learning the arts of seamanship and studying the ocean environment. Living and working upon the ever-changing sea requires all voyagers to be alert, clear minded, open-eyed, and responsive to the environment. This responsiveness is cultivated as the Ocean Classroom Foundation’s foundation for learning.

Sail Training Association

The purpose of Sail Training International is the education and development of young people of all nationalities, religions and social backgrounds through sail training worldwide. The organization does this through conferences and seminars, research, publications and DVD productions, as well as races and other events for sail training on Tall Ships in many parts of the world. There are sail training operators all over theworld using many different types of vessels, from racing yachts to the impressive square-riggers. This is the place to find a comprehensive listing of these operators and the kinds of training programs that theyhave.

American Sail Training Association

The American Sail Training Association (ASTA) is focused on youth education, leadership development and the preservation of the maritime heritage of North America. In addition to organizing the TALL SHIPS CHALLENGE Series, ASTA manages scholarship programs to make sail training experiences more affordable for young people, grant programs to assist crew of ASTA member vessels with the costs of professionaldevelopment courses and licensing requirements and publishes SAIL TALLSHIPS! A Directory of Sail Training and Adventure at Sea. With a list of national and international sail training programs, definitions of ships and rigging, and first-hand accounts of sailors’ experiences, the ASTA site represents a broad compendium of sail education topics.