Quick Details for Service Trip to -Form II Students 1. Trip dates: June 18-27, 2013

2. We would like to travel with 12-15 students, but we need at least 10 to run the trip. Pingry will partner with World Leadership School (www.worldleadershipschool.com) for this trip.

3. Total Cost: $3,300. Students are asked to fundraise $250 per person for the service project.

4. Your completed application and $1,500 deposit are due to Ms. Boisvert, no later than Monday, December 3, 2012. Checks to be made out to The Pingry Corporation.

5. A copy of your valid (doesn’t expire until after December, 2013, and has at least 4 blank pages) passport photo page due to Ms. Boisvert no later than Friday, January 18, 2013..

6. Second payment of $1,000 due Friday, January 18, 2013.

7. Last payment of $800 due Friday, February 8, 2013.

8. Required immunizations should be completed before May 18, 2013. For additional information on required immunizations please visit the Centers for Disease Control website, http://wwwnc.cdc.gov/travel/destinations/costa-rica.htm

9. Pre-trip meetings will be required of all participants-dates and assignments to be determined.

10. Questions or concerns? Contact Sara Boisvert, Director of Global Programs, [email protected], or 908-647-5555, ext. 1346.

Costa Rica Pingry’s Service and Leadership Program (10 days)

Mission The mission of World Leadership School is to empower young leaders to find new and innovative approaches to the world’s pressing problems.

Strategy We fulfill our mission by helping K-12 schools build global programs that produce innovative and inspired young leaders. Our services include service and leadership programs, Global Partnerships (class-to-class collaborations), faculty in-service trainings, faculty development trips and curricular consulting.

Most schools begin a partnership with World Leadership School through a 10-21 day service and leadership program to a rural community in Asia, Africa, Latin America or the U.S. During these programs, students and faculty immerse themselves in a rural community, collaborate with local students on a service project, and experience our leadership and global issues curriculum. By the end of the experience, students emerge with concrete goals and a deeper vision for their future.

Philosophy Global education means a shift towards experience-based, collaborative learning that helps students develop skills necessary for a fast-changing global world. These include the ability to work in teams, analyze and synthesize information, be creative, tolerate failure, respect others, and find passion and purpose.

The global education programs we build are focused on building long-term relationships with sister schools around the world; and integrating global experiences, and other forms of global enrichment back into the classroom.

Our focus is global issues and leadership. We believe one of the best ways to understand global issues, both at home and abroad, is to experience them in a rural community. We also believe our community leaders are powerful case studies in truly global leadership.

The Experience World Leadership School service and leadership programs integrate these key elements: • Global Issues. Students explore connections between global issues such as climate change, poverty and lack of access to education. Real-world exposure helps students develop both understanding and empathy. • Service Learning. Students work on a school or community service project. These experiences broaden their grasp of the issues while helping them develop the confidence that they can make a difference. • Leadership Training. Students use self-assessment tools to understand their leadership strengths and weaknesses. Students also analyze the leadership styles of local leaders, set leadership goals and work on a personal life vision. • Language Immersion. Cross-cultural immersion in homestays and on service projects helps students gain foreign language fluency. Trips can be conducted entirely or partially in the target language, upon request.

Costa Rica

Costa Rica ranks among the top 20 countries world-wide for biodiversity, despite the fact that its land area represents less than one third of one percent of the planet’s surface. There are more than 1,400 species of orchids in Costa Rica, and new ones continue to be discovered every year! This staggering biodiversity stems from Costa Rica’s function as a land bridge between two continents and its combination of varied ecosystems and geographic features. These include rain and cloud forests, savanna, mountains, volcanoes, two separate ocean coastlines, beaches, and mangrove swamps.

No country in Latin America has been more successful than Costa Rica in creating long- standing economic and political stability. Costa Rica has aggressively protected its natural resources and, in the process, become a global model for the rewards of sustainable tourism. A quarter of Costa Rica’s land has been officially protected, and off the coast ten times that area has been set aside as marine reserves.

Global Issues Background Despite its economic and political progress, Costa Rica’s biodiversity remains under threat from the same economic pressures that have deforested much of . Banana and pineapple plantations are encroaching upon the last of Costa Rica’s unprotected lowland forests. Farmers continue to cut down mountain forests to plant subsistence crops that expose fragile soils to erosion. Poachers and land squatters operate with impunity throughout Costa Rica’s under-funded nature reserves. Foreign investors have sparked a real estate boom, dislocating farmers and resulting in widespread development alongside many of Costa Rica’s protected areas. The real estate boom has sharply increased land prices, making it prohibitively expensive to create new nature preserves.

The Costa Rican government has made sustainable tourism the cornerstone of its long-term economic strategy. In order to support sustainable tourism, Costa Rica has focused on preserving its environment and improving the quality of education for Costa Rican youth. By improving education, Costa Rica hopes to both spread environmental awareness and create a new generation of tourism professionals. The government has endorsed the teaching of English in its schools and is making a push to bring computers, and computer teachers, to schools around the country. Much remains to be done to improve the quality of education in Costa Rica’s rural schools, which are badly underfunded and often lack basic infrastructure such as working bathrooms, libraries and playgrounds. Computer labs are still a very long-term goal for most schools.

Educational Goals At the conclusion of a WLS trip, we want students to: • Be able to draw connections between global issues. Students understand that global issues are inter-connected, both on a global and local level. • Develop confidence in the power of action. By raising money, working on a service project and participating in pre- and post-trip curriculum, students understand what a tremendous difference their actions can make. • Embark on a path of leadership. Students develop greater leadership awareness of themselves and others, explore the complexities of leadership, and set concrete goals for their own future.

World Leadership School provides detailed lesson plans for both pre- and post-trip curriculum. Our experience has shown that students and faculty get the most out of their experience when they are well prepared. We strongly suggest that faculty and students prepare for the experience via a series of pre-trip orientation meetings.

Leadership During the trip, students participate in activities that help them develop leadership awareness and skills. At World Leadership School, we believe that great leaders have a wide variety of styles, approaches and personalities. Though there are many ways to be a leader, we also believe great leaders share the following principles: • Great leaders serve others; • Great leaders are aware of their personal strengths and weaknesses, and are emotionally intelligent; • Great leaders find ways to lead from their strengths and compensate for their weaknesses;

Our leadership program begins with a self-assessment survey, which is based on the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI). These assessments help each student understand his or her unique “temperament,” or personality style. Through understanding their relative strengths and weaknesses, students build self-awareness and come closer to formulating an effective leadership style reflective of their unique preferences.

Next we use the language of the assessment to analyze local community leaders. These individuals serve as inspiring examples of how to overcome obstacles and unite people around a common cause. By analyzing the leadership styles of local leaders, students learn that leaders operate from a variety of different styles and temperaments. This realization is affirming for students, especially those constrained by the traditional view that to be effective, leaders must be extroverted and out- front.

The culmination of our leadership curriculum is the “Action Plan and Life Vision,” where each student articulates his or her leadership style, sets specific leadership goals for the near term and begins the process of envisioning their life ahead. After living in a community setting, working on a service project, and taking a break from technology, students are in a unique position to answer questions such as: “What am I passionate about?” and “What is my life going to be about?”

Service Project For our service project, we will partner with a local school in the environs of Puerto Viejo de Sarapiquí, a town in the rainforests of Northern Costa Rica. Our service projects are coordinated by our in-country coordinator and are designed around the local school’s long-term strategic goals. Past service projects in this part of Costa Rica have included libraries, computer labs, school green houses and playgrounds. We also coordinate volunteer activities that involve local children, such as English lessons, computer classes or sports coaching.

Basic Itinerary, Lodging and Food Our communities in Costa Rica are located in the vicinity of Puerto Viejo de Sarapiquí. , in Northern Costa Rica, and are ideally situated for student groups. The area is a 2-hour bus drive from San José, which means that students can experience the rainforest within hours of arriving in Costa Rica. The area is also close to some of Costa Rica’s most important national parks and rainforest reserves.

Upon arrival, we begin our orientation by staying one or two nights at a comfortable lodge in Puerto Viejo de Sarapiquí. We will explore the natural surroundings, including the nearby rainforest. On day two or three, we meet and begin living with homestay families in the community where we will be working. If the program does not include homestays then the group will stay the lodge.

In the mornings, we work on the primary service project, which will be designed in consultation with the needs and desires of the local community. After lunch, we will have time to pursue specific interests, such as cultural activities and playing sports, or to explore and deepen personal bonds with community members. On many evenings the group will reconvene for reflection sessions designed to promote the understanding of global issues, leadership and local culture. At the end of the trip students will white water raft the Rio Sarapiquí and see views of the rainforest from a canopy zipline.

On the final day, we will return to San José to catch our return flight to the United States.

Daily Itinerary – Subject to Change Costa Rica functions differently than the United States, especially when it comes to schedules and timelines. Despite our best attempts to plan thoroughly, unanticipated circumstances and last- minute changes to the itinerary will happen. Service projects, which are determined according to the needs and desires of the host community, can also change at the last minute. Students often say that learning to be flexible and accepting different (and often challenging) cultural practices is one of the most valuable things they take from a World Leadership School program. Please be flexible and remember that adapting to change is a critical skill for future leaders working in global settings!

Day 1 • Afternoon arrival in San José, Costa Rica • Transfer to Chilamate Rainforest Eco-Retreat (http://www.chilamaterainforest.com/) • Welcome dinner and Community Orientation • Reflection: Fears and Goals • Curriculum: Why We Are Here • Safety debrief • Stay at a Chilamate Rainforest Eco-Retreat Day 2 • Morning visit to service project site and introduction to project • Curriculum: Global Issues Scavenger Hunt • Afternoon rainforest hike • Stay at a Chilamate Rainforest Eco-Retreat Day 3 • Service work, day I • Curriculum: Leadership Styles and Temperament • Transfer to host community, or stay at Chilamate Rainforest Eco-Retreat

Day 4 • Service work, day II • Afternoon language lessons with children • Tirimbina Chocolate Tour Day 5 • Service work, day III • Tour of local sustainable farm • Lunch at local sustainable farm Day 6 • Service work, day IV • Art workshop with local children • Curriculum: Building a Utopia Day 7 • Service work, day V • Costa Rican cooking class • Curriculum: Marketplace of Ideas Day 8 • Service work, day VI • Project dedication and community celebration • Curriculum: Action Planning and Life Visions Day 9 • Morning white water rafting down the Rio Sarapiquí • Lunch at Chilamate Rainforest Eco Retreat • Afternoon zipline canopy tour • Curriculum: Graduation Speeches • Reflection: Candle Circle Day 10 • 2-hour transfer to San José for flight home Program Fee The fee for this trip is $3,300 based on a minimum of 10 paying students. The program fee includes: • All logistical coordination and in-country arrangements; • Round-trip airfare between the U.S. and San José, Costa Rica. World Leadership School will purchase airfare when group is confirmed and parents have been invoiced; • In-country transport, including charter transport and airport pick-up and drop-off; • Accommodations, including eco lodges and homestays (where applicable); • Nutritious snacks and meals; • Cultural presentations, adventure activities, rental gear, entry fees and tips; • Detailed itinerary based on the school’s particular needs and goals; • Pre-trip, trip and post-trip curriculum for middle and high school students; • Veteran instructors who are trained in wilderness medicine; • Community coordinators who live year-round near the community and maintain relationships of trust with local leaders; • Risk management protocols and 24-7 emergency communication; • Emergency medical, evacuation and international liability insurance; • International travel insurance • Airport departure tax (estimated $28), which students pay in cash upon leaving Costa Rica;

This program fee does not include: • Immunizations; • Personal spending money for souvenirs, snacks, soft drinks, and other personal spending (we recommend that students bring $100 per week); • Personal medical insurance (all students should have U.S. health insurance);

Payment and Paperwork Schedule • November 2nd –$1,500 Deposit and student application due for all trips. • December 14th – Second payment of $1,000 due. • January 18th – Medical and final payment of $800 due.

Student Donations Students get more out of a service learning trip when they are well prepared and have developed a sense of personal investment in the service project. We therefore ask that each student raise a minimum of $250 for Latin American programs. We are thrilled when students raise more money but we need each student to meet the minimum donation. World Leadership School provides a fundraising manual with ideas that range from a faculty-student basketball tournament to letter writing campaigns. All donations go directly to the community service project, and are essential to the impact we have on our partner communities. Donation checks should be made out to the World Leadership Foundation, a 501(c)(3) non-profit, and are tax-deductible.

Other Requirements • Students should have a satisfactory level of physical fitness in order to participate in manual labor and other physical activities, such as hiking and swimming. • Students and parents are required to complete all required World Leadership School forms, including the Application and Terms & Conditions, the Acknowledgment and Assumption of Risks & Release and Indemnity Agreement, and the Medical Form.

Staff The safety of our programs rests on the experience and skills of our Staff, Instructors and Country Coordinators, who convene annually at our staff training in Colorado’s Arkansas Valley. • The Staff of World Leadership School, based in Denver, Colorado, have many years of experience working in different educational environments. Their focus is logistics, risk management, program design, Global Partnerships and strategic consulting. • Our Instructors are veteran educators with extensive international experience. They have wilderness first responder training and often have past affiliations with Peace Corps, Outward Bound, NOLS and/or independent schools. • Our Country Coordinators live and work year-round in our overseas countries. They screen our home stay families, evaluate our transport and other service providers, and provide emergency support.

Staff Bios Executive Director Ross Wehner has worked as an instructor for the National Outdoor Leadership School (NOLS) and as a classroom teacher, volunteer leader and mountain guide. He managed hundreds of volunteers as director of a major volunteer organization and worked as a journalist throughout Latin America.

Programs Director Erin Lasky most recently served as Director of Programs for Camp Fire USA Central Rockies Council. She has led volunteers in Costa Rica, Belize, Peru and Tanzania, worked on the staff of an outdoor educator center, and taught in a Montessori school.

Global Partnership Director Jennifer D. Klein has worked as an English teacher for 19 years as well as serves as the Director of Educational Development for the Research Journalism Initiative (RJI), an educational non-profit that facilitates creative expression among Palestinian young people and the use of their media projects in American classrooms. She had led volunteer groups in Costa Rica and Peru.

Academic Director David Maher is a career teacher and school administrator. He has 25 years of experience at independent and public schools in the U.S. and abroad. He is founder of PEAKs, an program, and has led student and faculty groups in Peru, Costa Rica, Belize, Kenya, Haiti and the Dominican Republic.

Program Coordinator Lizzy Leighty has an M.A. in International Development and Global Health from the of Denver. She has worked and traveled throughout Africa and Southeast Asia and has worked in Tanzania to build community awareness around sustainable agriculture and HIV/AIDS.

Risk Management & Safety We strive to responsibly manage risks. Our itineraries minimize highway travel and maximize immersion in rural communities that we know well. We update our risk management protocols, integrate feedback into program design, and invest in safety and communication equipment. Despite these efforts, World Leadership School cannot guarantee safety nor can it eliminate the inherent and other risks of international student travel. For information regarding program activities and associated risks, risk management, and student and parent responsibilities, please contact our office or visit www.worldleadershipschool.com.

Contact Information Erin Lasky Programs Director World Leadership School [email protected]

1368 26th Street Denver, Colorado 80205 T: 303-679-3412 F: 303-945-2229 Toll-Free: 1-888-831-8109 www.worldleadershipschool.com