Spring & Fall Programs

Programming on Lake Dunmore
Our 'home' campus is located on Lake Dunmore in Salisbury, Vermont. It is on the western edge of the Green Mountains, about 10 miles south of Middlebury and an hour south of Burlington. The campus hosts a variety of natural communities that make the study of natural sciences convenient and exciting. These include: a swamp, a lake, a marsh, a meadow, and Mt. Moosalamoo with its varied ecosystems.

We provide a week-long program for 4th-8th graders. For the 4th-6th grade program, the theme for the week is "Community". The focus of the week for 7th and 8th grade students is "Natural History of Vermont".  These concepts are explored in the academic portion of the program as well as in the organization of daily living. All students are given Keewaydin Journals that are used throughout the week and especially during each investigation when students take notes on the information covered. In addition to being a personal log, these books become a reference tool and a written record of the students' activities.  The KEEC Journals can be utilized by teachers as a method for assessing learning through out the week. 

In this program, the academic investigations are active, student-based explorations of a particular topic from the following categories: natural science, local history, human impact, and land-use. During the week, each study group of 7-9 students experiences one investigation from each of the four categories.

Students, teachers, parent chaperones and KEEC staff function as a large community: eating, sleeping, playing, and working together. Within the large community the students are a part of four smaller communities that consist of the study groups, cabin groups, job groups and the tables for meals.

The week spent at Keewaydin is a full, active, exciting learning experience. Living away from home with friends and teachers creates a sense of class cohesiveness as well as individual independence.

It is a week of learning for all students. Some will soak up information about the environment and their responsibility to it. Others will learn about being away from home and will grow in their independence. Still others will thrive in an atmosphere where the adults are caring and there are three hot meals a day.

KEEC is a place where the ability to do well on tests is less important than the ability to think; where material wealth is less important than a wealth of curiosity. The week at Keewaydin allows many students to shine "in school" for the first time.