FAQs
We know families often come with important questions and a lot of uncertainty. We hope these answers offer a clearer sense of what life at Adventure Discovery School looks like and whether it may be the right fit for your child.
What are the dorms like?
Our residential life is one of the things we are most proud of at Adventure Discovery School. Rather than traditional dormitory housing, students live in smaller residential units we call Houses. Each House has its own identity, values, and community culture that students help shape over time. Houses are organized by age and gender, with middle school students living separately from high school students and high school students divided by gender. This helps ensure that students are living in a developmentally appropriate environment with the right level of structure, support, and responsibility. Within each House, students share larger rooms that create a built-in sense of community from the beginning. Dedicated residential staff provide consistent supervision, support, and a steady adult presence through evening routines, homework time, conflict resolution, and daily life in community.
What is your approach to phones and screens?
Adventure Discovery School is intentional about creating space for students to reconnect with the world beyond constant digital noise. When screens step back, students have more room for conversation, creativity, outdoor activity, reflection, and genuine friendship. We see this as an opportunity to help students build real connection, presence, and healthy habits.
How much homework do students have each night?
We believe homework should be purposeful, manageable, and completed with support, not a source of nightly stress. Homework is completed during designated study hall time, with staff available to provide guidance and support. This allows students to finish their academic responsibilities before transitioning into evening activities and residential life.
What kinds of expeditions do students go on throughout the year?
Expeditions are one of the most meaningful parts of the Adventure Discovery School experience. Throughout the year, students participate in trips designed to build confidence, strengthen community, and connect learning to real-world experience.
Expeditions may include hiking and backcountry travel, canoeing and water-based adventures, marine science experiences in Florida, and city-based trips focused on history, culture, and civic life. Each school year also includes one international trip, giving students the opportunity to broaden their perspective and grow in cultural understanding, resilience, and independence.
Do students continue academic work while on expeditions?
Yes. Expeditions are an important part of our educational model, and learning continues while students are off campus. Each day during an expedition, students have designated time for academic work prepared by their teachers. Learning does not pause during expeditions. It takes a different form, one that is often more active, meaningful, and memorable.
Do middle school and high school students go on expeditions together?
No. Off-campus trips are organized by grade level so that each experience is developmentally appropriate and aligned with the needs, maturity, and goals of the students in that group.
This allows each group to build community, take on age-appropriate challenges, and grow in ways that fit where they are developmentally.
What does tuition include, and are there additional expenses?
Tuition includes academics, residential life, and all school-sponsored trips and expeditions throughout the year. Families are not charged additional fees for those experiences.
Families are responsible for purchasing the clothing and supplies needed for trips and outdoor activities. We also ask each family to deposit funds into a student checking account with a debit card. Used with adult supervision, these accounts help students practice budgeting, and financial planning as part of building real-world independence.
Is Adventure Discovery School a therapeutic school?
No. Adventure Discovery School is a supportive, relationship-centered learning environment, but it is not a therapeutic school or clinical treatment program. Our focus is on strong academics, experiential learning, social-emotional growth, and life skills development in a structured and caring community.
