INSTITUTE FOR LEADERSHIP & PURPOSE
In this increasingly connected and communicative world, Calvert School teachers recognize that learning cannot be contained by four classroom walls. Instead, the School believes in providing students with ample opportunities to expand their world views through the Institute for Leadership & Purpose (ILP).
On campus, the ILP maintains an annual speaker series, facilitates a variety of community-driven events, leads service activities, and manages student-led partnerships with public schools in Baltimore. Off campus, the ILP focuses on domestic and international travel opportunities that broaden students’ horizons beyond life on campus. Last year, students and teachers traveled to West Virginia and the Bahamas for immersive outdoor learning and conservation lessons, respectively. A third group traveled to Puerto Rico, where they met local artisans, experienced the island’s history and culture, and partnered with the nonprofit APRODEC to renovate an ecotourism center on the island. This included clearing the facility of old furniture and debris, painting colorful murals, and working outside on the center’s grounds.
“It felt really good to see that the room we started with on day one, with so much stuff in it, looked very different just days later,” Forrest M. ’23 wrote in the journey’s online blog. “All of the work groups had finished their jobs.”
This year, the ILP looks forward to expanding its travel program with additional leadership journeys to Costa Rica and New Mexico.
This article is part of the 2023-2024 Guide to Baltimore Independent Schools.
