Top 9 Reasons to go to The Leelanau School

Our teachers have unbelievable passion and commitment for what they do. They are experts at working with students from all kinds of backgrounds and learning styles. Along with degreed experience in their academic field, they are schooled in life knowledge. Teachers love teaching at Leelanau because they have the creative freedom to design curriculum for their students. Leelanau’s rich supportive environment is a haven for intelligent and creative students, and is particularly beneficial for students with ADHD. The focus of our school program has always been based in experiential learning.

Set on 42 wooded acres, on the shores of Lake Michigan, Leelanau is a living classroom.

We value the learning experience differently than many “traditional” settings.

We offer an alternative to standardization, large classrooms, narrowing of the curriculum, and competitive assessment. For far too many students in other settings, schooling has become drudgery instead of joy. The notion of producing sameness in national graduates through standardized curriculum and scripted instruction results in dispassion, and fails to launch innovators and problem solvers.

Our teachers practice what we know is a better way to learn.

Experiential learning is a process through which students develop knowledge, skills, and values from direct experiences outside a traditional academic setting.

The process of learning through the reflection of doing.

Exploring and experiencing in order to find relevance, authentic engagement, and connection.

It is a cycle of learning with no beginning and no end.

It is also a process that allows the best and brightest teachers to practice their craft and create meaningful, authentic, and important relationships with their students.

The Leelanau campus, community, teachers, and students become your home away from home. A long-standing tradition is the participation in Family Advisory Units  – or FAU’s.

Faculty “parents” and mixed-age “siblings” create a fun and caring “family” away from home. This integrated support system is a long-standing tradition and truly adds to the close-knit community that makes Leelanau so special.

Every student is assigned to an FAU that is overseen by teaching faculty and staff parents. The families are comprised of students of mixed ages. FAU’s are one important way we get to know our students.

FAU’s interact every school day. For example, they sit together for morning meetings, plan special outings, do community service, and compete in school-wide challenges.

Through this consistent contact, FAU parents are able to pay attention to how their students are doing academically, socially, and emotionally. They often are the first to notice when a student needs special support and are safe, accessible adults for students when help is needed.

FAU parents are academic advisors who support students and families in choosing classes and guide students through their academic, behavioral, and social progress during the school year. FAU parents are the perfect resource for students’ families; parents are always encouraged to reach out to FAU parents with questions and concerns.

The definition of ‘Parenting’ includes guiding, monitoring, and ensuring a child’s physical, cognitive, social, and emotional well-being. We all work together as a team to “parent” the students in our care. We take this responsibility very seriously. Consistent communication, promotion of ethical behaviors, and transparency of actions are the foundations we build upon. We strive to work cooperatively with parents for our students’ best interests.

We do not define a classroom by four walls. The term ‘school’ on our campus encompasses every aspect of a student’s daily life.

Our Residential Life Faculty are integral to each student’s education. Their guidance, friendship, and presence help make Leelanau a home away from home. They also provide a key role in Leelanau’s Life-Skills Curriculum, which gives students a distinct advantage in maturity.

Our student-teacher ratio is 3:1. Yes, you read that right.

There is no hiding in plain sight or blending into the background in class. We are engaged with each student and guide them through getting the most potential out of their time and efforts in the best experiential learning environment.

Teachers are available at all hours, from Morning Energize to evening study hall. They are also on call and readily available to meet outside the classroom. These crucial, personal, and connected relationships contribute to our students’ confidence, maturity, and successes in and out of the classroom.

In addition to close relationships with their teachers, we support a metacognitive learning process. We help students reflect on their learning, building awareness of their own best strategies. Because when students unlock the key to their own learning process, they have that skill for life.

There is something about being around your peers for meals, late-night chats, study marathons, field trips, and art projects. All that day-to-day life being experienced together makes for a deep common bond. They are your family away from home and the family you choose to be connected to, long after graduation.

As everyone scatters across the country and the globe, they become invaluable connections ready to lend insights on careers, family, and travel.

This wide network is available as students explore internships, apply to colleges, and look for jobs in exciting careers that alumni are already established in.

100% of our students are accepted into a College or University.

While your student is learning and being fully responsible for their learning and life choices at boarding school, they are also exploring the opportunities for what comes next.

An important benefit of The Leelanau School, particularly in reference to preparing for college, is the tailored assistance students and parents receive in the college application process.

Our college counselor works with students and their families to help find the ‘best-fit’ colleges and universities. We provide help from researching colleges and universities to reviewing financial aid and scholarships, helping students find the schools that will help them thrive.

The College advising process officially begins during Junior Year.

The process starts with helping a student find what makes them stand out from the pack. Colleges aren’t looking for cookie-cutter students. They like students that have one (or a few) unique and defining characteristics rather than ‘generally well-developed types.’  Working to find a student’s passions and what differentiates them starts when they get to Leelanau. Students are given guidance and feedback to help them refine their focus.

For example, if creative writing turns out to be their passion, teachers and advisors are supportive and help to find some writing contests for submissions so that their work can get recognized – and then highlighted for the college admissions process.

Students have the opportunity to attend ACT and SAT prep classes and take the ACT and/or the SAT. Working with our college counselor, students then begin to create a list of potential schools that fit their learning styles and desires.

We walk our students through the testing process, coach them, and secure eligible accommodations to help them succeed.

In terms of the college application process, we guide the student through each step.

With patient support, students execute the whole application process, including meeting deadlines, filling in forms, getting writing samples ready, etc.

And for the crucial essay step, we pay particular attention. This is where our students and their unique paths shine through their carefully edited writing. Students keep their parents in the loop, but this is their chance to take responsibility for the next step in their future.

As students visit schools during the spring, summer, and fall, the shortlist will continue to evolve until they have found those schools that feel like good fits.

In a world that is ever-changing, moving in diverging directions at various speeds, we believe in teaching and reinforcing a set of basic values from which to be grounded.

These core values are Stewardship, Leadership, Awareness, Integrity, Resilience, Courage, and Interconnectedness.

Our Philosophy is this: We offer a rigorous college preparatory curriculum using multi-sensory, experiential, and strength-based methodologies. Students gain awareness of their individual learning styles, building skills and strategies to maximize their learning potential and grow into leaders.

Founded in 1929, The Leelanau School is an intentionally small co-ed boarding and day school, serving domestic and international students in grades 9-12.

Leelanau’s rich supportive environment is a haven for intelligent and creative students and is particularly beneficial for students with ADHD.

The focus of our school program has always had a basis in experiential learning. We offer students an educational experience with a commitment to integrated learning support, individualized attention, small class size, and whole-person wellness.

Nestled on 42 wooded acres on the shores of Lake Michigan, Leelanau is a living classroom.

We feel that students need to develop healthy lifestyles for their lifetimes. Our overall wellness program is designed around this premise, by providing activities and guidance.

Healthy foods are a part of daily life at Leelanau.

You won’t find fatty fried foods in our cafeteria line. You will find freshly prepared, nutritious and delicious offerings that are locally sourced and prepared on site. Each meal has an abundance of fresh fruits and vegetables, a gluten-free and vegetarian entrée, and we are attentive to those with food allergies and sensitivities.

Lynne Brach is the former Food Service Director and current kitchen staff support. She has been in the food business for 30 years and has been with the School since 2012. She attended Calvin College, College of the Atlantic and NMC Culinary School. Lynne also spent a semester at sea with Hurricane Island Outward Bound. Lynne says, “Cooking has been my passion for 3 decades. I have cooked on bike tours across the US, at retreats in New Mexico and for a canoe tripping camp in Canada, at the Traverse City Children’s House Montessori School and Oryana Natural Foods Co-op in Traverse City. Lynne has two grown children ‘whom I find endlessly interesting.’ I love to ski, run, travel and backpack with my husband and amazing dog.”

After a breakfast offering healthy and tasty options students gather in their Family Advisory Units and participate in a whole-school morning meeting to start the day fresh. Here, students give shout-outs to their classmates, learn a new word of the day, and are inspired by the stories shared by the head of school.

At 8:30 am it is time for Morning Energize, which includes options like Yoga, River Walk, Weight Room, Gym Games, and Dance.

The Centers for Disease Controls (CDC) states, “…physical activity can have an impact on cognitive skills and attitudes and academic behavior, all of which are important components of improved academic performance. These include enhanced concentration and attention as well as improved classroom behavior.”

The CDC research paper can be found here.

Exercise directly impacts the behavior and development of the brain. “It is likely that the effects of physical activity on cognition would be particularly important in the highly plastic developing brains of youth,” according to a 2010 essay by Charles Basch of Columbia University.