A college preparatory boarding school is, as its name suggests, a place to prepare students for college. Of course academic success is a major part of that preparedness, but another equally important part is the development of life skills. These are the skills that will allow success in college, and beyond, to happen. The skills that are essential to building, navigating, and living successful and meaningful lives. Taking personal responsibility, learning to manage emotions, developing social awareness, and practicing personal wellness are examples of life skills that are important for all people and that are developed and strengthened at The Leelanau School.

In keeping with the school’s overarching philosophy of there being so many ways to learn, our school also has an integrated life skills program which addresses support of students’ needs in a comprehensive wellness model which is designed to be developmentally appropriate and effective for our students’ lives both now and in their futures!

For each student at The Leelanau School, life skills are taught through everything they do. On an individual level, students complete a residential life curriculum, which focuses on the development of executive function, including time management, organization, self-care, problem solving, and conflict resolution. At a grade level, students participate in a year-long Council program—developed out of a Native American tradition of group communication—by class, which commences with exploratory week and continues throughout the school year with distinct focuses for each grade level. And as a whole school, students work together during Townhall meetings, which cover topics such as community awareness and wellness and are facilitated by staff, as well as outside speakers who are brought in to discuss topics in a fun and engaging fashion.

At The Leelanau School, we intentionally don’t define our classrooms by four walls. Our residence houses, our recreational times, our social times, weekend student activities, our meals, and even evenings are all learning opportunities. Our residential faculty monitor the social and emotional well-being of our students as well as working with them on relevant life skills to help them grow, learn and prosper, as not only citizens on our campus, but future citizens of the world,” says JD Friley, Director of Student Services.

Life skills are developed on a daily basis, just living life at Leelanau. Learning to live in residential houses with new people, getting themselves to meals, classes, and other commitments on time; these are all things that serve our students well after their time spent at school. Becca Dymond, Coordinator of Personal Growth and Development, also adds that “When students face difficulty mastering any of the life skills, they are supported by the house parents as they work one on one to use the skills they already know to develop new strategies.”

A boarding school offers a unique environment which intrinsically pushes young people to prepare for next steps in life, allowing them to be confident, and successful individuals. Leelanau’s Life Skills Education is built into that environment and provides our students with the ability to not only cope with, but to face straight on, all the stresses and challenges of daily life and allows them to be the best that they can be during their time spent at Leelanau, in college, and throughout life.

This article was originally published in our Spring 2015 LeelaNews,

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