What is EL Education?

The Greene School is proud to be Rhode Island's only credentialed EL Education school. If you're new to the term, here's what that means — and why it shapes everything from how our classes are structured to how students spend their days.

Where EL Education Comes From

EL Education (formerly known as Expeditionary Learning) began in 1991 out of a partnership between Harvard's Graduate School of Education and Outward Bound. The idea was simple but ambitious: what if school felt less like sitting through lessons, and more like the kind of challenging, hands-on expeditions that build real confidence and character?

Today, EL Education partners with schools across the country, all working from the same set of research-backed practices — but each shaped by its own community and place. The Greene School's version of that is rooted in the woods, wetlands, and watersheds of West Greenwich.

The Three Dimensions of Student Achievement

Instead of measuring success by grades alone, EL Education schools track growth across three connected dimensions:

• Mastery of Knowledge & Skills — students think critically, communicate clearly, and demonstrate real command of academic content.
• Character — students build the habits of effective learners and ethical people: perseverance, responsibility, collaboration, and courage.
• High-Quality Work — students produce work that's authentic, often shared with a real audience beyond the classroom, and held to a professional standard rather than just a passing grade.

The belief underneath all three: academic rigor and strong character aren't separate goals. They grow together.

What This Looks Like Day to Day

• Learning Expeditions — Instead of separate, disconnected units, students dive into extended, in-depth studies that connect multiple subjects to a real-world question or need — the kind of work researchers and professionals actually do, not just simulations of it.
• Crew — Every student belongs to a small advisory group that meets regularly with the same faculty advisor almost daily throughout the week. Crew builds the trust and accountability that make the most important parts of an EL Education possible — at Greene, and at EL schools everywhere, it's built on the idea that "we are crew, not passengers."
• Fieldwork and Real Audiences — Students don't just read about environmental science, water quality, or local ecosystems. They get outside and study them directly, then share what they find with people who can actually use it: local officials, scientists, and community members.
• Culture and Character — Respect, responsibility, and a sense of shared ownership over the school community are treated as seriously as academic standards, not as an afterthought to them.

What "Credentialed" Actually Means

Not every school that uses EL Education's ideas is a credentialed EL Education school. Credentialing is a rigorous, multi-year process: schools work closely with EL Education school designers, undergo an annual in-depth Implementation Review, and must show clear, measurable evidence of student success across all three dimensions before EL Education recognizes them with a Credential.

The Greene School is the only school in Rhode Island to have earned this Credential — a distinction that reflects years of work by our teachers and students, and an ongoing commitment to the highest standard of what an EL Education can be.

Curious to See It in Action?

The best way to understand EL Education is to see a Learning Expedition, sit in on Crew, or walk our fieldwork sites firsthand. We'd love to show you — visit us during an Open House or schedule a tour to see what this looks like for our students, day to day.