Crew is the signature advisory structure at all NYC Outward Bound Schools, and provides essential social-emotional support for students. Crews are made up of 10-16 students led by an adult Crew Advisor, often a teacher, and meet frequently — sometimes daily — at our schools. Many Crews stay intact throughout a student’s middle or high school career.
In 2016, Metis Associates embarked on a multi-year study of the implementation of Crew in three NYC Outward Bound Schools. The rigorous evaluation study concluded that Crew has a statistically significant impact on reducing chronic absenteeism. In fact, there were twice as many chronic absentees among the comparison groups than at the three study schools.
This study was generously supported by the Booth Ferris Foundation. We invite you to dive deeper into the report.