Success In The Classroom. Success In Life.




Danina is a student advisor at Vaux Big Picture High School, and each year, she takes her students on a program with Philadelphia Outward Bound School. She has seen first hand how Outward Bound’s curriculum demystifies the experience of learning for the young people in her classroom.

"One of the most challenging things, when you’re working with young people, is that they have a tendency to decide whether or not they’re learning based on the grade you give them. If I got an A, I learned it, if I got an F, I didn’t."

"High school is a good time to reinvent yourself. The goal is not success in the classroom, the goal is success in life."

"The value [of Outward Bound] for my students is huge. It gives them the ability to trust each other, it gives them something they can rely on. The bonds formed persist back at school. There were times in the next year in homeroom that I would call back to [Outward Bound]. 'Okay, you’re mad at him, but he didn’t let you fall off the mountain, right?'"

"As a teacher, you get to learn so much about your students [on Outward Bound] and how they learn and what they learn. You get to see that light bulb come on, even with a student who doesn’t often show that in the classroom. And that’s something you can build on with them going forward."

Rise To The Challenge

Make a tax-deductible contribution to Philadelphia Outward Bound School before December 31st.

Thanks to a challenge grant from The Lily Foundation, every new and increased donation will be matched dollar for dollar, up to $25,000.

Donate and share why you #RiseToTheChallenge on social media.

Tag us @OutwardBoundPHL in your post and you could win a selection of POBS swag!

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Your generous support allows us to cover 80% of programming costs for schools like Vaux. By giving today, you provide the students in Danina’s classroom with the gift of self-discovery that could change the course of their lives. Will you rise to the challenge and give today?