Central to the JCS mission and educational philosophy is the concept and belief that the world is a classroom. JCS expects its students to become citizens of our planet, and to develop an awareness and informed perspective of the complex interconnections among cultures, ideologies, ecologies, and economies. Within the JCS curriculum are incorporated short and extended expeditions that immerse students in the cultures, languages, and landscapes of local, regional, and global destinations. In the past we have visited the Sea Islands of South Carolina; the Sea of Cortez; Thailand; Japan; the Lummi American Indian Nation; and the Tierra Learning Center in Leavenworth, Washington.


Our yearly Expeditions include international and domestic expeditions. In 2008/2009 students participated in a “Tex-pedition” beginning in Austin, Texas where students explored environments, history, and communities in Texas, including the University of Texas and Big Bend National Park.

2009/2010 will find JCS students again using the world as their classroom, as we travel to Pennsylvania where a year-long study of “Resources” will begin. As always, community service will be an integral part of this expedition.

Funding for JCS expeditions falls outside of annual tuition and is based on family pledges. Family pledges are sometimes simply a family paying the full amount of expedition cost for their child. JCS also assists families in individual fundraising activities to help with expedition costs. For more information on Jefferson Community School’s expedition program, follow the expedition link on our web page: www.jeffersoncommunityschool.com.

“If you get the chance, the pleasure, to step into another culture and experience another way of life, you can begin to understand more of the world.” –JCS student