What We Do and Why
Princeton-Blairstown Center's outdoor experiential education programs incorporate social & emotional learning skills to promote community and help participants strengthen their creative problem-solving, teamwork, and leadership skills necessary for success in the 21st century.
Our best-in-class facilities and highly-trained staff provide participants with the ability to try new things while giving students the opportunity to connect personal actions with the effects they have on their academic and personal lives.
Click here for a description of typical Blairstown Campus activities in our course catalog.
“I just wanted to say how much I appreciate PBC. I am a foster parent of an eleven-year-old girl. Before her visit to Blairstown she was timid, had low self-esteem, and didn’t communicate much with my husband and me. Now she has built up confidence and self-esteem, which allows her to communicate with us. Also, she cannot stop talking about how her facilitator Alexis encouraged her to try new things and empowered her fellow sisters to do the same. ”
— Allison James, Founder of Girls; Live, Love, Laugh, Inc., and Newark Public School Board Member
Adventure-Based Learning and Experiential Education
What is adventure-based learning?
The Blairstown Campus, 268 acres of pristine wilderness adjacent to the Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area, provides physical and intellectual hands-on challenges to bring out the best in young people! Solving problems collaboratively provides opportunities for leadership, teamwork, cooperation, negotiation, conflict resolution, and more.
All of our adventure-based programs emphasize safety first and use the Full Value Contract and Challenge by Choice methodologies to encourage young people to overcome perceived limitations.
When a challenge is successfully overcome, Princeton-Blairstown Center's skilled facilitators take the opportunity to reflect with participants on the problem-solving process to provide students with tools they can take back to their classrooms or neighborhoods to approach real-life challenges.
Why It Matters
“When my students arrived, many were scared as most of our students have never been camping before or in a lake. It was so exciting to see the ways in which they challenged themselves and surprised each other by overcoming any fears they had coming into this experience through community and encouragement from their peers. There has been so much growth in only five days.”
— Summer Bridge Coordinator for Foundation Collegiate Academy
High-quality Social & Emotional Learning (SEL) programs provide young people with the skills to succeed in school and life. SEL skills are essential for success as a student, citizen, and worker, helping young people avoid risky behaviors like drug use, violence, bullying, and dropping out. PBC's experiential approach fosters SEL and Emotional Intelligence (E.I.), with research showing that effective SEL programs enhance school retention, reduce risky behaviors, and improve overall well-being and life success.
A 2011 study by Princeton University Professors Dr. Angel L. Harris and Dr. Noliwe Rooks found significant improvements in Language Arts and Math test scores for sixth graders in the Center's in-school SEL program. Participants gained over 13% in reading, while control group students declined nearly 7%. Similar results were seen in math. Additionally, students in the SEL classes reported better feelings about school, teachers, the value of education, self-esteem, and reduced academic anxiety. To view the full study, click here.
Photo by Amit Panariya