🔹 WHAT (expedition details)

The 8th-grade scholar from GLA will embark on an educational excursion to The Bahamas on Sunday morning, leaving from their respective campuses at slightly different times. This expedition marks the capstone excursion for the scholars as they complete their Kindergarten through 8th-grade pathway, which is based on a global studies and leadership curriculum.

By the time GLA’s scholars reach 7th grade, they are passport‑holding, world‑traveling scholars. And after they return from their 8th-grade excursion and prepare to graduate from GLA, the following week, the scholars will have traveled more miles heading into high school than most students graduating from college.

GLA‑W is celebrating its 20th year in operation, and sister school GLA‑SW is approaching its 10th year.

📍 Campus & Times – media details

Global Leadership Academy‑West
4601 W. Girard Ave. Phila.
Students arrive at 5 AM · Students depart at 6 AM

The media is welcome to take footage and photos and conduct interviews. School Choice and Civil Rights activist Dr. Naomi Johnson Booker, who founded this unique school system 20 years ago, will be onsite at GLA‑W and is prepared for interviews.

🔸 DETAILS

The 8th-grade classes from GLA rise and shine early Sunday morning to meet at their respective schools, where they will catch motor coach buses to begin their 6-day trip through history as they head to The Bahamas. The purpose of this expedition is to bring the scholars to historic sites that they had learned about in the classroom as part of their studies on the transatlantic slave trade.

Each school year, GLA’s 8th-grade class embarks upon its capstone excursion to an international destination. Past international destinations have included Africa, China, Ghana, Haiti, and Jamaica.

📚 BACKGROUND

GLA Charter Schools is recognized for its motto, “Preparing the Future Leaders of the World,” and for sending its K‑8 scholars abroad on educational excursions. Expeditions begin in kindergarten at local historic sites, and expand further in distance each year to destinations that include:

• Harrisburg Capitol
• Amish Country, PA
• United Nations
• 6th grade: Several Southern states to learn firsthand about the nation’s battle for Civil Rights.
• 7th grade: They follow the Underground Railroad into Canada.
• 8th grade: They embark upon their capstone international excursion.

The excursions reinforce GLA’s mission of nurturing independent scholars who will become future leaders of the world by exposing them to real-world experiences beyond traditional classroom settings.

For more information, visit: www.glacharter.org