Eagle Cove School Shares Independent and Green Educational Opportunities with Community

Tucked away at the end of Mountain Road – just outside of Gibson Island – Eagle Cove School (ECS) is a small, independent school that takes pride in its ability to focus on both the needs of the individual learner, and on the importance of protecting the environment.

The school opened its doors twice last week to the public, inviting prospective students in through an open house, and reaching out to parents of current students with their annual back to school night.

Jane Pehlke serves as director of admissions at ECS. Pehlke said that one of the greatest benefits of a student attending ECS is having a staff of teachers that are able to work closely together.

“Because we are a small school, the teachers really do work together and are able to stress lessons across all subjects,” Pehlke said. “For example, if students are learning about turtles in Science, they will be learning the word turtle in Spanish and drawing turtles in Art.”

ECS currently has 61 students enrolled, ranging in grade level from pre-k through fifth-grade. The school is tuition based, and has the lowest tuition of independent, non-religious schools in the area, according to Pehlke.

Students who attend ECS spend their day in a classroom of their peers, and attend special classes throughout the week such as Spanish, Computers, Science, Music and Art.

Science teacher Tim Decker said that each year, the students complete a project specific to their grade level, in addition to the Maryland State Science Curriculum.

“Some students grow Milkweed to attract Monarch caterpillars, then watch the caterpillars turn into butterflies,” said Decker. “Some raise oysters or Diamond Back Terrapins, some maintain our nature trail, and some grow plants in our greenhouse.”

Pehlke said that the part of the ECS curriculum she is most proud of is the portfolio each student completes throughout the year. Pehlke explained that, each month, students submit assignments in Math, Composition, Dictation, Spelling and each of their specials. At the end of the year, all assignments are bound into a book and presented to parents so that parents can see the progress their student has achieved during the school year.

“The parents and students alike really love seeing how far they have come in their studies from September to June,” said Pehlke.

Carl Treff, parent association president, explained that he and his wife chose ECS for their two children after having a family member attend the school gave them firsthand knowledge of the quality of learning, fine arts and care for the environment that ECS provides.

“We chose ECS for our two children because of the small class sizes, the well rounded curriculum, the fact that even our pre-k child gets all of the special classes - Art, Music, Spanish, Science, Computer, and Physical Education,” said Treff.

“To have our children experience what is arguably the most picturesque grade school setting in the state and all of the waterside activities that go with that is the icing on the cake.”

Pehlke said that ECS was formerly known as Gibson Island Country School, but changed its name nearly two years ago so that they did not seem to be a school exclusive to Gibson Island residents.

“We pride ourselves on being an economically and socially diverse school,” said Pehlke.

“It's important to us that students from all over the area have the opportunity to attend a school like ECS, and we have financial aid programs and tuition assistance to make an independent education available to all families.”

For information about Eagle Cove School, visit their website, or connect with the school via Facebook.