Programs
Outdoors Program
Our robust Outdoors Program is woven throughout the fabric of the Anacapa experience. From engaging electives like hiking, surfing, and yoga to our athletic teams competing throughout the school year in the Condor League, students have many opportunities to try new sports and explore new passions or strengthen their skills with sports and activities that they already love.
Internships
Partnering with the Santa Barbara Trust for Historic Preservation (right around the corner from the school) has allowed us the unique opportunity to offer our students internships during the school year. Anacapans learn to navigate and support their “real-world” community through individualized internships in a variety of fields. Our program helps to build students’ self-esteem and practical know-how while sparking their creativity.
Human Development
Anacapa students thrive through positive relationships and social emotional engagement at school.
Outside of caregivers in the home, educators spend the most time with students, making them a critical resource for fostering social-emotional skills and helping to build resilience and coping skills. Having a network of strong, well-established developmental relationships with school leaders, teachers, staff, and peers is essential to effective social-emotional learning in adolescents. At Anacapa School, our educators are equipped to forge positive, nurturing relationships with students, to create safe and positive classroom experiences, and to handle challenging situations that may arise. By embodying these skills, our faculty actively and positively influence students’ actions, decision-making abilities, agency, and responses to challenging situations.
Anacapa students have access to on campus resources including student advisors, a learning specialist for neurodivergent students, wellness curriculum and all school activities that focus on building community and support for each other. Outside of school, Anacapa partners with local nonprofits that offer therapeutic support groups like Youth Well, Mental Health Matters and AHA! . We also work with several educational psychologists who can evaluate students and recommended education plans or classroom accommodations. Social and emotional learning is also central to our programming. Our Human Development program partners with organizations such as AHA! and YouthWell in our ongoing effort to sustain a culture of student wellness and belonging. In their weekly Human Development classes, students engage in social and emotional learning to build skills and confidence in self-awareness, self-management, social awareness, relationship skills, and responsible decision-making.
All-School Adventures
Anacapa’s all-school trip adventures are designed to incorporate the pillars of our Academic Program with an emphasis on exploration and collaboration. Our faculty-led education adventures challenge our students and give them opportunities for personal growth while building strong connections with their fellow students and their faculty. The Fall Campout is all about building connections with peers and faculty and provides a fun-packed shared experience for new and returning students. The Spring Expedition gives the whole school an exciting opportunity for experiential learning in new environments. Recent expeditions brought our students to Costa Rica, Zion National Park, Big Sur, and the Grand Canyon.
Synthesis Unit
At Anacapa School, Synthesis offers students a “choose your own adventure” opportunity for experiential learning outside the classroom! Our dedicated staff and faculty present 4-5 unique options, and for three days, students dive into these topics off-campus, engaging in immersive, hands-on experiences. The following two days are spent preparing formal presentations that reflect on their learning and how it applies to their lives. These presentations are delivered on Friday morning, concluding the week with thoughtful insights and personal connections.
