Students from The Grauer School in Encinitas recently completed a series of international and domestic expeditions that took them from the mountains of northern Spain to the rice terraces of Vietnam to a snow-blanketed Yosemite Valley.
The Spring Expeditions program sent students on seven trips total, including domestic journeys to New Orleans, Los Angeles and San Diego alongside the three flagship wilderness treks, according to a May 14 news release from the private school. Teachers led the groups.
The European contingent began in the Basque Country, where students visited cathedrals, climbed what school officials described as the tallest sand dune in Europe and took a Basque cooking class before completing a 7.5-mile hike across more than 2,000 feet of elevation gain to cross from France into Spain along the historic Camino de Santiago pilgrimage route.
“For more than 11 centuries, the Camino de Santiago route has drawn pilgrims across mountains, creating a timeless meeting place of cultures,” said Frida LeBreton-Greiner, an economics and French language teacher who led the trip alongside Jessi Brown and Nick Scacco. “It’s a perfect classroom.”
In Vietnam, students traveled to the Sapa region in the country’s north, hiking alongside guides from Sapa Sisters, a women-owned social enterprise. The group crossed rivers, walked rice terraces and stayed with a traditional Hmong family.
“One of the most memorable moments came while climbing the steep rice terraces, looking back to see the group pushing their limits as mist clung to the mountainsides,” said Alicia Tembi, the school’s principal and one of the Vietnam expedition leaders.
The Yosemite group encountered fresh snow throughout the valley and completed a 9-mile hike with 3,500 feet of elevation gain to Yosemite Point, in addition to hiking the Mist Trail to Vernal Falls.
“The students all supported each other both up and down the hike,” said Clayton Payne, a mathematics and world religions teacher who was among five leaders on that trip. “They truly embodied positivity and perseverance.”
Dana Abplanalp-Diggs, head of school, framed the expeditions as central to The Grauer School’s educational philosophy rather than supplemental to it.
“Students continue to stretch themselves and learn how to step outside of their comfort zones,” Abplanalp-Diggs said. “They learn how to navigate open spaces, support each other, and see how their decisions impact the community.”
The Grauer School enrolls students in grades seven through 12 with a focus on what it calls expeditionary learning as a core part of its curriculum.
