General FAQ

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Frequently Asked Questions About The Penikese Island School:

What is Penikese? Penikese is a small therapeutic boarding school for boys aged 15-18. In spite of its remote and rustic island setting, Penikese is not a wilderness experience program, nor has it ever been a boot camp.

Where is Penikese? The school is located on 75-acre Penikese Island 12 miles southwest of Woods Hole, Massachusetts at the end of the Elizabeth Islands chain.

Does the school own the island? No. The island belongs to the Commonwealth of Massachusetts and is a protected wildlife sanctuary under the management of MassWildlife. The school has a lease with the state outlining the terms and conditions of its occupancy; in exchange the school provides active stewardship and maintenance, and support for the state's wildlife management projects.

How do you get to Penikese Island? The school owns its own Coast Guard-inspected vessel, the 36' M/V Harold M. Hill, a dependable and rugged workboat that resembles a Maine lobster boat. The school keeps the Harold Hill in a slip in the center of Woods Hole's village, a short walk from the onshore office.

How long does the trip take, and what do you do about bad weather? The trip between Woods Hole and Penikese takes about an hour and fifteen minutes, but this can vary given the direction of the wind and currents. The Harold Hill is extremely seaworthy and, as an inspected vessel, outfitted with all the requisite safety and emergency gear. Nevertheless the school cancels trips whenever the weather gets too rough and reschedules as soon as weather permits.

When is the school open? Penikese is open 365 days a year, so you will find students and staff on the island at almost any time. Penikese accepts students on a rolling admissions basis, so there is no school year or terms as in other schools.

Is the school open to the public, and are guests welcome? The Commonwealth owns Penikese Island, so it is public property. There are restrictions, however: due to sanctuary regulations, visitors do not have unlimited access and some areas are closed during the avian nesting season. Although the island is public property, the school itself is privately owned, and thus it and its students are afforded the same legal protections as students in any other school, public or private.

Do all school employees live and work on the island? No. The school is on Penikese Island and its administrative offices in Woods Hole, Massachusetts at 565 Woods Hole Road. Penikese employs about 15 full time island staff that work with each other and the boys in rotating shifts, 8 administrative staff (4 part time), and a boat captain to shuttle folks and supplies between Woods Hole and Penikese Island. Almost all administrative staff, even those in the business and development offices, have some role to play with the students; others, such as the Clinical and Aftercare directors, much more so.

What kind of people make up your island staff, and where do they come from? Island staff come from all walks of life, but tend to share a preference for roads less traveled and unconventional treatment settings. In its staff Penikese looks for a combination of clinical and educational experience, a love for the outdoors and hard work, and a natural ability with children. It is also helpful when they possess certain skills, anything from carpentry and blacksmithing to music, yoga and martial arts. For instance, one island staff helped the students write, arrange and then record (in a studio!) a dozen songs to make a disc of their music.

What is the complement of the average shift of island staff, and how are the shifts arranged? Every shift has a shift leader, usually the person with the most experience and/or clinical training, a certified special education teacher, a person skilled in the vocational arts, and fourth person willing and able to do whatever else is needed. Administrative staff also take regular turns on the island, to bolster the crew or as relief staff when others are on leave.

What is Penikese staff turnover like? Surprisingly low. Unlike many residential programs with turnover rates as high as 50% a year, Penikese staff stay three years and longer. Knowing that this work can be stressful and exhausting, the school does whatever it can to nurture and support its staff and compensate them fairly. In spite of the stress and challenge, many staff find working with each other and the boys eventful and the island backdrop beautiful and enchanting.

Do the students ever go home? Yes. Penikese's goal is to prepare its students to return to their community, and home visits are important opportunities to practice new behaviors and demonstrate graduation readiness. Once new students have spent an initial 42 days on the island, they are eligible for weekend passes twice monthly thereafter. These passes must be earned, however, and students must comply with weekend pass contracts that, if broken, can result in losing their next pass or extending their placement.

What does the daily schedule look like? Students work and attend school 6 days a week. Each day after breakfast half the boys will head down to the schoolhouse and attend school, and the other half will work. After lunch, the groups switch. After supper, all the students have an hour of supervised study.

What do the students do for work? Penikese's rustic setting was purposefully chosen to promote a work-intensive atmosphere and interdependent community. Everything the students (and staff alongside them) do supports the daily operations of the school, such as chopping wood to heat the house and cook their food. Students also receive vocational training and instruction, so they can often be found working on personal and community projects in the Wood Shop.

How does Penikese decide when students are ready to graduate? To be eligible, students must complete a number of graduation requirements in different areas such as academics, life skills, and vocational arts. Other factors determining graduation timing include evaluating appropriate places, within their homes and communities, to go after Penikese, and the general sense of readiness according to the student, his advocates, and Penikese.

Who sends students to Penikese? No students are “sent” because Penikese does not accept mandated placements. The centerpiece of the Penikese treatment model involves working with choice and motivation as much as possible and thus requires its students to choose to attend, even though they usually do so with some kind of “or else” hanging over them.

Who refers students to Penikese? Any adult who cares about the future of a boy, headed in the wrong direction, or concerned about a family desperate to help their son make the right choices. Students can be referred to Penikese by Parents, Teachers and Administrators from Public Schools, Educational Consultants, Clinical Professionals, Case Workers from State Agencies, Juvenile Court Contacts or in some cases all of the above.

Of the students that are referred to Penikese, how are those who attend chosen? Penikese first screens its referrals for appropriateness. For instance, it can't enroll fire-setters due to its remote location, and won't consider boys only interested in “doing time.” Penikese then interviews its applicants, a process during which it asks them to commit to treatment and individual goals verbally and in writing. Those that choose to do so are then enrolled in the island program.

Has the make-up of a typical Penikese boy changed at over the years? Yes. As little as 12 years ago, Penikese worked almost exclusively with juvenile corrections and juvenile offenders, or boys who had been convicted of certain crimes. Today, although many of our students have some kind of open case with the court, Penikese works with boys who present earlier in their progression to address the underlying factors contributing to their behavior.

What is Penikese's success rate? Generally speaking, compared to boot camps or just sending boys to juvenile jail, Penikese is 100% more successful. Specifically, about 6 of 10 Penikese graduates stay arrest-free the first year after graduation, and those that do often get rearrested for less-severe crimes than before. Only about 1 in 5 Penikese graduates go to jail, and of those that do, many do so for a technical violation (missing a probation meeting, failing to make restitution) rather than committing a new crime altogether. Whether by statistical or other measures, Penikese overall goal is to help all of its students improve their behavior to whatever degree possible, believing that any such changes makes each individual that much less burdensome on society, and collectively adds up to making a significant impact of social problems associated with at-risk youth. For a more detailed discussion of this critical question, read Making Sense of Success.

What is Penikese's financial picture? Penikese's annual budget is about $1.5 million a year. About $1.25 million corresponds to the island program and the rest to Penikese mainland programs of Aftercare and Community Services. About half of Penikese's revenue is earned from tuition; the other half is raised through a combination of foundation grants, annual fund gifts, and other sources.

How much is Penikese's tuition? Penikese's tuition is about $10,000 a month, and most placements last between 6 and 9 months. Even though Penikese is a private school, its status as special education school (formerly Chapter 766) means that its tuition must be set by the Commonwealth according to the services provided.

How do you justify such a cost? Penikese provides an extremely low 2:1 student to staff ratio around the clock. Penikese also provides extremely specialized, individualized and intensive services to its students. In general, Penikese can be likened to intensive care for troubled teens. Lighter, less expensive interventions are simply insufficient to meet the needs of Penikese's challenging population.

Do you keep track of your graduates? Absolutely. Penikese maintains a fulltime Aftercare Director who sole focus is to help students prepare for graduation and support their stability and success after they leave the island. The Aftercare Director works with island staff, student parents, agencies and schools and keeps track of student outcomes by maintaining a detailed database.

What efforts has Penikese made to capture its model and share it with others? Several years ago, Penikese redrafted its mission to reflect a commitment to sharing its experiences and resources with the community at-large. Including aftercare for its graduates, about one fifth of Penikese's current operating plan of $1.5 million dollars is devoted to direct and indirect services benefiting the community at large such as graduate aftercare and community training, supervision and consultation.