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A Brief History of Maine Coast Semester at Chewonki

The Founding Years (1987–1988)

Maine Coast Semester was born out of Chewonki’s long tradition of educational innovation. After the conclusion of the Maine Reach leadership program in the early 1980s, Executive Director Tim Ellis and educators Scott Andrews and Sue West began exploring the idea of a semester program for high school juniors. Inspired by the success of the Mountain School in Vermont, they envisioned a place-based program that would combine rigorous academics with meaningful work and close community living on Chewonki Neck.

In 1987, Andrews agreed to lead the new effort, and with Ellis’s guidance, he began shaping the curriculum, recruiting faculty, and visiting prospective “sending schools.” The program officially launched in the fall of 1988 with 29 pioneering students, setting in motion a new model of secondary education rooted in the Maine coast. From the very beginning, the curriculum was centered around key issues related to environmental stewardship, sustainability, and embracing the natural world.

Partnerships and Growth

A defining feature of the early years was the establishment of strong partnerships with independent schools that believed in the concept and were willing to send their juniors away for a semester.

Early member schools included The Brearley School, Charlotte Country Day School, Deerfield Academy, The Hotchkiss School, Milton Academy, Miss Porter’s School, The Packer Collegiate Institute, Princeton Day School, Shady Side Academy, The Taft School, The Thacher School, Waynflete School, and The Westminster Schools. These schools guaranteed returning students full credit, carried their financial aid, and gave credibility to a new program still finding its footing.

By combining these partnerships with outreach to public schools in Maine and beyond, Maine Coast Semester quickly developed a diverse, national student body that brought energy and perspective to each small community of learners.

Maturing Into a Nationally-Recognized School

Through the 1990s and 2000s, Maine Coast Semester grew in size and sophistication. New cabins, science labs, art studios, and expanded farm facilities were added to support the program. Courses in literature, environmental issues, natural science, history, mathematics, and languages provided a challenging academic foundation, while daily work on the farm, in the woodlot, and in the kitchen instilled responsibility and resilience.

Outdoor experiences—canoe trips, solos, and exploration of the Maine coast through science field labs—remained at the heart of the program. In the early 2000s, Maine Coast Semester was formally accredited, affirming its place within the broader landscape of secondary education. By then, it had already earned a national reputation as a transformative experience for 11th graders, one that combined intellectual rigor with deep personal growth.

Maine Coast Semester Today

Today, Maine Coast Semester hosts approximately 40 students each fall and spring, drawing from across the United States and abroad. Alumni now number in the thousands, carrying forward the program’s values into higher education, careers, and civic life. The curriculum has evolved to reflect the urgency of our times, emphasizing climate change, sustainability, and environmental justice, while the campus itself models renewable energy, green building, sustainability, and regenerative agriculture.

Equally important, Chewonki has committed to expanding diversity, equity, and inclusion, ensuring that students of all backgrounds can access this transformative opportunity. Nearly four decades after its founding, Maine Coast Semester remains true to its original vision: a rigorous, place-based education that challenges young people to think critically, live responsibly, and embrace their role as stewards of the natural world.