The Island Academy’s founder and director, Lady Dixie Bowen, believes that even if a kid receives all the academic support they need, schools are failing to educate them as a whole if they do not teach them the social graces required to interact with others in public.
The school provides a “Formal Lunch” for the faculty and staff on Wednesdays. Students from Beginners to Standard VI courses are seated at lunch tables with the students. Students are encouraged to associate with friends that, because of their age, they may not ordinarily interact with. An upperclassman serves the students and they are expected to follow formal dining etiquette, which includes waiting for the entire school to be served before eating, being polite, using napkins on their laps, eating with utensils, and engaging in courteous conversation while savoring their delectable plate of rice and beans with stewed chicken, which is Belize’s national dish.
“We know that learning is easier when you have an excellent teacher,” Bowen claims. “Our instructors incorporate their excitement and understanding of the subjects they teach into their classes because they are enthusiastic about them. Students will have the chance to connect with and seek help from all professors because of the low student-faculty ratio.”
About the Academy
Sir Barry and Lady Dixie Bowen created the Island Academy in 1995. It was developed to improve the education of San Pedro’s youth. The Island Academy is a private, nonprofit organization that offers children the social and intellectual foundations required to enable and support their optimal development. The Island Academy will always uphold its fundamental principles even as it develops and prospers.
The Island Academy’s goal is to nurture and develop the character of its children while offering a top-notch education in an environment that promotes environmental awareness and learning, as well as involvement in civic and community activities.
