During just one week on campus in New York, Dwight Global students covered a lot of ground — including some that was snow-covered in mid-February! They gathered for the second time this school year to connect with their teachers and each other in a special STEAM (with a twist: Science, Teamwork, English, Arts, Music) session. This in-person program is one of the unique features of Dwight Global, distinguishing our online school from others.

While a Dwight Global education is, of course, top-notch, in-residence experiences that bring together online and blended learning students with their peers around the world through our network of five campuses make for an unparalleled school experience. The recent STEAM program was planned to coincide with the largest Dwight global community gathering in history: the 2018 Carnegie Hall concert celebrating Chancellor Stephen Spahn's milestone 50^th anniversary in education.

The concert, which capped off the week for all Dwight Global students, featured two among them in the spotlight: ballet dancers Alexandra Lawrence '19 and Caroline Hendrickson '22. They graced Carnegie Hall's grand Stern Auditorium stage with their talent, as they accompanied musicians from New York and Shanghai performing a traditional Chinese folk song. The duo, who attend different dance schools, collaborated to choreograph their own piece and dazzled us with their artistry and spark of genius!

• Alexandra and Caroline were among the 22 Dwight Global students from around the world who dove head first into the in-depth multidisciplinary STEAM session, which included:
• Science lab work and presentations of science projects
• Creative writing classes and presentations of student work
• A special discussion with Tim White, an executive producer of Steven Spielberg's "The Post," followed by a screening of the movie
• Meetings with Dwight's college counselors

Following a robust academic program blending science and the arts during the day, students enjoyed downtime in New York City. They bonded over dinners; bowling at Chelsea Piers; and a party with over 200 students from Dwight campuses in New York, London, Seoul, and Shanghai on the eve of the Carnegie Hall concert. They had a blast!

While Dwight Global students were immersed in their program, they were visited by a doctoral researcher who is conducting a dissertation study on personalization in a blended learning program. He was duly impressed by what he saw and shared his thoughts:  

"As an education researcher, I selected Dwight Global as a uniquely promising combination of digital technology and personalization. Much more than merely a school gone digital, Dwight Global has so far shown me a blend of academic challenge, social connectedness, and programmatic flexibility. That blend allows Dwight Global to not only ignite sparks of genius but also fuel students' personal passions.

Through my research on the Dwight Global program, I am learning a new story of school — one in which programmatic flexibility is able to support personal passions without sacrificing curricular challenge or social connectedness.

 Through my research on the Dwight Global program, I have learned about the affordances of digital technology for academic engagement, I have witnessed the seamless transition from online to face-to-face socialization, and I have heard how program flexibility supports personal excellence. Such a combination is a rare accomplishment for any school regardless of bricks and mortar, and it leaves me dually excited for both the future of education and the future of each Dwight Global student."

 We, too, are excited about the bright future of each and every Dwight Global student!