Tall Ship Education Academy to suspend operations in June

The Tall Ship Education Academy, like many wonderful non profits, has been losing significant funding over the past year of economic turmoil. Because of this, our Board of Directors recently made the tough decision to suspend operations of the Tall Ship Education Academy for the next year or two.

During this suspension, we will not run our programs: Tall Ship Semester for Girls, Girls Summer at Sea or Women's Challenge. We will become a fully volunteer organization and close our office at SF State. We will continue to maintain a web presence, and the same physical mailing address in care of the Department of Recreation, Parks & Tourism at SF State University. We will keep you updated as we move through this suspension in this blog and with an occasional email newsletter.

We will have two significant projects during the suspension. The first is to conduct and complete a research project around the effectiveness of the Tall Ship Semester for Girls. This project is long overdue, and we feel it will put us in a stronger position to re-open our doors in the future. We have several people interested in this project and hope that alums, parents and educators will be open to participating in their work.

The second project is to involve our stakeholders in the shaping of the future of the Tall Ship Education Academy. We plan to gather a group of supporters in the fall to help shape the future of the organization. If you are interested in being a part of that conversation, please contact Nettie Kelly at nkelly@tallshipacademy.org.

This year, we are celebrating the 10th anniversary of the very first Tall Ship Semester for Girls. As many of you know, the Tall Ship Education Academy began with a pilot project in 1998 run by Caitlin Schwarzman as part of her Masters Thesis at SF State University. Due to its success, Mercy High School supported Caitlin in expanding the one week pilot to a full semester program. In the spring of 1999, twelve girls explored the California and Mexico coast aboard the Californian. The next year, Nettie Kelly joined the 2nd Tall Ship Semester for Girls, as an instructor and the following year became the director of the program.

We are very proud of the work that we have done in providing a life-changing experience for over 125 girls. Our continued contact with these girls shows that they are confidently pursuing education, participating in their community and exploring the world. We will look to this core group of people to be a part of our research efforts in the near future, and as integral members of the next phase of this organization.

In ten years, the Tall Ship Semester for Girls has evolved into a Western Association of Schools and Colleges accredited non profit educational organization. We are recognized for providing powerful developmental experiences for Bay Area young women. We are truly a community based organization, depending on the support of individuals, organizations, foundations and institutions for our existence. The suspension of our programs is in some ways a symptom of the health of our community.

We want to thank you for your interest in and support of the Tall Ship Education Academy. We have done our work because you have been a part of our vision for girls’ education. We hope you will continue to play that vital role in our community.