by Jennifer Foy, Executive Director of NorthBay
In a post-COVID world, change has become the one constant we can count on. Schools, staff, funding structures, and even the students themselves are evolving faster than ever. At NorthBay, an Outdoor School located in North East, Maryland, we’ve long believed in the power of immersive environmental education to transform lives. For nearly two decades, our five-day overnight program has welcomed more than 10,000 students annually, helping young people connect with nature, each other, and themselves.
But by early 2025, we faced a hard truth: if we wanted to continue our mission, we would have to change too.
A Model in Question
For most of our 20-year history, NorthBay operated without a traditional fundraising arm. Our financial model relied on a balance between school tuition and facility rentals; weekends, summers, and other off-season events filled in the financial gaps. That model worked for years, until the pandemic disrupted everything.
In 2020, like many of our peers, we were forced to temporarily close our programs, furlough staff, and confront an uncertain future. Although we managed to survive, the pandemic left a lasting financial scar. When schools began returning, we quickly realized the challenges ran deeper than dollars and cents. Students were less resilient. Teachers and parents were hesitant to commit to overnight programs. Inflation pushed salaries and operational costs up by 10–20%.
By January 2025, we found ourselves at an inflection point: could NorthBay continue to exist in its current form, or would we need to reinvent our program entirely to remain sustainable?
The Bold Decision to Rebuild
In April 2025, our leadership team began developing a new financial and programmatic model, one that would balance mission and sustainability. A month later, we presented a proposal to our Board of Directors: transform our signature five-day Outdoor School into a three-day experience, maintain the same pricing structure for schools, and expand our fundraising efforts.
It was a bold and risky idea. A shorter program meant we would need to distill our curriculum without sacrificing impact. It also meant convincing partner schools that the NorthBay experience would remain just as powerful, if not more so, in fewer days while costing the same as the five-day.
In mid-May, with the board’s blessing, the countdown began. We had just three months to completely redesign our program, rebuild the schedule, write new curriculum, train staff, and fill the fall calendar.
From Grief to Creativity
The first phase was emotional. Staff, partners, and board members grieved the loss of the five-day model that had shaped NorthBay’s identity. That longer week allowed for deeper relationships, more reflection, and the kind of transformative growth that takes time.
But grief soon gave way to creativity. Starting with a blank slate, our education and operations teams began brainstorming with renewed purpose. Every minute of the student experience was redesigned with intentionality, from the moment of arrival on campus to the way adventure was integrated directly into the curriculum, rather than treated as recreation. The team ensured that every student, no matter how short their stay, would still experience the bay, the forest, and the farm, three environments at the heart of the NorthBay story.
The Summer Sprint
By August, the exhaustion was real. The education team had spent the summer writing lessons, building a more complex daily schedule, and finding creative ways to repurpose existing resources. Meanwhile, our sales and outreach teams worked tirelessly behind the scenes, speaking to every partner school, communicating the vision, and filling a fall calendar that would bring us closer to meeting our financial goals.
The transformation came with trade-offs. To make the new model viable, we reduced the overall program budget by nearly 20%. Some educator positions were eliminated, and a portion of the team shifted to seasonal roles to align staffing with enrollment peaks. We also had to say goodbye to a few beloved traditions, including a long-standing evening comedy program that had been part of the NorthBay experience for 19 years.
Change was painful—but necessary. Each decision was made with one goal in mind: to protect the future of the program and the students it serves.
Launching the New NorthBayAs August arrived, our educators returned for two weeks of intensive training on the new curriculum and schedule. When the first group of students arrived for the reimagined three-day experience, everyone—staff and leadership alike—waited anxiously for feedback.
Behind the scenes, our team was stretched thin, operating on adrenaline and hope. We saw every gap and every place where our ambitions exceeded our time and resources. Yet when the evaluations came in, we were deeply moved. Teachers and partners alike praised the intentionality of the program, the integration of adventure and learning, and the unwavering dedication of our staff.
The message was clear: while shorter in duration, the new NorthBay experience still carried the same power to inspire growth, connection, and wonder.
Evaluating and Evolving
As we close out October, the numbers tell a story of cautious optimism. Instructional days are up by 20% this fall, and our financial model is more sustainable. But this transformation is not a finish line; it’s being responsive to the needs of partners and the needs of our students to ensure more students receive an outdoor school experience.
NorthBay maintains an ongoing partnership with an external research team from Virginia Tech, which typically evaluates our programs on an annual basis. This year, however, the partnership is taking on a new significance. Instead of a single annual review, evaluators will visit three times, offering feedback and recommendations for iterative changes throughout the year. The first visit has already taken place, and we look forward to implementing their insights over the winter months, ensuring the program continues to grow stronger and more effective for every student we serve.
The Road Ahead
Our journey of transformation is far from over. We know it will take two to three years to realize the full benefits of this new model, financially, operationally, and educationally. We still need to fill more weeks with students, expand our fundraising program, and refine our staffing model to balance sustainability with staff well-being.
But even amid uncertainty, we’re proud of what we’ve accomplished. We embraced change, addressed barriers to participation, and reimagined what Outdoor School can look like in a post-pandemic world. Most importantly, we rediscovered the spirit of innovation and collaboration that has always been at the heart of NorthBay’s mission.
This new chapter is about more than adaptation—it’s about resilience, creativity, and an unwavering belief in the power of transformative outdoor education. Our work continues, and our commitment remains the same: to help every student who steps onto our campus see the best version of themselves and the world around them.
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