Madeira Partnership Program Descriptions

Madeira is an independent boarding and day school educating 309 girls in grades 9 through 12. The school’s 376-acre campus is located 15 minutes from Washington, D.C. in McLean, Virginia. Madeira’s challenging academic programs and experiential learning opportunities, like the award winning Co-Curriculum program, cultivate women leaders who are ready to make positive impacts in their local and global communities.

Co-Curriculum
Sophomores at Madeira School participate in a five-week internship that is focused on service in the community.  Benefiting from the school’s unique modular schedule, the students are able to spend the entire five weeks off campus exploring their connection to their community and the concepts of social responsibility and civic engagement.  In groups of eight to 14, girls volunteer at area schools, various non-profits, and local governmental agencies. These sites represent under-served populations, children at risk, youth with disabilities, food shelters, and environmental causes. 

Juniors at Madeira spend their five-week internship on Capitol Hill. Students choose a national issue that is of interest to them and then are assigned a senator or congressperson who shares that same interest. Through their work, the students are exposed to the legislative process and to the work that must occur in order to make change in our country.

Seniors at Madeira spend their five-week internship working at organizations or businesses in which they have a personal interest.  In order to secure their placements, the students must research the opportunity, write letters of inquiry to appropriate contacts, and visit the workplace for an interview. Over the course of the internship, the students go to work daily for the organization.  At the end of the internship, the students present a capstone project that they have researched on a topic relevant to the work they have been doing.

State Department- Office of Overseas Schools
Madeira hosts an annual professional development event on their campus for more than 100 teachers from around the world.  At this week-long long event, teachers explore ideas such as Common Core, STEM, technology and project based learning initiatives.  Through this work, teachers are able to learn from their colleagues from around the world, develop strong professional bonds, and collaborate on work for their individual classrooms.

Excel Academy
Students from Madeira travel to Excel Academy, an all-girls charter school located in Southeast Washington, DC, regularly to assist in Excel’s Saturday Academy. The girls coordinate the athletic component of the day.  This includes running practices and scrimmages, teaching about sportsmanship, as well as developing leadership skills.