Dalton Global Initiatives

Learning Beyond the Classrooms

Immersive Journeys that Shape Perspectives

The Dalton Global Initiatives (DGI) program takes learning beyond the classroom and provides students with experiential opportunities to learn from and engage with the local and global communities. Students immerse themselves in history and culture, and upon returning from trips, they bring tangible skills back into Dalton classrooms, enriching their studies with fresh perspectives.

Organized trips comprise of approximately 15 students and vary in length from a week to twelve days during school breaks and Intersession.

All trips are chaperoned by Dalton educators who can provide a curricular background or a lived-in perspective to enhance cultural connection.

DGI South Africa

DGI Trip Experiences

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Academic Collaborations

Students apply critical, comparative, and creative thinking to real-world topics. For example, the DGI South Korea trip was a collaboration between the Music and History departments that examined pop culture as it relates to Korean national identity.
Experiential and Outdoor Learning

Students engage in hands-on, collaborative problem solving that builds comfort with ambiguity and unfamiliar situations. Examples include hiking during DGI Moab and learning the physics behind an oceancraft through DGI Mallorca.
Language and Cultural Immersion

These trips support students in developing fluency in a target language and gaining awareness and respect for various identities and cultures. Examples of language-focused and cultural immersion trips include DGI France, Spain, Greece, India, South Korea, and South Africa.
Service Learning Programs

Students work alongside local communities, applying diverse perspectives to problem-solving and decision-making. Students are asked to demonstrate empathy, humility, and a commitment to reflection throughout the service process. An example is the DGI New Orleans trip with Habitat for Humanity.

Developing Skills for a Global Future

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Ask Questions, Think Critically and Ethically

DGI trips to South Korea and South Africa exemplify Dalton's commitment to inquiry and critical thinking. n South Korea, students explored post-war identity and cultural preservation through food, music, and conceptions of personhood. In South Africa, students examined the legacy of Apartheid by analyzing the impact of the Truth and Reconciliation Committee.
Explore Identity and History

DGI Civil Rights trip in Montgomery, Alabama or to France, embody the local-global connections by prompting students to examine complex issues like civil rights or Marseille’s immigration history. Whether exploring racial justice in the U.S. or migration in France, students are challenged to connect experiences to their communities and rethink perspectives and assumptions.
Engage with Global Perspectives

On the DGI India trip, students examined how the complex history of Northern India pre-and post-Partition evolved to cultural syncretism, and reflected on the form and substance of modern Indian nationhood. Students engaged with diverse perspectives to better understand and explore issues of social justice.
Share and Apply the Learnings

Post DGI trips, students often apply their learnings to end-of-year projects or independent studies. For example, students on the DGI Korea trip applied what they learned to their independent studies on Korean Language and Culture.

Financial Assistance

DGI trips are an important part of the Dalton student experience. We aim to provide the opportunity for all students to participate in a trip during their time at Dalton. As such, financial assistance is available for families who receive tuition aid, and assistance is guaranteed for the first DGI trip experience. Additionally, families who do not currently receive tuition aid may request financial assistance for DGI programming.