Aria had, as expected, one of the best experiences of her life at Climber's Journey. Being at Kroka was one of the most soul-nourishing things she has ever done because it so specifically fit who she is and what she wants to be a part of. When I came to pick her up I was the one who cried; it was heartbreaking to think of her leaving such a peaceful setting, in which all of the pieces (the relationships, the work, the setting) were all as they "should be." Aria cannot stop reflecting on the experience. Her relationships and conversations with Marga, Davicho, and Dylan were inspiring and supportive. Her peers were fun and real. Her job (kitchen set up) felt meaningful. Her physical environment was breathtaking. The level of independence was appropriate and freeing. Again, crying as I write this... ha ha. I cannot thank you enough for providing a place in which her heart and her body feel at home. * I also want to comment briefly after reading a few of the other reviews. I also speak from the vantage point of a teacher who worked with Kroka as they were developing the organization in the late 90's. At that time Misha's son was in my Montessori classroom, and Misha and Lynn were "testing things out" (so to speak) with our class, so I was able to participate in a number of trips. In addition, I volunteered with Kroka one summer on a whitewater trip. I would agree with the reviewer who urged parents (and especially schools) to research carefully. Kroka is indeed, an outlier, and is not risk-free. Life is not risk-free. A tree fell down very close to my daughter's campsite last summer during a storm. As difficult as it was as a parent, to hear this, I have confidence that the trip leaders chose the site wisely, and I cannot imagine doing any better. Kroka is not cushy. Kids will be wet, or cold and uncomfortable at times. And honestly, it probably isn't for every kid... and schools have a range of kids. Some of my students were much happier than others with the experience. I do believe, however, that Kroka offers a unique, rich, often life-changing experience that is worth taking advantage of, especially in this era of protection and safety. read more

Heard good things from colleagues so applying for a semester program. So far communication good and application process simple. If my child gets into the program then a full review will be done. read more

My son will do his 5th expedition this summer. He has had a blast starting with Introduction to Aventure. He has a blast every year. The best combination of fellow campers and staff. Of course there have been hiccups but given the itineraries and mother nature's ways of showing who is in charge, it is not surprising. The Waldorfy underpinnings add a welcome cell phone free layer of kindness and self-discovery read more

Kroka has been such a gift to our family. Part nature school part environmental education part outward bound part summer camp part magic. Our son has been there 5 times between summer programs and school trips and he can't wait to go back again. It's a beautiful way to celebrate unplugged childhood and teamwork. read more

Kroka Expeditions - Middle Schools & High Schools Near Me - Marlow, New Hampshire

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I and my child are fit, adventurous, reasonable risk-taking, outdoors persons who love and respect our natural world. We also respect the diversity of fellow human beings and their individual beliefs. Below, I present just some of my knowledge of the health, safety and other issues experienced by students at Kroka Expeditions. This information was gathered and corroborated by multiple parents and students. I am posting this review as a reality check about Kroka Expeditions with a hope for change. My child and fellow students were subjected to what I believe was physical and mental mistreatment during their 4-month time at Kroka semester school. I sincerely believe in hard work and pushing oneself to the limit if and when appropriate, but no educational organization should allow mistreatment, in any form, of young people by their leaders and educators. I also believe that Kroka put these young students into situations that posed a compassionless, unreasonable risk to their health, welfare, and lives. These students' experiences at Kroka are not an outlier. In April 2022, Kroka West took students inflatable boating on a dangerous, flooded and rising Eel River, which resulted in an injury. A student was injured in a Vermont cave fall in 2008. Other parents, students and Kroka staff have posted negative reviews about Kroka on the internet, some of which have disappeared, but can be found in web archives and caches. Three of my child's fellow students had to leave the semester program early, two permanently and one temporarily, because of injuries they sustained at Kroka. Injuries included severe burns, a concussion, and severe blisters. A former Kroka co-founder caused one of these injuries, resulting in the student's hospitalization and medical treatment afterwards. Other student injuries included an ax wound and a second possible concussion. In my opinion, Kroka staff minimized these injuries, and did not provide prompt or adequate medical attention. My child and fellow Kroka students were unreasonably forced to continually perform long, difficult treks under severe sleep deprivation in order to maintain trekking schedules and evening schoolwork. I believe that exhaustion contributed to some of the student injuries described above, and parents feared that it could have led to worse outcomes in the more extreme outdoor conditions. The trekking schedule was arbitrarily defined by distances between campsites and layovers with insufficient regard for student well-being, happiness and education. Students were often not allowed to drink fluids between trekking rest breaks because Kroka staff did not want students individually stopping for bathroom breaks or water refills, thus slowing down the schedule. Not hydrating as needed during strenuous exercise goes against all credible medical advice. These young students were not professional athletes or military trainees. Because of this policy, some students were afraid of being left behind if they stopped, cried, and painfully held their pee in as they trekked. Kroka staff took some of my child's possessions to distribute to the Kroka community. These items of monetary value were never returned to my child. (We are not a wealthy family.) These personal items of inspiration allowed my child to express themself and connect to home. I believe that this action occurred because of a Kroka philosophy of community above individual. This was not a teaching moment for my child who is an American citizen. Students were degraded by being forced to eat all of the food on their plates and lick them clean. Kroka staff minimized the food allergies of some students. Some of these students felt pressured to eat foods that they were allergic to. The former Kroka co-founder, a man, would sometimes ask struggling female students if they were having their period. This made those young students very uncomfortable. The former Kroka co-founder used the following "teaching methods" on students: belittling of students in front of other students, negative criticism, intimidation, threats, creepy pet names, favoritism, denial of individual freedoms, required reading of a positive-only take on Cuban dictator Fidel Castro, unreasonably limited contact with family and friends. These techniques are certainly not part of a Waldorf-inspired education. Add in this Kroka leader's elevated ego with student sleep deprivation, and these techniques start to resemble indoctrination, in my opinion. Kroka does seem to do many wonderful things, but has failed in some critical areas. Kroka leadership changed last year, but I hope that Kroka will shed its past entirely. It must. Kroka needs to absolutely commit itself to placing their students' well-being far above all else. One's ideology is meaningless if it hurts others. Footnote 1: While camping in public forests, my child's group of semester students were instructed by Kroka staff to cut small live trees and evergreen boughs. read more

I went to Kroka for 2 nights as a class field trip in 8th grade, and i don't think anyone else should come for a school trip or send their kids here. We were woken up extremely early to do hours of chores and manual labor on an empty stomach before breakfast. During these chores one of my close friends cut a deep wound in her leg with an AX because she was forced to chop wood without any proper instruction, and ended up in the emergency room having to get over 15 stitches and had a giant scar afterwards . We also didn't have any running water, and had to eat all of our "meals" (which wasn't substantial enough for the intense amount of activity we were doing daily) with a spoon and bowl. The nights were also incredibly cold (we went in late may) so I would prepare for that. Overall, all the activities that we did all felt much like just doing manual labor (transporting compost, scooping manure, lifting heavy objects, chopping wood, cleaning) and benefiting THEM considering how much money we paid. We couldn't have fun, and overall it was a very difficult experience for most of us especially since we are from the city. read more

My child's school cut their trip to Kroka short due to safety issues, including an incident with an ax that required a girl to be taken to the hospital. Kroka encourages students to "embrace risk." The problem is that they take away students' agency and some of their activities pursue risk in a reckless way, in my opinion. For example, on the first day they pressured kids to use axes to chop wood even though some kids said they weren't comfortable. They also required the kids to clean their plates at each meal or else they would be denied food at the following meal. I know at least one student who went bed to bed hungry because he was denied dinner. Another girl told me a staff person ordered her to take off her Apple Watch or else they would remove it from her. I recognize there are positive reviews of Kroka from other people. Different strokes for different folks, I guess. However, I strongly disagree with the other reviewer who said negative reviews are overly sensitive bs. My kids have enjoyed a few different overnight camping programs in New England, and Kroka is an outlier in terms of the unnecessary risks they encourage kids to take and the control they assert over what I believe should be personal decisions, e.g., how much to eat. If you are thinking of sending your child to Kroka, do lots of diligence to make sure you agree with the policies and methods of the program. read more

If you want to understand Kroka, consider that all the Yelp reviews (as of the date of this writing) are either 5 or 1. I think that's an honest assessment of folks' experience. It embodies an ethic, worldview and educational/developmental vision that you recognize, embrace, and accept - or not. There's very little in-between with Kroka. Thus, if you are interested, do your homework, visit them, talk to them, try out a one-week expedition before embarking on the Semester program. Or just pay them a visit. Kroka has been singularly transformative for our son over many years - not without challenges along the way. But Kroka is all about challenges and how human development is based on confronting challenge and how one learns to approach life from a community, rather than individualistic, perspective. If all you are looking for is a safe and exciting outdoor adventure, then there are plenty of places to purchase that experience, but Kroka is so much more than that. read more

Kroka is a HORRIFIC and UNSAFE camp environment for kids. My 8th grader was hurt with an AX while at Kroka camp. She'd expressed to the counselor that she was not comfortable participating in the activity and was FORCED to do it. She sustained an ax wound. They were not equipped to handle any injuries. No first aid kit and apparently no counselor training on how to handle accidents. It required a visit to an emergency clinic, stitches, antibiotics and she has a lifelong scar as a result. Kids were forced to eat food that fell on the floor and were denied food if they had not eaten the previous garbage they fed the kids. It was a DISASTER. We never received a phone call. The school trip was cancelled after being there 1 night. The Kroka camp in NH is NOT a safe environment physically or emotionally for kids. read more

Beware that if your child is unable to attend for any reason, sickness, injury, etc. They will not allow your child to rejoin once they are healthy or refund you any of your money. read more

If I could give Kroka zero stars I would. My 8th grade student, along with 20 other students canoed 60 miles down a river in Utah. Kroka founder Misha Golfman subjected the students to threats and intimidation. He informed two students that if they didn't get their hair wet he would hold them under water or cut off their hair. The children were forced to eat everything in their bowls and then lick them clean. One student tipped his food over in the sand and was not allowed to have any more food, even though Misha was handing out seconds to other children. The only thing that made this trip bearable was that the children's teacher stepped in on day three and stood up to Misha. read more