The Carvela Leadership Academy
Established 2020
Carvela Leadership Academy is a high school full of camp spirit. Located at Camp Carvela in Traverse City, The Leadership Academy is a fully-accredited residential semester program for high school students.
At the Leadership Academy, learning is limitless. Our walls are the natural world and our ceiling is dotted with stars, providing inspiration for 12 weeks of academics and passion projects. It’s a place where students form meaningful bonds with each other and staff who support them with everything from doing school work to building canoes or guitars, writing books, or even starting a business.
Are you ready to go beyond the convention for a semester like no other?
Apply Now for Spring 2025
Now accepting applications for the Spring Semester and beyond.
Carvela Leadership Academy is for the student looking for a school experience like no other. It’s for mature, self-directed learners who are comfortable managing their coursework and are up for tutoring and mentoring – in the “classroom” and on creative independent projects of their choice.
Admissions are rolling and need-based financial aid is available.
The Carvela philosophy
The Leadership Academy is a fully-accredited residential semester program for high school students, and it’s the only one of its kind in Michigan. This is a school that defies conventional ways of learning and challenges students to consider their potential to learn as limitless.
At the Leadership Academy, our walls are the natural world and our ceiling is dotted with stars, providing inspiration for 12 weeks of academic learning and passion projects.
It’s a place where students form meaningful bonds with each other and staff who support them with everything from doing school work to building canoes, writing books, of even starting a business.
In all that we do, we embrace 5 central ideals:
Collaboration
Non-Competition
Unplugged Connection
Free Time
Playfulness
