World Leadership School

Pueblo de Cochiti is located 35 miles southwest of Santa Fe, New Mexico, and is the main town in a 54,000-acre Native American reservation that is home to 1,175 Pueblo members. Cochiti, the northernmost Keresan Pueblo in New Mexico, varies in elevation from 5,300 to 6,800 feet. The Rio Grande flows through reservation lands and swells with snowmelt in the spring from the nearby Cristo de Sangre mountain range.

The traditional lands around Cochiti have been affected in recent decades by an escalating demand, and diminishing supply, of water in the Western U.S. The story of water rights in the Western U.S. mirrors a struggle for control of water world-wide. Of primary importance to Cochiti Pueblo are the land, air, and water on and adjacent to the reservation, which is the lifeline of the Pueblo traditions and culture.

The safety of our programs rests on the experience and skills of our Staff, Country Coordinators and Instructors, who convene at our annual training in Colorado’s Arkansas Valley.

• The Staff of World Leadership School have decades of experience working in different educational environments. Their focus is logistics, risk management, program design, professional development, and consulting.
• Our Country Coordinators live and work year round in our overseas countries. They screen our homestay families, evaluate our transport and other service providers, and provide ground support for our groups.
• Our Instructors are veteran educators with extensive international experience. They have wilderness first responder training and often have past affiliations with Peace Corps, Outward Bound, NOLS, and/or independent schools.

We strive to responsibly manage risks. Our itineraries minimize highway travel and maximize immersion in rural communities that we know well. We update our risk management protocols, integrate feedback into program design, and invest in safety and communication equipment. Despite these efforts, World Leadership School cannot guarantee safety nor can it eliminate the inherent and other risks of international student travel. For information regarding program activities and associated risks, risk management, and student and parent responsibilities, please contact our office.

“We as educators have a responsibility to achieve the impossible . . . We have a responsibility to prepare our students to engage the future with informed empathy, a collaborative spirit, and a commitment to justice and respect for the earth and all that it holds. The Cochiti experience took students outside of the building’s walls, provided ample opportunities for critical skills to be developed, and allowed them to walk a little bit in the shoes of the Cochiti. Let’s do more of that.”

— Faculty from St. Mary’s Academy

“I would recommend this trip to a friend because the more people we introduce to different cultures, the more acceptance we’ll have in the world.”

— Student from St. Mary’s Academy

“My impression of the community was a very closely knit society of people who worked for community gain rather than the individual.”

— Student from San Francisco Day School

“The best part of the program was doing cultural rotations because I loved learning about the different customs of the Cochiti people.”

— Student from San Francisco Day School

“I would recommend this trip to a friend because you meet so many new people who change your point of view.”

— Student from St. Mary’s Academy