Boarding High School in Colorado

Steamboat Mountain School:
Steamboat Mountain School is a coeducational boarding and day high school that blends academics and adventure, combining an outstanding college-preparatory curriculum with extraordinary programs out of the classroom and around the globe to build students’ knowledge, develop their confidence and independence, and prepare them for meaningful and fascinating lives.

Co-educational Day & Boarding School Programs for Students in Grades 9-12:
The College Preparatory Curriculum:
At Steamboat Mountain School, we offer students a traditional college preparatory curriculum. We believe in cultivating a strong work ethic and resilient mindset that will last a lifetime. Graduates widely report that the rigor of Steamboat Mountain School’s academic program prepared them well for the challenges of college coursework and life. However, education does not occur solely in the classroom. Students’ unique experiences on GIS or in the competitive ski/ride program foster an adventurous and independent spirit that sets Steamboat Mountain School students apart, both as students and citizens on college campuses.

Typical Course load: 5 classes

AP Program
All A. P. classes are open enrollment except for A. P. English, which requires an 88% average in high school English classes or permission from the teacher. 

A.P. Classes Offered: English Literature and Composition, Environmental Science, Calculus II, Spanish Language.

Students may work independently with a faculty mentor to prepare for A.P. exams in other courses.  Recently, students have used this opportunity to prepare for the A.P. Physics, U.S. History, and Biology exams.

OUR PROGRAMS

Experiential Program
Our intensive outdoor and Global Immersion Studies programs promote self-reliance, grit, cooperation, sustainability and collaboration. As students learn to push their physical and mental limits, they gain confidence, which translates to the classroom.

Outdoor Program
• Orientation Backpacking: Each student participates in a three-night orientation camp trip, backpacking in our local wilderness areas and learning Leave-No-Trace wilderness ethics.
• Desert Week: Students travel to southeastern Utah to develop their skills on a more extended and extensive trip. Students backpack, kayak, canyoneer, rock climb, canoe, and mountain bike.
• Physical and Outdoor Pursuits (POPS):  Students learn physical reliance and build skills 3 afternoons/week. Examples of POPS include mountain biking, rock climbing, alpine, skiing, nordic skiing, hiking, and team sports

Global Immersion Studies (GIS)
We build global understanding in ways no other school can match through our one-of-a-kind Global Immersion Studies program, which includes:
• Cultural immersion, homestays, adventure, community building, and self-discovery .
• Four weeks each year in a developing-world country.
• Meaningful service projects.
• Weekly seminars led by teachers and/or outside speakers prior to travel that address unique issues in the countries to which students will travel and that integrate with class curriculum by class.
• Countries to which we traveled in 2014: Vietnam/Cambodia, Ecuador, Peru, Tanzania
• Throughout the program’s history, GIS students have traveled to 56 countries and 6 continents.
By the time Steamboat Mountain Students graduate, they will have spent four months in four different countries on four continents.
Competitive Ski/Ride Program
Students participate in the competitive ski and snowboard programs in partnership with the acclaimed Steamboat Springs Winter Sports Club (SSWSC) www.sswsc.org. This program is reserved for athletes dedicated to their sport. The program includes:

• Dryland training in the fall.
• Daily and weekend training with SSWSC coaches.
• Intensive competition schedule.
• To accommodate athletes’ high-level competition, these athletes drop two classes after Thanksgiving.
• Intersession: In April, while the Global Immersion Studies students are traveling, competitive athletes enter a month of intensive, two-hour a day courses to make up the course work they dropped during the competition season.
• 30 Steamboat Mountain School alumni have been members of the US Ski Team, US Snowboarding Team, or X Game teams. 16 have competed in the Olympics, and 2 have won OIympic medals.

Students in the Ski/Ride program truly demonstrate an ability to work independently, and to achieve at the highest level, both athletically and intellectually.

Sustainable Agriculture Program (SAP)
Since its founding in 1957, Steamboat Mountain School has been committed to educating students about the environment and empowering students as stewards of our natural world. SAP is an avenue for students to:
• Connect with the environment through the food system
• Work with the school chef and area farmers
• Work in the school’s greenhouse to produce food for meals
• Implement a composting and aquaculture system

Community Service
Steamboat Mountain School believes in the value of selfless service, both locally and globally. All students participate in weekly service work in the Steamboat Springs area, and Global Immersion Studies travel incorporates meaningful service projects in the communities to which students travel.