Alternative Boarding School in New Hampshire

The Oliverian School, Haverhill:
Located in Haverhill, Grafton County, New Hampshire, the Oliverian School is a private, alternative college-preparatory boarding school. Nestled on a 1,800-acre campus in beautiful Northern New Hampshire, the Oliverian School provides an inspiring, supportive, and challenging educational alternative for students in Grades 9-12.

Our mission is to educate students, who, despite experiencing difficulties, want to transition to a college preparatory setting where they are inspired and supported as they prepare to succeed in a complex, intricate and ever-changing world. We promote and support a "zest for living" by encouraging self-exploration, spirituality, character formation and integrity, as our students learn to balance their individual needs with those of the community.

Philosophy and Approach:
We are committed to the following goals:

* To provide a wide range of learning opportunities that involves students in the operation and management of our working farm, our maple sugaring business and our award-winning wildlife preserve.
* To use an adventure-based approach to teaching by engaging students in vigorous and rewarding learning experiences. Students will meet academic objectives while enhancing physical wellness and self-confidence, practicing leadership and building interpersonal relationships.
* To help students acknowledge and resolve difficulties through an active and ongoing individual and group counseling program under the supervision of licensed clinical faculty.
* To provide innovative and exceptional instruction by attracting knowledgeable and dynamic faculty who are committed to our community as teachers and role models.
* To provide an engaging and challenging academic curriculum that prepares students for college while remaining responsive to the strengths, special needs and diverse learning styles of our student body.
* To instruct students in a variety of competitive intramural and noncompetitive individual athletic endeavors that promotes a lifelong commitment to fitness and a responsible use of leisure time.
* To encourage a family commitment to the "life of the school" through a program that is designed to establish more meaningful and supportive connections for our students.
* To maintain a family-style living environment within a 1,800 acre campus where students will live in faculty-run homes that are grade and gender specific.

- A student comes to Oliverian knowing they are coming to change their lives. They are imaginative and self-aware, and are struggling with a variety of adolescent and maturational issues.

- At the same time, they have become disillusioned with larger and more unreceptive schools. A student typically arrives at Oliverian with a desire to grow academically, psychologically, emotionally and socially.

- Concurrently, they are anxious and apprehensive about the challenge of honest self-assessment, as they grapple with learning to see the good in themselves, while continuing the process of self-improvement.

College preparatory curriculum with core areas focusing on science, language arts, mathematics, social studies and foreign languages as well as the areas of stewardship, experiential education, health and physical education and the fine arts

Additional courses:
- ACT and SAT Test Preparation
- Electives Weeks to allow students to explore new interests while gaining academic credit
- Personal Growth Adventure Program
- Athletics and Leisure Program

Student life is comprised of free time, structured activities, and a residential experience. Dormitories are structured to promote cooperation and a family-like atmopshere, which in turn interact with the larger Oliverian community.

Clifford House
This dorm, located about 20 yards down a former railroad bed on top of a hill, is the most private of the dorms. While it is still very close to the rest of the dorms, this one is surrounded by a wall of trees on three sides. Because of this, Clifford dorm has a certain “weekend getaway” feel to it. It seems like a ski house almost.

Dormitories at Oliverian School Farmhouse
Farmhouse is the most spacious of the dorms. It has six very big dormrooms, 2 huge leather couches and a leather loveseat. The TV is also the biggest on campus making it the envy of every other dorm. With its cathedral ceilings Farmhouse never feels cluttered or cramped and is a great place to spend an entire day watching movies or listening to music.

Merrill House
Merrill house is the vertex of most movie watching and general relaxing. Merrill has a very comfy, very big leather couch and a leather love seat with a foot stool. One of the best parts of being in Merrill is students who are in the dorm get to use the back porch to sit and relax. About 10 feet from the dorm is a pretty active river with a small sitting area on the shore.

Dormitories at Oliverian School Smith House
Smith is a brand new dorm adopted this year. Smith is very large and has the most dorm rooms. Down in the basement is a space where girls paint and perfect their pottery, or just get away from the stresses of daily life.

Bolton House
Bolton is like the wayside dorm, it is wider than it is tall. It has a very big common room with two small couches and a coffee table. There is also room to put a bigger table in the common room which often happens because Bolton house has a grill and hosts numerous barbeques. Bolton has easy access to the river just like Merrill house. One of the defining features of Bolton is its kitchen in the common room.

Klare House
Klare house is a very easy going dorm, one of the only ones completely lined with carpeting. There are six rooms in Klare (one double, a triple and four singles) Clare has two floors and two sets of staircases on either side of the house with 2 bathrooms.

* Ski/ Snowboard team
* Mountain and Road Biking
* Co-ed Soccer Team
* Adventure Races
* Fitness Training
* Weekly ski lessons
* Gaming Tournaments
* Campus movies on the big screen
* Fishing
* Day Trips (Museums, Cities, Adventures, stores)
* Open Art Studio
* Open Music Studio
* Indoor Bouldering Area
* Ultimate Frisbee
* Cross-country trail running