Ski Boarding Schools

Some boarding schools feature competitive skiing as a main program focus.

Boarding schools are private middle and high schools that allow students to live on the school campus in dormitories. The schools are known for rigorous academic curricula and small class sizes. Some boarding schools in the snow-prone regions of the United States offer skiing as a component of their athletic programs or as a main draw to applicants. Schools in the western half of the U.S. offer snowboarding in addition to skiing.

Southwest

Rowmark Ski Academy, in Salt Lake City, Utah, offers alpine ski-racing in conjunction with a rigorous academic program at Rowland Hall. Students spend afternoons from December through March training at Park City's Olympic Race Arena, site of the 2002 Winter Olympic Games and Snowbird Resort. The Lowell Whiteman School, in Steamboat Springs, Colorado, boasts 17 Olympic athletes among its alumni. Ski programs include free-style, alpine, Nordic combined and snowboarding. An Austria residence program is available for study abroad skiiers. Academics at Lowell are year-round. Bi-weekly town trips are offered along with chef-made meals.

Northwest

Squaw Valley Academy in Olympic Valley, California, offers students the opportunity to ski and snowboard daily at Squaw Valley USA, the 1960 Winter Olympic Games site. Courses are available for all ski levels. Competitive teams are available in freestyle ski, snowboarding and other local teams. The rigorous education offers AP science, mathematics and English classes along with instruction in Spanish. Mt. Hood Academy in Government Camp, Oregon, provides academic education specifically for athletes with a three to one student:teacher ratio. The ski racing program at Mt. Hood prepares 13 and 14 year old skiers for the first level of competitive ski racing.

Midwest

Wayland Academy in Beaver Dam, Wisconsin, offers students around the clock access to instructors if needed. Approximately 65 percent of the faculty live on campus with students as a living example to complement students' education. Wayland offers a competitive varsity and junior varsity ski team as an extracurricular sport. The Cranbrook School in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan, offers a boys' and girls' competitive racing team in addition to a college preparatory academic curriculum. French, Spanish and Chinese languages are offered along with environmental science, astronomy and studies in Middle East conflicts.

Northeast

Carrabasset Valley Academy, in Carrabasset Valley, Maine, offers Alpine, snowboard and freestyle skiing. The school offers a unique Big Mountain program that takes students from around the world for mountain skiing in the morning and academic studies in the afternoon. The program includes cultural immersion in France, Chile and New Zealand. The academic program is co-curricular with athletic training. Vermont Academy in Saxtons River, Vermont, offers competitive skiing in Alpine, Nordic, ski jumping and snowboarding. Athletes go on to compete at the USSA level of competition. The academic program at Vermont Academy is conceptually-based with an emphasis placed on process learning and knowledge gathering.

References

• Squaw Valley Academy: Homepage
• Squaw Valley Academy: Winter Sports
• Vermont Academy: Sports Teams
• Rowland Hall: Rowmark Ski Academy
• The Lowell Whiteman School: Ski/Ride Programs
• Carrabassett Valley Academy: Homepage

Resources

• Cranbrook Schools: CK Racers Compete in D2 State Ski Championship
• Cranbrook Schools: Why Cranbrook?
• Wayland Academy: Ski Team
• Wayland Academy: Academics
• Mt. Hood Ski Education Foundation: Mt. Hood Academy Academics
• About Ski Schools: Mt. Hood Academy