Distinctive Features

Every year, students in grades 7-10 complete individual research papers and projects on a topic related to their experiential learning trip. Students work in conjunction with a faculty advisor in the fields of science or the humanities to prepare a substantial body of work that includes research and analysis and communicates both in written and visual media. Additionally, students give formal presentations to the community and build important public presentation skills that serve them throughout their school years into their grown up lives. Immersion projects are a highlight of the year for many— especially those who like to get off the beaten path and explore topics of special individual interest. Juniors and seniors apply the skills that they have acquired through the immersion process in a two-year individual research paper, the extended essay, that is externally moderated by the International Baccalaureate Organization. At the end of the year, students show off their projects in a year-end expo.

TMS emphasizes critical thinking across the curriculum, and to introduce freshmen and sophomores to the tools of reasoning and argumentation, the school offers a special retreat where students practice skills, including speaking and listening for seminar-style discussions and reading and writing to analyze and build sound arguments. The paired courses not only provide students with the tools to succeed in higher level academic activities, but pave the way for students to succeed in the IB Diploma Program. It’s not all work, though. Students enjoy time away from campus with their peers and teachers to talk around a fire, share stories, play games, prepare meals, and enjoy activities that build teamwork and collaboration skills.

One of the hallmarks of Telluride Mountain School is active, integrated learning, and nowhere is this more evident than in the interdisciplinary units known as Community Science. In these extended units, students from grades 7-10 explore a theme of local, national, and international significance, such as water, food, forest health, energy, immigration, or land use. Through extended field trips, students work with professionals from different industries, to explore complex topics from different perspectives and prepare a culminating product, such as a publication, short film, or presentation to communicate their findings. In the grades 11-12, students apply the skills that they have practiced to prepare Individual Investigations, where students design, execute, and present a scientific study in an area of personal interest.

Students in grades 7-12 participate in various activities related to social development and health. Continuing with the TMS tradition of Positive Discipline and class meetings, older students learn to navigate the increasingly complex world of social interactions in the twenty-first century. With the support of Freedom from Chemical Dependency, students learn about the vital decisions that they face regarding the use of substances, including alcohol, tobacco, and prescription and non-prescription drugs. Volunteers from San Miguel Resource Center provide ongoing coaching and discussion on numerous topics related to interpersonal relationships, including safe media use. The school also provides a program of sex education on topics related to sex, gender, and diversity.

TMS provides a comprehensive program of college counseling starting in the ninth grade. The college counselor meets with students in grades 9-12 to coach them on preparing for college, building their transcripts and resumes, preparing for and selecting placement exams, selecting colleges, writing the college essay, applying to colleges, seeking scholarship, and ultimately choosing the right-fit placement in a post-secondary institution. One hundred percent of TMS students have gained admission to four-year colleges or universities, many to top choice institutions.

What experiences develop character, perseverance, and a sense of wonder, all qualities the crossover to the classroom and adult life? Outdoor adventure!  Upper school students at TMS continue to build outdoor and leadership skills that set them up for a life of engaged activity with a strong set of hard skills, knowledge of various outdoor environments, and personal and interpersonal skills that translate well for both classroom and business.  Activities in the upper school include week-long backpacking trips to destinations such as Grand Gulch and Dark Canyon, kayaking the San Juan River, biking the White Rim, winter camping, ice-climbing, backcountry skiing, and survival skills. Many graduates of TMS find leadership opportunities when they arrive at their college or university as a result of their outdoor education.  

Ask any Mountain School student what the best part of the year is, and they will tell you, Experiential Learning trips!  Students in the upper school experience both national and international travel experiences that relate to their studies, build camaraderie among classmates and teachers, provide service learning opportunities, and enrich their lives and studies with relevance and meaning. Upper school destinations range from trips to Hawaii to study geology, marine science, and environmental studies and to the deep South to study the history of human rights; to Latin American destinations to study Spanish, complete home stays with Spanish speaking families, and to provide service, as in a recent trip to rebuild homes in Puerto Rico; to culminating trips in the eleventh and twelfth grades to study topics such as WWII and the Cold War in Eastern Europe, or recent history in Vietnam and Cambodia.  Graduates often refer to these learning experiences as life-changing, and many continue as a result of their travels to focus on an area of study at the post-secondary level.