Stratton Mountain School

Stratton Mountain School provides a unique environment that offers each student the opportunity to pursue excellence in competitive winter sports and college preparatory academics while developing strong personal values. Stratton Mountain School was established in 1972.

For nearly five decades, SMS has provided an integrated academic and athletic program that supports physical, mental, and emotional growth in our student-athletes.

In 1972, Warren Hellman and Donald Tarinelli sought a place for their children to train and compete in high-level alpine skiing without interrupting their high school education. They recruited elite coaches and excellent teachers to join the new program, and parents provided the housing.

As the idea caught on, SMS purchased the Hotel Tyrol, an old ski lodge at the bottom of Stratton Mountain. The lodge served as SMS's home for over 20 years. During that time, the school continued to grow in its reputation and the number of students who attended. In 1999, the school moved to its present location, a new campus on ten beautiful acres just off the base of Stratton Mountain. SMS constructed new faculty housing, additional dorm space, and a state-of-the-art athletic facility in 2005 and built the Patti Kaltsas Education, Arts & Student Center, and the Air Awareness Center in 2014.

Today, SMS compares to New England’s most excellent independent schools as it provides learning, living, and training opportunities second to none. From the beginning, SMS graduates have attended the country’s finest colleges. Many join NCAA teams such as Dartmouth, Middlebury, Williams, Colby, Boston College, Bates, Bowdoin, UVM, and Colorado. More than 100 of our alumni have been named to National Teams, and more than 46 have participated in Olympics Games. Our Olympians include three gold medalists, one silver medalist, two bronze medalists, and several top-10 placements. Due to the energy, dedication, and talent of that pioneering group in 1972, SMS is now a fully accredited institution of 125-154student-athletes in alpine, nordic, freeskiing, freestyle, and snowboard programs.

Stratton Mountain School offers a unique, challenging, and focused curriculum that encourages students to maximize their learning in and outside of the classroom and to use their time efficiently and effectively as they navigate their academic and athletic goals. Our courses are carefully scheduled for each student to succeed as a scholar while pursuing their goals outside the classroom.

Students at SMS enjoy average class sizes of ten students, which allows for personalized attention from teachers and individualized approaches to classwork. The SMS curriculum is built around supporting the travel of winter sports athletes. In the winter, classes are conducted in the afternoons, and only core courses (English, math, science, history, and foreign language) are taught during this time. All teachers develop and maintain a robust web-based curriculum, with access to both assignments and teacher feedback easily accessible to traveling student-athletes. All core classes are NCAA approved for students who intend to pursue college-level athletics.

Academic Dean Alex Lehmann has carefully designed the SMS curriculum to support winter athletes while preparing them to excel in the most competitive colleges and universities.

SMS offers Honors courses during the junior and senior years. Honors sections are offered in all junior and senior-level humanities classes and advanced math, science, and language classes. Please note that Honors classes are not weighted differently than their standard counterparts. Students qualify for honors classes with proven academic excellence (typically a grade of 93 or better in the subject area), teacher recommendation, a history of timely and comprehensive homework completion, and class leadership.