Green Mountain Valley School

For over 40 years, Green Mountain Valley School has been dedicated to supporting one very clear mission: fostering a life-long love of learning, sport, and adventure within competitive skiers. Our goal has always been to create an environment where students are encouraged to become well-rounded scholars and citizens.

Founded in 1973, GMVS stands apart as a unique educational institution. GMVS is not just a school or a ski club, it’s a lifestyle. A lifestyle that celebrates the dual pursuit of rigorous academics and athletics all while cultivating a life-long love of learning, an adventurous spirit, grit, and determination – character traits that will prepare graduates to confidently and wisely impact the world.

At Green Mountain Valley School, our goals go beyond providing exceptional training in alpine and Nordic ski racing with our strong college preparatory academic program. We put ski racing and studies into the broader perspective of competition and adventure. We know that the patterns of accomplishment carry over into every aspect of a student-athlete's life, especially after graduation.

Living and learning at GMVS is about far more than just skiing or school. It’s about being a passionate and lifelong athlete. It’s about becoming intellectually challenged and eternally curious, being simultaneously independent and community-minded, persevering and doing far more than you think you can achieve. It’s a place, despite our focus on skiing, where you do not have to sacrifice your dreams of academic greatness, your passion for other sports, or your commitment to the arts. Here you can truly be “all you can be.”

Our results and facilities are the visible embodiment of the GMVS mission and success. Yet, what might be a bit less visible are the relationships embedded in the fabric of our school that support these endeavors. GMVS alumni have gone on to become World Cup athletes and Olympians, to thrive at some of the country’s most selective colleges and universities, and to build careers as actors, CEOs, photographers, health care professionals, and entrepreneurs. Most importantly, our alumni continue to cite the values instilled in them here at GMVS as catalysts for their successes.

Our goal as a ski academy is to recognize that one can compete at the highest level athletically and simultaneously pursue academic excellence. While the athletic program trains students for world-class competition, the teaching staff prepares students for a future beyond skiing. Our program encourages students to explore their interests in many areas. In addition to a full college preparatory curriculum in English, history and social sciences, foreign languages, math, and science, GMVS offers extracurricular opportunities in theater, music and the visual arts.

Students individually plan their academic schedules in consultation with the Director of Academics, their coach, and the College Placement Counselor. Courses and course load are selected on the basis of academic preparedness, ability, and the demands of each student’s travel schedule, not necessarily by age or grade levels. GMVS continues to offer the traditional core courses as well as a variety of electives, opportunities for honors and advanced work. Students are required to pass basic skills courses before moving on to advanced courses.

Small classes encourage preparation, involvement, and performance. Course loads are demanding, and teachers maintain high standards so that students stretch the limits of their potential. At the same time, our 5:1 student to teacher ratio enables staff to adjust those standards to individual students, taking into consideration learning style, college goals, and racing schedule. Teachers mentor students to ensure mastery of class material and they teach students how to balance the demands on their time. Teachers work closely with each other as well, developing interdisciplinary projects that reinforce subject material.

Our Learning Support Skills accelerate student learning by providing additional customized support beyond what the classroom teachers and advisors offer. The programs recognize students’ talents while helping them acquire skills and strategies to become independent lifelong learners. These individualized programs are designed to enhance a student’s reading, writing, organization, time management and study skills allowing the student to effectively demonstrate understanding at GMVS and in college.