People Are Talking
Parents
A parent’s dream for their children is to see them happy, confident and considerate of others. About the worst thing that can happen to my child here is that she graduates happy and well-adjusted.
Because of AVS, our stress level has been reduced by 90%. My son's health has improved immensely; friends and family commented on how happy and mature he's become. At the last school, homework was a terrible struggle (for both of us). Since enrolling at AVS, my son can hardly stand to be away from school! He complains about weekends and holidays! We love the freedom and flexibility here.
After graduation from Alpine Valley, my oldest daughter got a job with a large, national corporation. After a year with the company, and at the age of 19, she was promoted over 80 other applicants because — according to her manager — she demonstrated responsibility, was excited by challenge, showed exceptional maturity and communicated with ease. These are the traits that AVS students exemplify.
My children are at Alpine Valley because it allows them to develop at their own rate and to find and develop their own interests. It’s also a place of real support. Alpine Valley teaches them to be responsible for themselves and the choices they make. They learn what it’s like to work towards a goal and then achieve it.
Even in the first week of my son and daughter attending Alpine Valley, there was a noticeable change. I’d pick them up at school and they’d be engaged in this passionate conversation about something that had happened at the school that day. What they were talking about was what had happened at that day’s Judicial Committee meeting; really, they were arguing politics.
My child went from barely speaking in preschool, to acting in comedies on stage at Alpine Valley. This is just one of the wonderful ways AVS draws students out and empowers them to express themselves.
It’s such a thrill to witness our daughter’s joy and excitement. She just doesn’t understand why the school is closed on Saturdays and Sundays, and she likes having the power to regulate herself—to decide when she reads, eats, plays, etc. Her voice is valued at Alpine Valley, and that means that she is learning to value it as well.
I am awestruck by the graduates. They are very confident, self-assured, kind, funny, articulate, and they all seem to be doing what they want—the same as when they were students. Most striking is the deep sense of gratitude expressed by many that they had the opportunity to attend such a school.
At AVS, the students discuss and study what's most interesting to them, be it politics, science, technology, philosophy. I'm pretty sure they get a better education in Civics than at any other type of school.
I love to see the very young and older students playing and working together. I think that’s a great experience that gives a sense of family and community.
“Living life to the fullest”—that’s what we think of when we reflect on our son’s experiences at AVS. It’s amazing how much he’s learned about life’s challenges and joys by being able to choose what he wants to do each and every day.
What I love about being here is that I can challenge myself. When I find something interesting, I can pursue it at whatever pace I want, for however long I want. I also love J.C. (the judicial committee). I love the process of hearing both sides of a case, the process of debate, and the arguing back and forth, taking everything into account… and coming up with a fair sentence.
You don’t just learn; you also learn how to learn. Really, you can take or create anything you want here.
When I came here, I was painfully perfectionistic. I was addicted to compliments and reassurance. It wasn’t healthy. I wasn’t growing. Here, people respond to you as a good person if they see you are responsible or kind or have integrity. I went from being a student whose sense of self-worth came totally from other people to a more whole and creative person whose sense of self comes from within.
We talk a lot at AVS. If you want to be able to participate in a conversation, you have to learn how to make your points and you learn fast. In order to be heard, you learn how to be clear and articulate. You take time to think about what you want to say and are prepared to argue your perspective. If you have to explain words to someone, you get a better understanding of what you're saying."
The AVS environment beneficially challenges children through age-mixing. Little kids interact with older kids and this pushes them to challenge themselves. In group activities you are interacting with people who may be better than you, and it pushes you to work harder at what you are doing.
I still live the values of freedom, respect and responsibility that I learned at AVS every day. I strive to achieve a high standard of quality in the work I do, both in my corporate life and at home.
Even when you are a five-year-old at AVS you are empowered to affect your environment. You can make decisions that effect change. So you go out into the larger world with that mindset: that you can make a difference in your own life and influence what goes on around you.
Alpine Valley School has been instrumental in my transition to becoming an effective adult. It has helped me to move through a stage of being lost, to a point of consciously living a life I want.
A friend and I were invited to present at the Rocky Mountain Psychological Association conference. We were also nominated for their student research award (only 8 out of 500 were nominated, including grad students). That means a monetary prize, as well as a better chance at getting our study published! After college, I’m planning on buying a house and getting certified in therapeutic horseback riding. (The company I work for is opening its own therapeutic riding center.) Then I’m applying to graduate school. A little scary, but very exciting.
At AVS you can discover so much earlier in life what your strengths are as well as the areas you need to work on; and here you have the time to work on them.
Without Alpine Valley School, I would not have graduated from high school. I am now working with children with autism as my chosen career. AVS's philosophy allows me to be successful today.
AVS helped me realize how I learn. You can figure that out first and then get things done. You learn something and then later you learn something else that relates. You don't learn it all in one day but over time, and it all fits together.
If you have a particular personal goal, you oftentimes have to do things you don't want to do to reach your goal. In the past I have said I was never going to do math; then I got a job where math was a critical element, so I started acquiring all this math knowledge. This is how things unfold at AVS.
Classes can be anything you want them to be. For instance, I had a class where we read the Greek dramas and the Nichomachean Ethics. I also did internships at barns and worked with horses, learning a great deal about that business. There are so many opportunities and ways to learn at AVS.
In my work, my genuine interest and self-motivation have caught the attention of my supervisors. They've complimented me on the confidence and initiative I've showed, the way I'll take a project and run with it, asking for help when needed. My time at AVS had a tremendous amount to do with making this a natural habit.
4501 Parfet Street, Wheat Ridge, CO 80033 (303) 271-0525 info@alpinevalleyschool.com