Stratton Mountain School was established in 1972. Warren Hellman and Donald Tarinelli founded the school in order for their children to train and compete in high-level alpine skiing without interrupting their high school education. Elite coaches and excellent teachers were recruited to join the new program, and parents provided the housing.
As the idea caught on, SMS purchased an old ski lodge at the bottom of the ski area. The school continued to grow in its reputation and in the number of students that attended. In 1999, the school moved to its present location, a new campus on ten beautiful acres just off the base of Stratton Mountain. In 2005, SMS constructed new faculty housing, additional dorm space, and a state-of-the-art athletic facility. In 2014, SMS constructed the Patti Kaltsas Education, Arts & Student Center, and the Air Awareness Center.
Today, SMS compares to New England’s finest 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 125-135 student-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 in order for each student to succeed as a scholar while pursuing their goals outside of 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 unique in that it 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.
The SMS curriculum has been carefully designed to assure the firm foundation of knowledge and skills that have allowed our students to excel in the most challenging colleges and universities in the country.
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.
VIDEOS
