What makes Vail Christian High School unique? Our educational philosophy values both tradition and innovation. We have high academic standards, offer a wide variety of AP and Dual Enrollment courses, and provide a unique and customized college counseling program that begins in 9th grade. We also offer experiential learning opportunities, especially as a Project Lead the Way school, designed to foster problem-solving skills, creativity, and curiosity.
As an independent Christian school, we celebrate our ecumenical diversity while welcoming everyone. We want to see our students be intellectually and spiritually curious. Our educational philosophy is rooted in Christian faith and values and views education as incomplete without fully integrating mind, body, and spirit. Our beliefs are rooted in Jesus Christ’s core message to “love God and your neighbor.” This kind of love is a crucial ingredient for a life of meaning and purpose.
Our school culture unlocks and unleashes student potential. Students are individually known and loved with small class sizes and highly relational faculty who are experts in their fields. Our students do not stand on the school’s sidelines but instead actively participate in various athletic, art, service-learning, and club offerings. Learning also occurs within a diverse human mosaic with students representing different socioeconomic, ethnic, and faith backgrounds that enhance the overall student experience.
What is our end goal? We exist to help our students prepare for college admission and success. More importantly, though, we seek to equip our graduates for lives of purpose, service, and leadership. We strive to prepare them to make the world a better place through their local, national, and global engagement. As a school, we also strive to serve as a national leader among private and public schools. Of course, we are ambitious, but we expect nothing less from our students.
Student life at VCHS is a mixture of fun and all types of opportunities for students to lead, serve, and build relationships. Saints know how to have fun – both students and faculty alike. A signature 3-day, schoolwide retreat at Frontier Ranch sets the tone for the start of each school year. Fun and original homecoming traditions, Wacky Tacky Day, and all-school pancake breakfasts are a few examples of how we have fun and laugh together.
With a growing list of student clubs, Student Council, and community service expectations, VCHS students are encouraged to stretch their interests, sharpen their leadership skills, and give back to the Vail Valley community. Because of our size, new clubs can emerge quickly around student interests.
At Vail Christian High School, all students participate in the Advanced Placement (AP) program beginning in 9th grade. The average VCHS graduate will have taken 7 AP courses from our current 17 AP offerings by graduation. Dual Enrollment (DE) courses are also offered through Colorado Christian University and the University of Colorado – Colorado Springs. Project Lead The Way (PLTW) courses in engineering, biomedical, and computer science are also offered and complement their AP counterparts with more experiential, hands-on learning. A new state-of-the-art STEM/Innovation Lab that we fondly refer to as the “Innovation Hive” provides a creative space and cutting-edge equipment that allows our students to collaborate, create and learn in new and exciting ways.
Service-learning and advisory programs also complement our college-prep experience. All students complete more than 20 hours of community service each school year. And each student is assigned a faculty advisor, along with a small, single-gender advisory group, to provide academic, social, and spiritual guidance and support. We believe that each VCHS student should have several adult mentors, the advisor frequently serving as the primary one.
Spiritual formation is also an essential component of a VCHS education. Understanding that every student is uniquely designed, we desire to explore the Christian faith and discover their faith or spirituality. We also seek to foster a school culture where love is primary, and respect and understanding for others’ backgrounds and experiences are non-negotiable. Our community gathers together each week during a chapel service, and theology courses are also part of a student’s experience. Theology offerings include Cornerstone/Heroes, Life and Teachings of Jesus, Ethics and Social Justice, and Capstone. We desire to help each student develop his or her whole self.
