The Miami Valley School

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The Miami Valley School
Motto Experience Excellence
Established 1964
Type Preparatory secondary, primary
Affiliations None, Independent
Founder Citizens of Dayton, Ohio
Headmaster Peter B. Benedict, II
Students Approx. 500 students
Grades Pre-K through 12th
Location 5151 Denise Drive,
Dayton, Ohio, United States of America
Oversight Independent
Accreditation Independent School Association of the Central States [1]
Campus Suburban
Colors Red and Blue
Mascot Ram
Newspaper Phloem and Xylem (Upper School)
Website http://www.mvschool.com

The Miami Valley School (MVS) is Dayton, Ohio's only independent college preparatory school for grades Pre-K through 12. A 9:1 student to teacher ratio and an experiential learning curriculum have created a unique learning environment. Approximately 190 students comprise grades nine through twelve. The Upper School is staffed by 28 faculty members, 23 of whom hold master's degrees and two of whom hold Ph. Ds. The school routinely sends dozens of students to Ivy League institutes. The student population represents 16 communities within a 35-mile radius. [2]

Contents

[edit] Foundation

The Miami Valley School is an Independent Day School founded in 1964 by citizens of Dayton, Ohio looking for an alternative education.

[edit] Academic Units

Like many independent schools, MVS eschews traditional labels for two of its three academic units. Only the 6th through 8th academic unit has the traditional Middle School title. The Early Childhood through 5th grade academic unit is titled the Lower School, instead of the more common Elementary School. Similarly the 9th through 12th grade academic unit is titled the Upper School, instead of the more common High School.

At MVS an environment of respect and tolerance prevails. In the Upper School, for example, there are no study halls, instead they are replaced by "free periods" where students have unscheduled time and thus are able to play chess, read the newspaper, talk, play outside, study in the gallery, or listen to music and play games in the Upper School Commons.

[edit] Experiential Learning Programs

The Miami Valley School puts great emphasis on taking students out of traditional education environments in order to learn through experience.

[edit] Experiential Program

In Lower School, students participate in a variety of experiential learning programs that vary in length, topic, and time of year.

[edit] Project Period

In Middle School, students participate in experiential learning programs based on their grade level. Traditionally, Project period takes place during the last two weeks of the academic year.

[edit] Immersion

In the Immersion Program, students exclusively study one subject of their choice for an entire month. Unlike in Middle and Lower School where students participate in experiential learning programs based on their grade, students in grades ten through twelve in the Upper School split up into multi-grade experiential classes. During this time, students are free from the confines of the traditional 8:00 to 3:00, Monday through Friday school schedule, as well as free from the school campus. This allows them to study their topic as much as possible and in the best places. Immersion offerings provide an alternative learning opportunity with many activities occurring off campus and even overseas. As a result, astronomy students might work with telescopes from 8:00 p.m. to 2:00 a.m. out in the country, and theater students might study in New York City. Traditionally, Immersion takes place during the last two weeks of February and the first two weeks of March. Alumni frequently refer to Immersion as the most influential and informative program of their MVS experience.

[edit] Freshmen

Freshmen have a pre-selected Immersion titled Stepping Out. It consists of various activities around the Dayton area. Freshman visit religious leaders in the area to learn more about different cultures. They also learn a martial art called To-Shin Do, established by martial arts expert Stephen K. Hayes. Also, students take two flights with an instructor at Moraine Airpark. The experience ends with a 3 day, 2 night trip to Hocking Hills, an Ohio state park in Adams County. The freshmen hike in these forests for 2 days and learn more about themselves and their relationship to the community.

[edit] Local

Students can learn to fly, study cooking, take a photography or theater class, learn how to build a computer, study criminal justice, or do one of many other programs that are offered.

[edit] Travel

Travel programs include a swamp study in the Florida Everglades, building Habitat for Humanity houses somewhere in the United States, studying Civil Rights, Southern American Literature, Indian Reservations and Literature, learning about Pirate Life in the Bahamas and Puerto Rico, or even creative writing in Vermont and New York. International programs have been held across most of Europe, Asia (including India, China, and Japan), as well as Central and South America (most recently Peru and Costa Rica). Students are immersed in the topics that they study, be they cultural, religious, linguistic, musical, or scientific.

[edit] Independent

A student who wishes to pursue an Immersion outside the realm of the offered programs is welcome to create a proposal that is then evaluated by the Independent Immersion Committee. Past independent Immersions have included projects with high-ranking political figures and Nobel Prize winning scientists, and journeys through Outward Bound and Earthwatch. Student proposals are usually geared towards perusing intellectual or artistic passions, or shadowing professionals in a career of interest.

[edit] Notable Alumni

[edit] References

  1. ^ MVS College Profile
  2. ^ MVS College Profile

[edit] External links