The Mountain School

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The Mountain School

The Mountain School
Established	1984
Type	Private
Headmaster	Alden Smith
Students	45
Grades	11
Location	Vershire, VT, USA
Oversight	Milton Academy
Website	The Mountain School

The Mountain School of Milton Academy is a selective independent semester program that provides academically motivated high school juniors from across the country the opportunity to live and work on an organic farm in rural Vermont. Located in Vershire, Vermont, The Mountain School (TMS) was originally a four-year residential high school started in 1963 by Mac and Doris Conard. It was unique in its combination of first-class college preparatory studies and ecology-oriented hands-on farm experience. Mac and Doris, ready to retire after 20 years, sought a buyer who would maintain the mission of the school, and in 1984, found such a buyer in a group of teachers from Milton Academy. No longer a four-year school, The Mountain School nevertheless retains its character and mission. Today, students attend for one term (Fall or Spring) during their Junior year in high school. Each semester draws about 45 students.

The Mountain School (TMS) offers a variety of academic classes. All students take English and Environmental Science, and electives include U.S. History, Chemistry, Physics, a variety of Math courses, Art, Humanities and Languages. In addition to five academic classes, TMS provides students with an opportunity to explore the community around them by integrating speakers and panels into the curriculum. Students explore the social structure of the school itself as well. Currently, the faculty and staff is made up of 26 individuals, 13 of whom live on campus, some with families of their own.

TMS is also a working organic farm. The farm provides the majority of food for the school and is tended to by the students, teachers and three farm managers. In addition to a garden with a full harvest, the school has turkeys, chicken, sheep, beef cattle, a ram, pigs and a guard llama named Nigel. Students take care of all aspects of the farm with daily chores (morning and night) as well as a three-hour afternoon work period, five days a week.

Work doesn't end when the students leave. A full summer crew of alums or other interested parties spend the summer working on raising the new animals (born during spring semester), working on the vegetable harvest and, most importantly, haying.

In the summer of 2003 alums from all years, as well as many of their family members, converged on Vershire in early August for a barn raising.