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| Long Trail School | |
|---|---|
| Motto | "Creative. Committed. Connected" |
| Established | 1975 |
| Type | Private, International Baccalaureate |
| Headmaster | John H. Suitor III |
| Dean | Justin Bendall |
| Founder | Two, David and Rene Wilson |
| Faculty | 46 |
| Students | 177 |
| Location | Dorset, Vermont, USA |
| Accreditation | Vermont State Board of Education, NEASC |
| Colors | Red, White, Black |
| Athletics | Softball, Baseball, Soccer, Rock climbing, Basketball, Tennis, Golf Skiing, Cross-Country, and Snowboarding |
| Mascot | Lynx |
| Yearbook | The Trail |
| Newspaper | Two, the bi-monthly, student-run "Trail Mix" and the weekly school-wide "E-notes" |
| Website | http://www.longtrailschool.org |
The Long Trail School is an independent college-preparatory coeducational day school serving students 6-12 located in Dorset, Vermont, United States. Long Trail School was established on the founding principles that every student is unique, small group instruction responds to individual needs, high academic standards motivate students, and financial need should not deter qualified students from applying. Long Trail School is committed to providing financial aid to qualified students, and has a strong tradition of doing so. Many area students are eligible for some amount of tax-funded tuition assistance.[1]
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David Wilson and Rene Wilson founded the Long Trail School in 1975 with an original class of 14 students in the rented space of the Dorset Sportsman’s Club. The school, which serves grades 6-12, has consistently grown and currently has 177 students enrolled for the 2007-2008 academic year. Notable changes over the years have included the acquisition and construction the 60,000 sq ft (5,600 m2) facility with winding hallways and small classrooms, two common rooms, offices and other facilities including a library, a 220 seat theater, art studios, presentation spaces, and a gymnasium. The Founders David Wilson and Rene Wilson played a strong role in the school, with David Wilson as the Headmaster and Rene Wilson handling course registration and college placement for the entire history of the school, until their retirement in June 2007. The current Head of School is John H. Suitor III, originally serving as a dean at the Foxcroft School.
Long Trail School has historically drawn students from over 38 towns in Vermont and neighboring New York state, and from 20 foreign countries, including South Korea, Japan, China, England, Iran, Iraq, Puerto Rico, Omen, Saudi Arabia, Uganda, Ethiopia, Germany, Serbia, the Czech Republic, Egypt, India, Austria, Australia, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Costa Rica and others. The International students or any foreign exchange students are not allowed to have a driver's license, and thus not allowed to drive under any kind of circumstances. As of Friday, May 14, 2010, Long Trail School is the first school in Vermont to be officially inducted as an International Baccalaureate school.[2]
Long Trail School was recently named the first International Baccalaureate (IB) World school in Vermont. Class sizes currently average 8-12 students, though classes with only a single student are not unheard of at Long Trail. Academic standards are high by comparison to other local schools, with test scores consistently above state and local averages. Even after offering IB courses, Long Trail continues to offer some Advanced Placement classes, many independent study opportunities and student-demanded classes.
Every summer, students are required to read two books of their choice from an approved list for the grade level they are entering for the upcoming year, and one book assigned for their grade level by the English Department. Most students are required to write two book reports, the senior class has to write one comparison essay on the required books. These reports are due July 1 and August 1, while the comparison essay for the senior class is due on the latter date.[3] The reports have to follow a specific format, with increased detail and complexity increasing with each subsequent year. International students are also required to participate in the Summer Reading Program, they have to meet with the ESL teacher in order to plan their reading, books and format, tailored to their grasp of the English Language.[4]
The atmosphere is notably informal and laid-back compared to a traditional school environment. This is most notably seen in strong relationships between students and teachers and the notion of many as the school as a second home. The building demonstrates many homey qualities such as two kitchens located in the common rooms and couches and makeshift areas of congregation spread throughout the building, with kids roaming the hallways. Students address faculty by their first names.
Long Trail offers a strong arts program, boasting a superb theater facility built in 2003. In 2008, Long Trail School attended the Fringe Festival in Scotland for the second time (2005 was the first) by invitation. Long Trail is one of the smallest schools nationwide to be invited to do so. Notable music and visual arts offerings include instrumental, vocal, and orchestral music, art classes on varying levels, acting classes, theater production classes, and other periodic offerings.[5]
Long Trail’s sports program has seen many student-formed teams come and go but consistently has had high participation for its size. The most notable being the soccer, with the school fielding four teams, two boys and two girls each year.[6] In 2004, Long Trail made the transition to Division IV varsity athletics. Baseball was created in 2005 based on student demand and a tennis team was created in 2005 after the construction of the Appelman Family Tennis Center, courtesy of magnanimous Appleman family. The school sports a ski and snowboard team that competes on Bromley Mountain, a rock climbing and golf team among other athletic programs. Long Trail fields a Varsity Softball team as well, which grew out of a long-standing JV tradition prior to the switch to Division IV athletics.
Each year, every student has to complete at least eight hours of community service by the end of each year in order to progress to the next grade level. Long Trail School has a few requirements that have to be met before any type of service can be counted towards the required eight hours:
If students do not meet the required eight hours by the end of May, they are required to clean the school under the supervision of the Director of Student Life and Athletics for at least sixteen hours; if they cannot meet this provision then they are not allowed to proceed to the next grade level.[7]
Every Thursday and Friday academic classes end early so students may participate in activities run by faculty or instructors that offer their services. There are four Enrichment Class (E-Class) sessions every school year, in which students may choose their E-class on a form. Each E-class has limited space, and as such students are requested to select, in order of preference, up to five different activities in case certain activities are full of students. Students in the senior class are given the exception to this preference rule because they are given priority over their peers and are guaranteed placement in their chosen activity. Students must attend two Physical (sports, yoga, etc.) and two Enrichment (guitar lessons, art studio, etc.) to proceed to the next grade level.[7]
The Trail Mix is a student-run, faculty-supervised newspaper. The paper is published whenever school grades are sent to students (this is normally every two months). Any student may send contributions to the paper, but it must be reviewed by student editors before being placed into the paper.
Starting in 8th grade, Long Trail School commits to the path of placing students in the "right" college for the individual, taking into consideration family finances, geography, areas of interest and grades. In the past, Long Trail graduating classes (numbering between 10 and 18) have been offered significant merit aid for college. The Class of 2007, numbering 14 graduates, was offered $780,000 in merit scholarship over the next 4 years. Students have applied and been accepted to Williams College, Brown University, Cornell University, Columbia University, Boston College, Princeton University, Yale University, Georgetown University, Middlebury College, New York University, Duke University, Boston University, Sarah Lawrence College, Bennington College, and Castleton State College, among others.
Long Trail School, despite its small size, has launched its graduates into a variety of fields. Among the alumni are white water rafting guides, financial planners, engineers, teachers, lawyers, curators, small business owners, fundraisers, and several careers in the non-profit/philanthropic sector (among them the Founder of Clear Path International, a non-profit committed to aiding mine victims in Southeast Asia and Afghanistan).
LTSummer is a summer day camp held by Long Trail School every summer. The camp is divided into several programs for different age groups:
There are also two separate LTSummer programs that are more specialized. LTdrama is a program for children ages 10 to 14 that want to act and perform. The second one is named "Sports Camps", for ages 5 to 10, which is divided into two distinct programs, one for Soccer and another for Tennis. The LTSummer program focuses on students and children both inside and outside the school.[8]
Kate Logan, a student from the class of 1998, disrobed during her graduation speech.[9] Her reason being, was that she wanted to express her feelings of community and comfort she had with the school. [9][10] Her disrobing at the commencement ceremony drew attention from the Associated Press, with school administrators denouncing her actions.[9][10] The denouncement raised an outcry among some of the school's alumni, stating that her disrobing symbolized the values that the school held.[10]