Lowell Whiteman School
| Lowell Whiteman School | |
|---|---|
| Location | |
| Steamboat Springs, Colorado United States | |
| Coordinates | 40°32′13″N 106°49′30″W / 40.53694°N 106.82500°WCoordinates: 40°32′13″N 106°49′30″W / 40.53694°N 106.82500°W |
| Information | |
| Type | Private, Co-ed |
| Established | 1957 |
| Head of school | Chris Taylor (replacing Walter Daub, who retired at the end of the 2009-10 school year) |
| Faculty | ~33 |
| Grades | 9-12 |
| Enrollment | ~105 |
| Campus size | 192 acres (0.78 km2) |
| Campus type | Mountain setting |
| Color(s) | blue, white |
| Athletics | SKIING/SNOWBOARDING/Outdoor |
| Mascot | Penguin |
| Accreditation(s) | ACIS (Association of Colorado Independent Schools)[1] |
| Affiliation | NAIS (National Association of Independent Schools) |
| Winter | SSWSC and Foreign Travel |
| Boarding/day student ratio | 50% boarding to 50% day |
| Average class size | 7-10 students |
| Website | http://www.lws.edu |
 | |
| LWS campus in the autumn | |
The Lowell Whiteman School is a small college preparatory school in Steamboat Springs, Colorado focused on experiential education, for students in grades 9-12.
LWS, founded in 1957, is a coeducational boarding and day school in Steamboat Springs, Colorado. LWS educates roughly 105 students in grades 9 through 12. The curriculum emphasizes college preparatory academics, educational experience in the wilderness, and both recreational and competitive skiing/snowboarding programs.
Experiential outdoor education
Lowell Whiteman students participate in an outdoor education program. In the fall and spring, afternoon activities include rock climbing, kayaking, horseback riding, and mountain biking. Almost all students participate in an active camping program that caters to varied interests: students may choose to backpack. Each fall, the entire school heads to the desert for a week of camping in small groups. Past Desert Weeks have included whitewater rafting down the Colorado River, mountain biking in Moab, Utah, and tours of Anasazi ruins in the Four Corners region.
Skiing and snowboarding
There are two general groups of students in Lowell Whiteman School:
- Competitive skiing/snowboarding program
- Competitive skiers and riders participate in the dryland, training, and competition program of the Steamboat Springs Winter Sports Club. The school offers a winter 'skier schedule' to accommodate the demands of training and competing: student athletes have a shortened school day and may drop up to three of their five classes in winter. Student athletes then participate in an intensive spring "Intersession" academic program while the Foreign Travelers are away. This program is lacking in academics in comparison to the Foreign Travelers.
- Recreational skiing/snowboarding program
- Recreational Skiers and riders keep all classes throughout the winter and ski in a structured program two days a week (Tuesday and Wednesday) in groups based on skill level. Most recreational skiers participate in a foreign trip, though a few are involved in the Community Service Program. Not all students in this program are required to participate in it, they can substitute it for a four hour study hall in the afternoons which adds to the three hour mandatory night time study hall.
Foreign Travel
Each year students and teachers of LWS travel to another country to live and work for one month. Recent foreign trips have included destinations such as India, New Zealand, Mongolia, Vietnam, Costa Rica, The Maldives, Botswana, Swaziland, South Africa, Peru, Bolivia, and Russia. The goal of the foreign trip program is to expose students to other cultures, immerse them in different languages and traditions, and to become "a citizen of the world." Foreign Travelers also participate in some form of Community Service program on their trips.
Academics
The Lowell Whiteman School is a rigorous athletic school for grades 9-12.
Courses
English I, English II, English III, Algebra I, Geometry, Algebra II, Precalculus, Honors Calculus, World History, Geography, U.S. History, Biology, Chemistry, Anatomy & Physiology, Spanish I, Spanish II, Spanish II.
Graduation Requirements
- Two full-year credits in English
- Two full-year credits in Math
- Two full-year credits in Social Studies
- Full-year credits in Biology and Chemistry
- Three full-year credits in a foreign language (Students must complete up to level three of their language)
A minimum of 12 classroom credits is required to graduate from the Lowell Whiteman School.
Notable Alumni
- Caroline Lalive (* 1979), alpine skier and two-time Olympian
- Travis Mayer (* 1982), freestyle skier (moguls) and Olympic silver medalist with degrees from Cornell University and Harvard University
- Ryan Max Riley (* 1979), freestyle skier (moguls), US Champion, and humorist with degrees from Harvard University, the University of Oxford, and Yale University
- Johnny Spillane (* 1980), Nordic combined skier, three-time Olympic silver medalist and a World champion