Long Trail School

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 provides financial aid to qualified students. Many area students are eligible for some amount of tax-funded tuition assistance.^[1]

History

David Wilson and Rene Wilson founded 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, with 195 students enrolled for the 2016-17 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, a library, a 220-seat theater, art studios, presentation spaces, and a gymnasium.

The founders continued to play a role in the school, with David Wilson as its 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 Steven Dear.

About the school

Long Trail School has 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, Oman, Saudi Arabia, Uganda, Ethiopia, Germany, Serbia, the Czech Republic, Egypt, India, Austria, Australia, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Brazil, and Costa Rica.

As of May 14, 2010, Long Trail School is the first school in Vermont to be officially inducted as an International Baccalaureate school.^[2]

Academics

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.

Summer reading

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, and seniors must write one comparison essay. 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 must follow a specific format, with detail and complexity increasing with each subsequent year. International students are also required to participate in the Summer Reading Program, and meet with their ESL teacher in order to plan their reading, books and format, tailored to their grasp of the English Language.^[4]

International Baccalaureate (IB) Classes

• HL English
• SL/HL History
• Ab Initio/SL/HL Spanish
• Ab Initio/SL/HL French
• Ab Initio German
• Math Studies/SL Math
• SL/HL Biology
• HL Physics
• SL/HL Art
• SL/HL Theatre
• SL/HL Music

Atmosphere

The atmosphere of Long Trail is generally informal. Students address teachers by their first names.

The Arts

Long Trail offers musical, visual, and theatrical arts.

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.

Music and visual arts offerings include instrumental and orchestral music, art classes on varying levels, acting classes, and theater production classes.^[5]

Athletics

The most popular sport is soccer, with the school fielding four teams, two boys teams and two girls teams each year.^[6]

In 2004, Long Trail made the transition to Division IV varsity athletics.

Baseball was introduced 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 the Appleman family. The school has a ski and snowboard team that competes on Bromley Mountain, a rock climbing team, and a golf team. 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.

As well as Soccer in the fall, the independent school added Indoor Soccer in the winter/spring transition of the 2015 year. Long Trail has competed against notable schools such as Rutland High School, Otter Valley Union High School, and Proctor Junior/Senior High School.

In the year of 2015-16, Long Trail introduced Ultimate Frisbee, or Ultimate Exhibition, as a new spring sport. The introduction of this sport was instigated by student demand. As the VPA is slowly crediting Ultimate as a Varsity sport, there is only one division within the state. Schools that compete include Rice Memorial High School and Vermont Commons School.

Additionally, the school fields a rock climbing team, which competes and practices at the Green Mountain Rock Climbing Center in Rutland, VT.

E-Classes

Every Thursday academic classes end early so that students may participate in activities run by faculty or instructors. There are four Enrichment Class (E-Class) sessions every school year. Each E-class has limited space, so students select up to three different activities in case certain activities are full.

College placement

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 Harvard University, Williams College, Brown University, UC Santa Cruz, Cornell University, Columbia University, Princeton University, Yale University, Georgetown University, Middlebury College, Hamilton College (New York), Boston College, New York University, Duke University, Boston University, Sarah Lawrence College, University of Vermont, Bennington College, and Castleton State College.

Alumni

Long Trail School has launched its graduates into a variety of fields. Among its alumni are white water rafting guides, financial planners, engineers, teachers, lawyers, curators, small business owners, fundraisers, and several 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

LTSummer is a day camp held by Long Trail School every summer. The camp is divided into several programs for different age groups.

References

1. ↑ "Discover Long Trail". 
2. ↑ "Baccalaureate Program: A First For VT". 
3. ↑ Long Trail School, The (2006). Summer Reading List. p. 1. 
4. ↑ Long Trail School, The (2006). Summer Reading List. p. 6. 
5. ↑ "Academics - Course Catalog". Long Trail School. 2006. Retrieved 2008-02-13. 
6. ↑ "Athletics". Long Trail School. Retrieved 2008-02-13. 

External links

• Official Long Trail School website
• Long Trail's teacher websites

Coordinates: 43°16′13″N 73°05′54″W / 43.27025°N 73.09824°W / 43.27025; -73.09824