ACADEMICS
Students attend Mount Snow Academy from early November through early April. They spend the first and last quarters of the school year at their sending school, and participate in that school’s academics and athletics. During the Winter Term (quarters two and three), our instructors work in conjunction with sending school teachers and schools to prepare students for a seamless reentry when they return their sending school in the spring.Teachers are assigned, based on their expertise, to meet the specific academic requirements of individual students. Students who arrive at MSA with books and a curriculum for each subject from their sending school. They continue in their own school’s curriculum for each course. At the Academy students are taught by qualified teachers, each of whom has earned a Bachelor’s Degree and three quarters of whom hold one or more Master’s Degrees. Several Mount Snow Academy teachers are also college professors.Because students work one to one with their teachers, they must be prepared to actively engage in discussions during their class times. A by-product of this interaction is an increased ability to reason logically and to verbally present one’s thoughts. This process, in turn, has a positive effect on a student’s self esteem. Our one to one system allows a student’s strengths to be enhanced, while the areas that need improvement can be dealt with on a daily basis in each subject area. Our students return to their sending schools on track with their classmates, and, in most instances, they have been able to delve more deeply into each subject area. Any student who has been enrolled in an advanced placement course and has been taught the AP curriculum while at Mount Snow Academy has earned a four or a five on the standard AP test given in May. These scores, of course, have gained each student college credit. Mount Snow Academy has earned the respect of faculties and administrators at schools throughout the East and Mid-West.Mount Snow Academy stays in close contact with the students’ sending school. In order to confirm progress and any curriculum changes, Academy teachers communicate directly and regularly with sending-school teachers via tri-weekly reports. Toward the end of January and again when the student returns to his\her sending school, a very detailed report is written to each teacher in each subject area. These reports include a suggested grade. If desired by the sending school teacher, all the major works accomplished in each subject area accompany each of these detailed reports. A copy of all reports is sent to parents.
Academic Awards
Johnny Swing is a prominent local sculptor best known
for his metal furniture created from welded coins. Both
of his sons attended MSA and at that time Johnny was
an assistant downhill racing coach. Over the years, he has also generously donated artwork to the MSA Annual Benefit Gala auction.
Last semester at the end of January, MSA art instructor Janet Taylor took two sculpture students to visit Johnny Swing at his southern Vermont studio. Brett Sikora and Jon Zaccheo are 11th grade students who were taking a sculpture class at Burr & Burton Academy, their home school. Johnny explained his design process and answered questions from both students about the massive curved forms of chairs and couches they saw under construction.
Talking to the artist directly and seeing the evolution of
his work made the field trip a memorable part of their
MSA experience.