OUR CORE PRINCIPLES
Our students are:
Courageous in Action
When presented with challenges, our students both accept and offer support to strengthen their resilience and develop the confidence they need to take risks.
Vigorous in Learning
Our students find their voices by developing their independent thinking skills so that they can collaborate productively in an increasingly connected world.
Purposeful in Exploring
Our students bring the world into the classroom and the classroom into the world, stepping forward into global citizenship as they experience, appreciate, and engage with the world around them.
Our students learn:
The Power of Connectedness
Through their relationships within the school community and beyond, our students develop empathy based on mutual respect, honesty, and open-mindedness and demonstrate a sense of responsibility for the larger community.
The Impact of Wholeness
Our students embark on the two human journeys: inwards to explore self and outwards to engage with the world. By developing a deep understanding of who they are and who they are becoming, our students increase their meaningful impact on the world.
Our school believes in:
Thriving through Contrast
Our school intentionally embraces the dynamic equilibrium between contrasting principles by:
- providing our students with challenge and offering them support
- developing independent thought and encouraging collaboration
- bringing the world into the classroom and bringing the classroom into the world
- focusing on our school community and connecting with the global community
- fostering self-awareness and inspiring broader impact
A Brief History:
In 1946, Lowell Whiteman started a summer camp for boys on his property just outside of Steamboat Springs, Colorado. After suggestions from parents, Whiteman opened a small boarding institution, The Lowell Whiteman School, with twenty-one students, high hopes, and no money. From its inception, the school was college preparatory, incorporating foreign travel and outdoor education. Whiteman discovered that by moving the school to Mexico in the spring, he could house and feed faculty and students more cheaply while avoiding “mud season.”
In its early years, the school flourished under dedicated staff, witnessing notable improvements in facilities and programs. During its initial eleven years, the school expanded its facilities and ventured abroad for its first European trip to Blanes, Spain, in 1962. In 1963, the institution was renamed the Lowell Whiteman School and underwent an expansion that included additional classrooms, a library, and a garage. Over two decades, headmaster John Whittum provided stable leadership, fostering academic enhancement and growth in the outdoor program.
A pivotal turn of events occurred on February 9, 1977, when a devastating fire engulfed the Lodge, destroying classrooms, offices, the library, and more. Despite financial challenges, local support rallied to rebuild, welcoming day students to the program. The school surged forward in rejuvenation, erecting new buildings, expanding the library, and constructing a boys’ dorm and gymnasium. Integrating competitive skiing into its offerings, the school merged with the Steamboat Springs Winter Sports Club in 1986, leveraging local resources for its ski program. Throughout the ensuing decades, the Lowell Whiteman School experienced fluctuations in enrollment and financial stability.
In 2014, the school changed its name to Steamboat Mountain School to improve brand recognition. This year also marked the start of Meg Morse’s tenure as head of school. During her six-year tenure, Morse navigated a challenging leadership transition and lean enrollment. Her major achievement was establishing a process for admitting more mission-appropriate families.
In 2018, Meg Morse and Samantha Coyne Donnel, head of school at Emerald Mountain School, began conversations with their boards about developing a strategic partnership. Located in downtown Steamboat Springs, Emerald Mountain School was a K-8 community school serving approximately 60 children. The evolution of the school began in 1993 when a small group of families tapped Nancy Spillane to establish the Lowell Whiteman Primary School. These founders created a school committed to educating the whole child, nurturing the mind and spirit, and inspiring children to become critical thinkers, problem solvers, and life-long learners while attaining a solid academic foundation. Students were grouped in multi-age classrooms taught by subject experts. The school was renamed Emerald Mountain School in August 2012 to alleviate confusion with the Lowell Whiteman School.
In 2018, members of the Steamboat Mountain School board formed a joint task force with members of the Emerald Mountain School board and their heads of school to explore a strategic partnership. As conversations developed, the task force began seriously considering a merger. The schools hired a merger consultant, and after two years of reviewing the possibility, talking with key stakeholders, and consulting with ACIS, the schools merged. In January 2021, the school submitted new articles of incorporation with the state of Colorado. After joining the business operations of the school, a task force of constituents from both campuses worked together to develop core principles for the new K-12 school. These core principles guide all decision-making and program evaluation as the campuses unify. The board then utilized the work from the stakeholders to revise the school’s mission and vision statements.