Fountain Valley School is a global immersion, co-ed boarding and day high school in Colorado Springs, Colorado. Fountain Valley School remains committed to the idea that traditional standards of excellence, character, and progressive ideals thrive in the sublime setting of the American West.
FVS has an 1,100-acre main campus in Colorado Springs and a 40-acre Mountain Campus near Buena Vista, Colo. FVS is proud of its Western roots and location, and encourages students to embrace the many opportunities associated with living in the West, including the School's adventurous outdoor education and equestrian programs.
Our community endeavors to foster a lifelong love of challenge and learning in an environment of diversity and mutual respect, and to prepare adolescents to become individuals who are open-minded, curious, courageous, self-reliant and compassionate.
Francis Froelicher, the Schools founding headmaster, believed that Fountain Valley School should prepare students to write their own history. To empower them to do so, the School seeks to nurture all students in their pursuit of excellence and strives to develop in all students the following core values:
- Open-mindedness: To be aware of the richness and depth of all human experience.
- Curiosity: To value lifelong pleasure in intellectual exploration and discovery; to receive the consequent satisfaction of achievement and excellence through focused, creative effort.
- Courage: To embrace challenge intellectually, physically, emotionally and spiritually as a pathway to insight and self-understanding; to stretch and see beyond ones perceived boundaries.
- Self-Reliance: To be responsible; to exhibit initiative and accountability, working independently and collaboratively.
- Compassion: To demonstrate care and service to others, and to live a balanced and healthy life, enjoying the harmony of work and play.
Academic Programs
Academics at Fountain Valley School of Colorado are challenging and comprehensive, offering honors and Advanced Placement courses in all disciplines while providing a flexible approach to assure appropriate course placement for all students. The curriculum is designed to stimulate curiosity, encourage critical-thinking skills, develop intellectual stamina, and prepare students for the challenges of college. An FVS education is characterized by close interactions with a dedicated and accomplished faculty. The student-faculty ratio is 5:1, and the average class size is 11 students.
The arts are also a big part of the FVS Curriculum. All freshmen take a yearlong course called Freshman Arts that introduces them to all aspects including painting, theater, music, ceramics, metalsmithing, film and photography. Students then may pursue more serious work in any of these disciplines.
In general, all FVS graduates go on to college, although some students take a gap year, and often international students return to their home countries to complete the college process there.
FVS is part of Round Square, a consortium of more than 100 independent schools that offers amazing opportunities for students of member schools. FVS is just one of nine member schools in the United States.
The FVS Global Scholar Diploma challenges students to develop an international perspective through a curriculum and set of experiences that focus on global understanding. Students who earn the GSD will have the knowledge, skills and attitudes to grasp the nature of global interdependence, and pursue education and careers in the international arena.
The Western Immersion Program is a signature interdisciplinary program for sophomores. Weaving together literature, history, science and art, WIP explores how the Western landscape shaped the people, history and culture of the region. The program takes place at the School's Mountain Campus.
Interim is a core academic component. Each March, students and faculty participate in the Interim Program. Part of the School's emphasis on experiential education, Interim provides students with the opportunity to expand their intellectual, cultural and social horizons beyond the classroom. The weeklong program is curriculum based and has included such activities as learning about Chinese culture in Beijing, kayaking in Georgia, and connecting with the American musical tradition on Broadway. Athletics:Competitive sports teams include (boys and girls teams sponsored in each except where noted) basketball, climbing, cross country, equestrian (English and Western), boys ice hockey, boys lacrosse, mountain biking, soccer, girls swimming and diving, tennis, track and field, volleyball.
The hockey team is a prep team competing in the Western Prep Hockey League and includes travel across the country. The English riding team has twice won the Interscholastic Equestrian Association national title (2007 and 2010) and the Western team regularly qualifies riders for the National Little Britches Rodeo Finals. Both boys and girls competitive indoor climbing teams are among the top three in the state, and the boys soccer team has qualified for the state championships each of the last eight years. FVS also offers an outdoor education program and fitness.
Extracurricular Events
Leadership is woven into all aspects of the academic curriculum. Clubs include Admission Ambassadors, Big Sib/Little Sibs, Community Council, Froelicher Academic Honor Society, Honor Council, Resident Advisers, Peer Leaders, Day Student Leaders, International Student Club, Student Cultural Organization, Varsity Club, Athenaea Literary Magazine, Biomedical Science Club, Boardman Robinson Art Club, Chinese Club, Conservation Corps, French Club, Global Affairs Forum, Hispanic Honors Society, Jazz Club, Matchwits, Rocket Club, Round Square Club, Yearbook, Young Life
