Trevor Adams
Director of Middle School
Middle School
Middle School Philosophy
Middle School is a time when young adults are developing their identity, discovering themselves, and building independence. It is a time to encourage mistakes and healthy risk-taking, to create more opportunities for learning life lessons, and to focus on individual character development in preparation for future success. VMS Middle School students benefit from being led on a path of self-discovery in terms of who they are as a learner, who they are as a friend, and who they are as a member of a community. The VMS Middle School faculty endeavors to know the whole child inside and outside of the classroom to better support them on their three year journey of learning.
Vail Mountain School is Proud to be Named to the 2024 AP School Honor Roll, Platinum Status
The teachers know our daughter can do more than she's ever been asked to do up to this point and they are pushing her to explore an education beyond the boundaries of the regular curriculum. Middle and Upper School Parent
Middle School
Sixth, seventh and eighth grade students are encouraged to participate in athletics and activities at VMS, and with outside teams or clubs.
Class trips are integrated into the Middle School curriculum to enrich learning by taking advantage of place-based learning opportunities
Our building, our program, and our traditions are all designed to develop organic relationships between students of all ages and cross-age learning opportunities.
The Middle School incorporates experiential learning into our academic and advisory curriculum across grade levels throughout the school year. We believe it is important for students to have experiences inside and outside of our school building that support a cycle of reflection, analysis, and experimentation. We strive for students to have four different curriculum-driven opportunities each school year that may include place-based, project-based, expeditionary, or service learning. These experiences may be day trips or overnight trips based on the experience that has been crafted by the faculty.
VMS faculty willingly work with students, parents and coaches to ensure that ski racers, athletes, musicians, and artists can compete, train, and perform without compromising academics.
Every child participates in the Homebase program, which is a defining element of a VMS education. Homebase is a daily meeting between students and an advising teacher which serves as a time to reflect, plan, prioritize and support each other in a family environment.
Middle School is a perfect time to build a passion for the outdoors and the skills to explore the natural world around us. Each school year begins with multi-day orientation trips to create a strong learning community and welcome new friends.
There is perhaps no better venue than theatre for teaching communication, collaboration, and self-expression.