Lowell Whiteman School

Lowell Whiteman School
Location
Steamboat Springs, Colorado United States
Coordinates	40°32′13″N 106°49′30″W
Information
Type	Private, Co-ed
Established	1957
Head of school	Chris Taylor (replacing Walter Daub, who retired at the end of the 2009-10 school year)
Faculty	~33
Grades	9-12
Enrollment	~105
Campus size	192 acres (0.78 km2)
Campus type	Mountain setting
Color(s)	blue, white
Athletics	SKIING/SNOWBOARDING/Outdoor
Mascot	Penguin
Accreditation(s)	ACIS (Association of Colorado Independent Schools)
Affiliation	NAIS (National Association of Independent Schools)
Winter	SSWSC and Foreign Travel
Boarding/day student ratio	50% boarding to 50% day
Average class size	7-10 students
Website	http://www.lws.edu
LWS campus in the autumn

The Lowell Whiteman School is a small college preparatory school in Steamboat Springs, Colorado focused on experiential education, for students in grades 9-12.

LWS, founded in 1957, is a coeducational boarding and day school in Steamboat Springs, Colorado. LWS educates roughly 105 students in grades 9 through 12. The curriculum emphasizes college preparatory academics, educational experience in the wilderness, and both recreational and competitive skiing/snowboarding programs.

Experiential outdoor education

Lowell Whiteman students participate in an outdoor education program. In the fall and spring, afternoon activities include rock climbing, kayaking, horseback riding, and mountain biking. All students participate in an active camping program that caters to varied interests: students may choose to backpack to a wilderness lake, ascend a 14,000-foot (4,300 m) peak, or ski to a yurt for a weekend of backcountry telemarking. Each fall, the entire school heads to the desert for a week of camping in small groups. Past Desert Weeks have included whitewater rafting down the Colorado River, mountain biking in Moab, Utah, and tours of Anasazi ruins in the Four Corners region.

Skiing and snowboarding

There are two general groups of students in Lowell Whiteman School:

Competitive skiing/snowboarding program

Competitive skiers and riders participate in the dryland, training, and competition program of the Steamboat Springs Winter Sports Club. The school offers a winter 'skier schedule' to accommodate the demands of training and competing: student athletes have a shortened school day and may drop up to two of their five classes in winter. Student athletes then participate in an intensive spring "Intersession" academic program while the Foreign Travelers are away and the members of the Community Service program are volunteering.

Recreational skiing/snowboarding program

Recreational Skiers and riders keep all classes throughout the winter and ski in a structured program two days a week (Tuesday and Wednesday) in groups based on skill level. Most recreational skiers participate in a foreign trip, though a few are involved in the Community Service Program.

Foreign Travel

Each year students and teachers of LWS travel to another country to live and work for one month. Recent foreign trips have included destinations such as India, New Zealand, Mongolia, Vietnam, Costa Rica, The Maldives, Botswana, Swaziland, South Africa, Peru, Bolivia, and Russia. The goal of the foreign trip program is to expose students to other cultures, immerse them in different languages and traditions, and to become "a citizen of the world." Foreign Travelers also participate in some form of Community Service program on their trips.

Academics

The Lowell Whiteman School is a rigorous college preparatory school for grades 9-12.

Courses

English I, English II, English III, English IV, AP English IV, Algebra I, Geometry, Algebra II, Precalculus, Honors Calculus, AP Calculus II, World History, Geography, U.S. History, Post WWII History, Honors Environmental Geography, Biology, Chemistry, Anatomy & Physiology, Honors Physics, French I, French II, French III, French IV, AP French V, Spanish I, Spanish II, Spanish III, Spanish IV, AP Spanish V, Art I, Art II, Film, Photography, Drama, Computer I, Computer II, Networking

Graduation Requirements

• Four full-year credits in English
• Full-year credits in Algebra I, Geometry, and Algebra II
• Full-year credits in World History, Geography and U.S. History
• Full-year credits in Biology and Chemistry
• Two full-year credits in a foreign language (Students must complete 2 levels of their language)
• A full-year credit in the arts
• A full-year credit in Computers (students may test out of requirement)
• All students participate in either the Foreign Travel Program or the Competitive Ski/Snowboard Program
• All students participate in the camping program

A minimum of 18 classroom credits is required to graduate from the Lowell Whiteman School. A minimum of sixteen credits must be earned in the fields of English, Math, Social Studies, Science, and Foreign Language. One credit must be earned in the arts. One credit must be earned in the field of computers.