Long Trail School

Infobox secondary school
name = Long Trail School

motto = "Living a Life of Your Own Design"
established = 1975
type = Private
accreditation = Vermont State Board of Education, NEASC
headmaster = John H. Suitor III
dean = Peter Ahlfeld
founder = Two, David and Rene Wilson
faculty = 46
enrollment = 177
athletics = Softball, Baseball, Soccer, Rock climbing, Basketball, Tennis, Golf Skiing, and Snowboarding
colors = Red, White, Black Colorsample|RED Colorsample|WHITE Colorsample|BLACK
mascot = Lynx
campus type = Suburban
city = flagicon|Vermont Dorset
state = Vermont
country = USA
yearbook = The Trail
newspaper = Two, the bi-monthly, student-run "Trail Mix" and the weekly school-wide "E-notes"
website = http://www.longtrailschool.org

The Long Trail School is an independent 6-12 coeducational day school located in Dorset, Vermont, United States. Long Trail School was established on the founding principles that every student is unique, small group instruction responds to individual needs, high academic standards motivate students, and financial need should not deter qualified students from applying. Long Trail School is committed to providing financial aid to qualified students, and has a strong tradition of doing so. Many area students are eligible for some amount of tax-funded tuition assistance.

History

David Wilson and Rene Wilson founded the Long Trail School in 1975 with an original class of 14 students in the rented space of the Dorset Sportsman’s Club. The school, which serves grades 6-12, has consistently grown and currently has 177 students enrolled for the 2007-2008 academic year. Notable changes over the years have included the acquisition and construction the convert|60000|sqft|m2|abbr=on facility with winding hallways and small classrooms, two common rooms, offices and other facilities including a library, a large 220 seat theater, art studios, presentation spaces, and a gymnasium. The Founders David Wilson and Rene Wilson played a strong role in the school, with David Wilson as the Headmaster and Rene Wilson handling course registration and college placement for the entire history of the school, until their retirement in June 2007. The current Head of School is John H. Suitor III, originally from Foxcroft School.

About the school

Long Trail School has historically drawn students from over 38 towns in Vermont and neighboring New York state, and from 20 foreign countries, including South Korea, Japan, England, Iran, Iraq, Puerto Rico, Omen, Saudi Arabia, Uganda, Ethiopia, Germany, Serbia, the Czech Republic, Egypt, India, Austria, Australia, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Costa Rica and others. The local and international attraction to the school is due to its small class size, the informal atmosphere, coupled with high academic standards and an emphasis on individual growth. The International students or any foreign exchange students are not allowed to have a driver's license, and thus not allowed to drive under any kind of circumstances.Fact|date=February 2008

New Head of School

Upon the retirement of founding Head David D. Wilson, the new Head of School, John H. Suitor III has taken the helm.

Academics

Class sizes currently average 8-10 students, though classes with only a single student are not unheard of at Long Trail. Academic standards are high by comparison to other local schools, with test scores consistently above state and local averages. Long Trail offers some Advanced Placement classes for its size and many independent study opportunities and student-demanded classes due to its size.

ummer Reading

Every summer, students are required to read two books of their choice from an approved list for the grade level they are entering for the upcoming year, and one book assigned for their grade level by the English Department. Most students are required to write two book reports, the senior class has to write one comparison essay on the required books. These reports are due July 1 and August 1, while the comparison essay for the senior class is due on the latter date.cite book | title=Summer Reading List| last=Long Trail School| first=The| date=2006| pages=1] The reports have to follow a specific format, with increased detail and complexity increasing with each subsequent year. International students are also required to participate in the Summer Reading Program, they have to meet with the ESL teacher in order to plan their reading, books and format, tailored to their grasp of the English Language.cite book | title=Summer Reading List| last=Long Trail School| first=The| date=2006| pages=6]

Atmosphere

The atmosphere is notably informal and laid-back compared to a traditional school environment. This is most notably seen in strong relationships between students and teachers and the notion of many as the school as a second home. The building demonstrates many homey qualities such as two kitchens located in the common rooms and couches and makeshift areas of congregation spread throughout the building, with kids roaming the hallways. Students address faculty by their first names.

The Arts

Long Trail offers a strong arts program, boasting a superb theater facility built in 2003. In 2008, Long Trail School will be attending the Fringe Festival in Scotland for the second time (2005 was the first) by invitation. Long Trail is one of the smallest schools nationwide to be invited to do so.Fact|date=February 2008 Notable music and visual arts offerings include instrumental, vocal, and orchestral music, art classes on varying levels, acting classes, theater production classes, and other periodic offerings.Cite web|url=http://www.longtrailschool.org/Acad-CourseOffers.htm|title=Academics - Course Catalog|accessdate=2008-02-13|publisher=Long Trail School|year=2006|format=HTML|language=English] The drama is their mainstream.Fact|date=February 2008

Athletics

Long Trail’s sports program has seen many student-formed teams come and go but consistently has had high participation for its size.Fact|date=February 2008 The most notable being the soccer, with the school fielding four teams, two boys and two girls each year.Cite web|url=http://www.longtrailschool.org/StudentLife-Athletics.htm|title=Athletics|accessdate=2008-02-13|publisher=Long Trail School|year=Various|format=HTML|language=English] In 2004, Long Trail made the transition to Division IV varsity athletics. Baseball was created in 2005 based on student demand and a tennis team was created in 2005 after the construction of the Appelman Family Tennis Center, courtesy of magnanimous Appleman family. The school sports a ski and snowboard team that competes on Bromley Mountain, a rock climbing and golf team among other athletic programs. Long Trail has created its own Varsity Softball team that began in the 2005-2006 school year.

Community Service

Each year, every student has to complete at least eight hours of community service by the end of each year in order to progress to the next grade level. Long Trail School has a few requirements that have to be met before any type of service can be counted towards the required eight hours:

* The student cannot be paid for their service.
* They cannot work with a family member (for example, a student cannot have hours counted if the organization or service entails working with their parents of immediate family).
* The student cannot have hours counted if they work directly with the school (examples include hosting school-wide dances)
** Exceptions are usually made to students that help in major school projects, like Empty Bowls, a yearly, non-profit event hosted at the school since 2007.
** Students can have hours counted if they're working alongside a faculty member.

If students do not meet the required eight hours by the end of May, they are required to clean the school under the supervision of the Director of Student Life and Athletics for at least sixteen hours; if they cannot meet this provision then they are not allowed to proceed to the next grade level.cite book | title=Parent and Student Handbook| last=Long Trail School| first=The| date=2007| pages=22]

Activities

Every Thursday classes end early so students may participate in activities run by faculty or instructors that offer their services. There are four activity sessions every school year, in which students may choose their activity on a form. Each activity has limited space, and as such students are requested to select, in order of preference, up to five different activities in case certain activities are full of students. Students in the senior class are given the exception to this preference rule because they are given priority over their peers and are guaranteed placement in their chosen activity. Students must attend two Physical (sports, yoga, etc.) and two Enrichment (guitar lessons, art studio, etc.) to proceed to the next grade level.cite book | title=Parent and Student Handbook| last=Long Trail School| first=The| date=2007| pages=22]

Trail Mix

The Trail Mix is a student-run, faculty-supervised newspaper. The paper is published whenever school grades are sent to students (this is normally every two months). Any student may send contributions to the paper, but it must be reviewed by student editors before being placed into the paper.

College Placement

Starting in 8th grade, Long Trail School commits to the path of placing students in the "right" college for the individual, taking into consideration family finances, geography, areas of interest and grades. In the past, Long Trail graduating classes (numbering between 10 and 18) have been offered significant merit aid for college. The Class of 2007, numbering 14 graduates, was offered $780,000 in merit scholarship over the next 4 years. Students often apply and accepted to Williams College, Brown University, Cornell University, Columbia University, Boston College, Princeton University, Yale University, Georgetown University, Middlebury College, New York University, Duke University, Boston University, Sarah Lawrence College, Bennington College, and Castleton State College, among others.

Alumni

Long Trail School, despite its small size, has launched its graduates into a variety of fields. Among the alumni are white water rafting guides, financial planners, engineers, teachers, lawyers, curators, small business owners, fundraisers, and several careers in the non-profit/philanthropic sector (among them the Founder of Clear Path International, a non-profit committed to aiding mine victims in Southeast Asia and Afghanistan).

LTSummer

LTSummer is a summer day camp held by Long Trail School every summer. The camp is divided into several programs for different age groups:

* Busy Bees, for ages 3 & 4.
* Curious Crickets, for ages 5 to 7
* Trailblazers, for ages 8 to 12

There are also two separate LTSummer programs that are more specialized. LTdrama is a program for children ages 10 to 14 that want to act and perform. The second one is named "Sports Camps", for ages 5 to 10, which is divided into two distinct programs, one for Soccer and another for Tennis. The LTSummer program focuses on students and children both inside and outside the school.Cite web|url=http://www.longtrailschool.org/Summer.htm|title=LTSummer Program|accessdate=2008-02-13|publisher=Long Trail School|year=2007|format=HTML|language=English]

Controversy

"Nude graduate"

Kate Logan, a student from the class of 1998, disrobed during her graduation speech.cite journal | author=Associated Press| title=Graduate Disrobes at Commencement| year=1998] Her reason being, was that she wanted to express her feelings of community and comfort she had with the school. Her disrobing at the commencement ceremony drew attention from the Associated Press, with school administrators denouncing her actions.Cite web|url=http://andrew.loewer.name/lts_identity.php|title=LTS Identity|accessdate=2008-02-22|year=2005|author=Andrew Loewer|format=PHP|language=English] The denouncement raised an outcry among some of the school's alumni, stating that her disrobing symbolized the values that the school held.

References

External links

* [http://www.longtrailschool.org Official Long Trail School Website.]
* [http://sites.google.com/a/longtrailschool.org/long-trail-school-sites Long Trail's Teacher Web Sites.]
* [http://andrew.loewer.name/lts_identity.php An Alumni's Statement Regarding the "Nude Grad" controversy and other school issues.]
* [http://www.hannibal.net/stories/061998/Graduaterevealsbody.html The Associated Press Coverage of the "Nude Grad" controversy.]