Colorado Rocky Mountain School (CRMS), founded in 1953, is a

coeducational Mixed-sex education, also known as mixed-gender education, co-education, or coeducation (abbreviated to co-ed or coed), is a system of education where males and females are educated together. Whereas single-sex education was more common up to ...

boarding and day school in

Carbondale, Colorado The Town of Carbondale is a home rule municipality located in Garfield County, Colorado, United States. The town population was 6,434 at the 2020 United States Census. Carbondale is a part of the Glenwood Springs, CO Micropolitan Statistical A ...

. CRMS educates roughly 175 students in grades 9 through 12. The curriculum emphasizes rigorous college preparatory academics, exposure to visual and performing arts, educational experience in the wilderness, campus service crews, and required athletics. In 2020, school review website

Niche Niche may refer to: Science *Developmental niche, a concept for understanding the cultural context of child development *Ecological niche, a term describing the relational position of an organism's species *Niche differentiation, in ecology, the ...

ranked Colorado Rocky Mountain school as one of Colorado's best boarding schools and best high schools for the arts.

History

Colorado Rocky Mountain School was founded in 1953 by John and Anne Holden, former faculty at the Putney School in Vermont. The school was envisioned as an expansion on the educational ideas of Carmelita Hinton at Putney. In addition to Hinton, the Holdens drew strongly upon the ideas of

Kurt Hahn Kurt Matthias Robert Martin Hahn (5 June 1886, Berlin – 14 December 1974, Hermannsberg) was a German educator. He was decisive in founding, among other organizations and initiatives, Stiftung Louisenlund, Schule Schloss Salem, Gordonsto ...

and John Dewey. The school's location in western Colorado facilitated experimentation as well as necessitating practical adaptation of the ideas of its eastern U.S and European-based influences. The Holdens were able to buy a small piece of land and the school began in a ranch house on the property originally called the Big House (now renamed Holden House). Quickly encountering building space limitations, the Holdens, along with early students and faculty members, built or renovated much of the classroom and dormitory space themselves in the school's founding years. The Pabst family donated the neighboring Bar Fork Ranch to the school. A landmark on the ranch was a large, one-hundred foot square hay barn built in 1897. Today the barn serves as a hub of campus, hosting all-school meeting, theater productions, student music performances, and events for the larger town community. The library, music classrooms, and the main computer lab are also housed in the building. The barn, along with Mt. Sopris, a mountain to the south of Carbondale, serves as a symbol of the school, incorporated in its logo. In its early years, the school found modest success, and initiated some programs outside of the academic curriculum. Among these were seasonal trips into the nearby mountains and desert lands, a kayaking program, athletic programs in

downhill Downhill may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Downhill'' (1927 film), a British film by Alfred Hitchcock * ''Downhill'' (2014 film), a British comedy directed by James Rouse * ''Downhill'' (2016 film), a Chilean thriller directed by Patrici ...

and cross-country ski racing, and campus work crews. In late 2005, the board of trustees selected English faculty member and Dean of Students Jeff Leahy as the school's new Headmaster.

Athletics

CRMS offers kayaking, cross-country and downhill skiing,

telemark skiing Telemark skiing is a skiing technique that combines elements of Alpine and Nordic skiing, using the rear foot to keep balance while pushing on the front foot to create a carving turn on downhill skis with toe-only bindings. Telemark skiing is n ...

, mountain biking, and rock climbing. The school also has programs in snowboarding, canoeing,

tennis Tennis is a racket sport that is played either individually against a single opponent ( singles) or between two teams of two players each ( doubles). Each player uses a tennis racket that is strung with cord to strike a hollow rubber ball ...

cross-country running Cross country running is a sport in which teams and individuals run a race on open-air courses over natural terrain such as dirt or grass. The course, typically long, may include surfaces of grass and earth, pass through woodlands and open coun ...

, soccer, and

hiking Hiking is a long, vigorous walk, usually on trails or footpaths in the countryside. Walking for pleasure developed in Europe during the eighteenth century.AMATO, JOSEPH A. "Mind over Foot: Romantic Walking and Rambling." In ''On Foot: A Histor ...

Notable alumni

Oliver Platt Oliver Platt (born January 12, 1960) is a Canadian-born American actor. He is known for his starring roles in many films such as ''Flatliners'' (1990), ''Beethoven'' (1992), '' Indecent Proposal'', ''The Three Musketeers'' (both 1993), '' Execut ...

, actor * Josh Thompson (biathlete), biathlete, Winter Olympian, silver medalist at the 1987 Biathlon World Championships *

Conrad Anker Conrad Anker (born November 27, 1962) is an American rock climber, mountaineer, and author. He was the team leader of The North Face climbing team for 26 years until 2018. In 1999, he located George Mallory's body on Everest as a member of a sear ...

, American rock climber, mountaineer and author * Hayden Kennedy (climber), American rock climber and mountaineer

References

External links

* {{authority control Private high schools in Colorado Boarding schools in Colorado Preparatory schools in Colorado Educational institutions established in 1953 Schools in Garfield County, Colorado 1953 establishments in Colorado