Student Profiles

Squaw Valley Academy is for students who wish or need individual attention in small classes (avg. 8-12), five-night study halls, and experienced, patient teachers. If a class section reaches 16 students, we usually split it into two sections. Those two-hour evening study halls each school night, supervised by one or more teachers, are a powerful catalyst for success. Honor students may study in the dorms.

Squaw Valley Academy is a California 8th-12th grade boarding school and day school founded in 1978 to offer a combination of college preparatory learning, outdoor education, and sports opportunities in the California High Sierra at Lake Tahoe. SVA offers strong preparation for college as its central focus and many outdoor sports and activities as a catalyst for personal growth and achievement.

Squaw Valley Academy is the ideal school for snow-sport students with the following profiles:

• The high-ability, academically high achiever who wishes the support, structure and challenge of a small school to reach his or her best potential and be on the mountain every winter day.
  
  
• The bright, average achiever who wishes to improve school performance through closer personal attention from teachers.
  
  
• The underachieving, capable student who may lack motivation to get ahead and needs daily structure to provide a mold for success.
  
  
• The international student who seeks an English-immersion experience in a pristine, safe location in California, combined with strong winter sports.

Ever since our first students started at Squaw Valley Academy in 1978, there have been wonderful success stories at SVA. Here are a few personal profiles:

• A two-year SVA grad from San Francisco was accepted to Berkeley and Dartmouth, both of which he turned down to attend Middlebury College which had "a better ski team". That boy had choices!
  
  
• A one-year SVA senior from Central Park West in Manhattan, NY earned credit toward her first year at Stanford from our AP Calculus class. All while pursuing international ski competition while at SVA. The other student in the class went to Colorado College. Both girls graduated from their colleges.
  
  
• A local Lake Tahoe boy left a tenth grade public school with three F's and spent two years at SVA. After SVA graduation, he was awarded a full, four-year scholarship to Colorado University at Boulder, where he skied top-level NCAA, and graduated with a degree in Architecture.
  
  
• Son of a Stanford professor was diagnosed with clinical dyslexia, and his father complained that SVA is not set up to help adequately. The boy was no angel, but did his work, albeit slowly, with extra time on tests. Young man went on to University of Puget Sound and graduated. Father and son came up to ski at Christmas and, out of gratitude, Dad offered $25,000 to the school building fund.
  
  
• A Norwegian boy was not happy in his mid-west home-stay exchange, and transferred to SVA. He loved what we did and loved the ski mountain and later graduated from a US college. The young man returned to Norway and, with a childhood friend, started a successful international business in boutique bottled water.
  
  
• A girl had a terrible 9th grade year at a Central California high school and then spent two years at SVA. She returned to her old school for her senior year to graduate. She then earned high honors, and "Most Improved". Her teachers asked her, "WHERE have you been the last two years?"
  
  
• A girl took 1.5 years of chemistry at SVA during 3.5 years here and entered UC Davis. She joined a sorority and earned the highest GPA of all freshman sorority women in her academic division in nutritional chemistry. Graduated with same degree.
  
  
• Local day student started SVA middle school rather poorly in grades and attitude. But after 2-3 years did a good, consistent job. After graduating from SVA, he joined Air National Guard while in college. Then was selected for US Air Force training. He graduated from fighter pilot school and now drives a very large 747. His parents claim that he would not have gotten onto that path without SVA's emphasis on math and science.

Squaw Valley Academy
Contact		P.O. Box 2667
Admissions Director	Phone: (530) 583-9393	235 Squaw Valley Road
info@sva.org	Fax: (530) 581-1111	Olympic Valley, CA 96146
We challenge with rigorous academics, we support with consistent behavioral standards, we train in life-long sports, we provide outdoor adventures, and we foster self-esteem through real accomplishment.