What is Rocky Mountain Adventure Academy?

• RMAA is an educational experience for boys and girls, aged 12 - 17, to continue their academic preparation for college, train for leadership responsibilities, and make lasting friends, while enjoying the opportunities and activities that only are available in a mountain setting. RMAA students will definitely improve their academic skills and knowledge because that is the primary focus of the program.

During the months they attend RMAA, participants enjoy comfortable accommodations, balanced meals, continuous adult supervision, tutorial services, and the many educational opportunities provided by the four collaborating schools. The RMAA experience also features an exciting array of activities outside of school, including:

• Downhill Skiing, Cross Country Skiing, Snowboarding, Snowshoeing, Water Skiing, Hot Springs Swimming, Hiking, Back Packing, Camping, Horseback Riding, Canoeing, White Water Rafting, Rock Climbing, Ice Climbing, Biking, Fishing, Sight Seeing

Students are not expected to participate in all of these activities, but they could if they so choose.

RMAA students also receive training at home, outside of school time, to develop leadership skills and capabilities that are intended to prepare the students to serve well in whatever leadership roles the students may assume in their communities, as well as civic organizations and church activities, as they mature into adulthood.

Each RMAA student shares a room with another RMAA student of the same gender in a facility designed to accommodate guests. RMAA students eat their meals in a family setting at home, with lunch at school on school days.

RMAA students are welcome to participate in any learning opportunity or activity offered by the collaborating schools that is appropriate for them. In addition, RMAA students have tutorial and counseling services available to them, and are expected to attend a supervised study program at home during the evenings when school is in session.

Each weekend provides opportunities to take advantage of the many activities listed above. Transportation, admission fees, adult supervision and training, and all necessary equipment will be provided by RMAA. Additional educational field trips have been arranged to take RMAA students to area sights of interest, such as Mesa Verde, where the pre-historic Anasazi Indians built cliff dwellings, and the Durango & Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad.

What is the cost of Rocky Mountain Adventure Academy?

• A flat fee of $25,000 (U.S.) per student covers all costs of participating in RMAA for the complete period from late August to early- June. This fee includes all expenses associated with the RMAA program once the student arrives in the Montrose-Silverton-Ouray-Ridgway area until (s)he goes back home. The fee includes all necessary equipment, transportation, admission fees (like ski lift tickets), some personal clothing items that are needed in the mountains if the student doesn't bring them along, and school supplies, in addition to room and board. This fee does not include transportation costs to the RMAA area and back home.

Who is eligibel to attend RMAA?

• The RMAA program is limited to just 12 students at each campus location. The earliest applicants have the best chance of being accepted into the RMAA program.
• RMAA applicants must be 12 - 17 years old on August 1 (exceptions can be made with good reasons), and they must be mature enough to be able to live away from home for 9+ months. RMAA applicants should be able to function in English, and they should be intellectually capable students who work hard academically, and exhibit the initiative to be able to learn independently.

What campus options may RMAA students choose from among?

• RMAA has four campus options, all of which are very small in comparison with most schools. Three of the four campus options are public schools -- in Ouray, Ridgway, and Silverton -- three small communities located in the San Juan Mountains of southwest Colorado. The fourth campus option is a small Christian secondary school (grades 6-12) located in Montrose, Colorado. All four campuses are within 60 miles of each other, and some of the weekend activities will be coordinated among all four so that students at different campuses will participate in the activities together. Because of the tourism, the residents of Silverton and Ouray and Ridgway represent a much more cosmopolitan mix of cultures, ethnicities, and education than might be expected in typical smaller communities.
• In addition to the mountain locations, RMAA chose to collaborate with each of these schools because of the small student populations, which nearly guarantee a close-knit, caring, individualized, student-centered approach to instruction that is difficult to duplicate in larger schools.

Silverton Campus

• Silverton is a lovely, small, mountain community nestled in a valley among the San Juan Mountains. Silverton was settled as a mining community a century ago. However, the mines are no longer in operation, and Silverton has become a tourist paradise -- the daily destination of the passengers on the Durango & Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad. Silverton is also home to a world-renowned Avalanche School, the Mountain Studies Institute, and Silverton Mountain recreation area -- all of which compliment the RMAA program.
• The Silverton School District has recently implemented "Expeditionary Learning -- Outward Bound" throughout its school system. Expeditionary Learning teaches students the "basics" -- reading, writing, math, social studies, and science -- by engaging the students in real life projects (expeditions) designed to make the learning more interesting and relevant for the students. Expeditions are not just "field trips", although some of the research is done away from the school. Each expedition requires each student to do a significant amount of research individually and as a member of a group, and to write and write and write. The Silverton staff has undergone a significant amount of training to be able to implement the expeditionary approach to learning, and the small number of students in the Silverton district guarantees an extremely individualized and student-centered climate for learning. Some Silverton students participate on Ouray athletic teams.

Ouray Campus

• Just to the north of Silverton, Ouray is another former mining community that has become a tourist paradise. Ouray is called the "Switzerland of America" for good reason. It is nestled in a valley at 8000 feet surrounded by mountains on all sides.
• The Hot Springs Pool is open all year around, even though it is an outdoor pool, and boasts different water temperatures in various sections of the pool, from just warm to jacuzzi-hot. The new ice-climbing park attracts novice and expert climbers from all over the world, especially during the Ice-Climbing Festival, and Box Canyon Falls and Cascade Falls attract sightseers all year around.
• Even with a somewhat larger enrollment than the Silverton Schools, the Ouray Schools would still be considered very small -- an average of 15 - 20 students per grade level. However, that does not stop Ouray from providing a topnotch educational program in a more traditional format compared to Silverton's Expeditionary Learning. Higher level, AP, and dual credit coursework is available in most subject areas. Recent Ouray graduates have received scholarships to Stanford, Dartmouth, Air Force Academy, West Point, Notre Dame, and Colorado School of the Mines, among others. Ouray High School is rated in the top 8% of all Colorado high schools by the Colorado Dept. of Ed.
• Ouray also offers a full compliment of co-curricular activities, some in conjunction with Ridgway, including boys and girls soccer, boys and girls basketball, boys and girls cross country, boys and girls track & field, girls volleyball, baseball, tennis, vocal and instrumental music, and speech and drama. RMAA students are welcome to participate in whatever is offered.

Ridgway Campus

• Ridgway is still a ranching community, as well as a tourist community, just north of Ouray in the foothills before the mountains to the south. Some of the scenes from the movie "True Grit", starring John Wayne, were shot in and around Ridgway. The Ridgway Reservoir lies just north of Ridgway with camping, hiking, fishing, and boating available.
• Ridgway High School is going to move into a brand new facility within the next couple years. The enrollment of Ridgway Schools is about the same as the enrollment for Ouray -- very small by even Colorado standards. However, like Ouray, Ridgway offers a topnotch academic program, with higher level and AP programs in most subject areas. Ridgway High School is rated in the top 25% of all Colorado high schools.
• Ridgway offers the same co-curricular activities as Ouray, with some of the Ridgway athletic programs in conjunction with Ouray because neither school could sustain those activites without the students from the other school participating. The two high schools even hold their prom jointly.

Montrose Campus

• Montrose is one of just a handful of larger communities on the Western Slope of Colorado served by a commercial airport with daily flights to and from Denver and other cities. It is the home of Russell Stover Candy, and is near Black Canyon National Park, one of the newest national parks.

Rocky Mountain International Academy is a small, college preparatory, non-denominational, private Christian secondary school for grades 6-12, focusing on individualized programs and fostering independent, activity-oriented learning, with more emphasis on academic effort than on innate ability. RMIA is brand new -- in just its second year of operation for the 2004-2005 school year, with 15 - 20 students per grade level. Students need not be Christian to attend, and foreign students are welcome; however, ecumenical, mainstream Christian values and beliefs guide the school climate, policies, and procedures.

LD types supported: Mild Learning Differences