A SVSEF skier shows some serious skill and does the splits.
It’s no surprise that Sun Valley breeds skiers, boarders, Nordic racers and so on. (Picabo Street is not the only locally bred ski goddess to reckon with.) What you may not know, however, is that to facilitate athletic development during the winters, the schools have come together to let kids do both: receive a first rate academic education and hit the slopes of Bald Mountain. Thanks to cooperation between the Blaine County schools, both private and public, and Sun Valley Ski Education Foundation (SVSEF), winter for students is almost as good as summer, if not better.
In the beginning, things weren’t so nice. For years, students were participating in ski teams and racing throughout he winter and as a result, they were missing weeks of school. John Cole, a former Wood River High School biology teacher, grew frustrated and decided to try to mend this issue. Cole approached the ski team and asked for SVSEF to sit down the schools to reach a compromise.
What resulted was a new program that would improve the communication between SVSEF and the high schools, primarily WRHS. The goal was to help skiers succeed in both the sport and in school. With the school day traditionally ending at 3 p.m., the idea of making it to the hill before the sun went down and the mountain closed was next to impossible. There was a need to change the schedule in order to accommodate skiers.
The result? The establishment of a relief period where students can lighten their load during winter and make up the classes over the summer or online. Rather than staying until the afternoon, these students leave school around noon and head to Bald Mountain. There, they hone their skills and work with local coaches.
While it sounds like hooky, it’s really not. SVSEF has put academic directors into place whose sole job is to monitor the students. The academic directors monitor work with the teachers. They fill out grade reports, they let teachers know when students will be absent for races, they work to make it work for the students. In addition, there is an academic center right at the base of Baldy with computers and tutors in order to keep students on track. Good academic standing is required for a student to participate. If the GPA falls, students must say goodbye to daily ski time and the ski team.
This year, the Community School took a similar route and created a skier track program. Students could apply to the program, which would allow them to skip the last two periods of an 8 period day, but, they are required to do their best and stay on top of their work. If they fall behind, then they must seek academic help with online courses and tutors or they will be kicked out of the program. This year, seven kids applied and all seven were accepted.
In addition to the skier tracking system, the Community School has its own winter schedule for all students. During the winter, school starts extra early (around 7:30 a.m.) and students are dismissed between 1:30 and 2 p.m. The idea is to help skiers who compete but also to accommodate a reality: students live in a ski town with a beautiful mountain; they might as well take advantage of it. Now, if only businesses would adopt a similar schedule.
To find out more, email Matt Leidecker, director of the SVSEF academic ski program to find out more.
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