
Students, Families, & Staff
I feel like being able to learn my own way empowered me to develop into the truest version of myself.
Flexibility and understanding around mental health needs and my child has been able to be themselves fully without worries around bullying because of how they dress or their sexual orientation.
I genuinely believe I wouldn't have survived high school without Avalon. I think there's also a very high chance I maybe wouldn't have graduated if I went anywhere else instead of Avalon. The support from the Avalon staff was unmatched, I never would have done so well in any of the subjects if not for the support from my teachers. From the individual attention from the advisor, to the class discussions you could feel that the Avalon teachers wanted you to succeed and that they were going to help you do that. Avalon has also had some of the most informed counselors and mental health professionals I have ever come across in a school setting and I think that was a huge part of my personal success.
My education at Avalon didn't just encourage, but required me to be thoughtful in planning our projects and holding myself accountable for deadlines and deliverables while also stoking the fires of general curiosity.
We love the opportunity for independent learning and the sense of community our son feels among is classmates and peers. My son has really benefited from the extracurricular activities (like Robotics, D and D, and he is about to join another club.)
My advisors encouraged me to actively engage in the political process rather than sit on the sidelines just because I was too young to vote. As a result, I spent part of my sophomore year working on a political campaign with another student and utilized that volunteer experience towards meeting civic & government standards. One of the candidates we helped to elect won by only a small handful of votes. Avalon empowered us to get involved with our community and helped us to be the change we wanted to see in the world.
To this day I think Avalon contributed more positively to my life than any other single institution, educational or otherwise. I arrived there in a pretty rough place, had more or less given up on education and I don't think I really believed I'd even graduate high school. Four years later I graduated - I had rediscovered my love of learning. Avalon rekindled my intellectual curiosity, bolstered my confidence, and helped me remember that I cared about the world and wanted to at least try to make it a slightly less crumby place. Avalon was borderline life-saving for me; words can't express how much I love and appreciate the place.
Helpful with accommodating and being supportive of needs that I would not have been able to succeed without. Avalon was willing to accommodate me in ways that allowed me to succeed and have an equal education when I otherwise would not.
I think Avalon has always done an excellent job of empowering students to do the things they really care about and be themselves. During my time at Avalon I was able to truly explore what it meant to be myself and even do projects and get school credit for that work.