
Students, Families, & Staff
Relationships, small learning community, inclusive community.
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.
The advisor model is very effective. My child has forged positive, supportive relationships with their advisors which helps them be successful in all their classes. There is also a great parent community at Avalon.
I was given a tremendous amount of freedom and flexibility, both in organizing my time during the day, and in pursuing the core standards in the way I found most interesting. As a student, I was treated as though I was capable of being independent and making my own decisions
Inclusive community, student-led learning, amazing support of the staff
I love the relationships I get to build with students and families over time - it is so rewarding to see such growth!
Avalon's flexible schedule allowed me to take PSEO as a sophomore, saving me so much money for my AA degree.
It has given our child the chance to be “seen” and to make mistakes in a smaller environment.
Our son has finally become invested in his own learning... it's incredible!
Avalon supported me in expressing myself and exploring my identity as a high-schooler. The project-based model allowed me to dig deeper in academic areas I was more interested in, which ultimately helped me find my niche in the world today! I also feel Avalon was ahead of the curve on supporting and empowering LGBTQIA+ students.
Avalon has been committed to student empowerment by giving students a choice of how they learn. Some students learn best in a classroom, and some learn best working on an independent project. Avalon gives students that choice. Avalon advisors also empowers students by going by their first name. This puts students and advisors on a more equal level, so students can see advisors as part of their community instead of someone who simply has authority over them.
10/10 would go to high school there again.
The inclusivity, the overall approach to learning, the staff is incredible.. I could go on and on.
Avalon encourages students who are committed to learning to meet and exceed their goals. For example, I graduated with almost 50 credits at the end of my senior year. I frequently exceeded my goals on the time I spent working on my learning through projects.
During my time at Avalon I was always encouraged to learn in a way that was most interesting to me. The focus on independent learning and the guiding of advisors on what could be an interesting approach to learning subjects made Avalon the best school that I have attended. Avalon was a great mixture of structured and independent learning that allowed me to take interesting courses on historical fiction, but also let me take topics into my own hands such as spending a year learning college math and working on making guides to help teach math to my peers in my advisory.
