The White Mountain School

The White Mountain School
Joanna Evans, Director of Admissions
West Farm Road
Bethlehem, New Hampshire 03574
USA
Telephone: 603.444.2928; Toll.free in the U.S.: 800.545.7813
Fax: 603.444.5568
Contact Us!

Imagine a school where you'll take intellectual and physical adventures you never thought possible. A place where you take a chance to stretch your mind as you learn in the classroom, the community, and the mountains; where academics include books and much more; where you make friends that last a lifetime; where you discover you have the strength and courage to go beyond and see the view from above. Imagine a school where learning happens all the time and it's fun!

The White Mountain School is an independent secondary boarding school located in northern New Hampshire. The academic and co-curricular programs, provided within a small community of grades 9-12/PG, develop the whole person and foster human and academic excellence. It is the mission of White Mountain to prepare young people for rigorous college studies and for life beyond formal academics, by helping them learn who they are, how they contribute to their communities, and how they can become responsible citizens of our changing planet.

Founded in Concord, New Hampshire in 1886, the School was relocated to Bethlehem in 1935 to a 250-acre campus adjacent to the spectacular 600,000-acre White Mountain National Forest.

Academic Program

Students and teachers share an abundance of intangibles - friendship, trust, encouragement, and the adventure of learning. White Mountain teachers work hard to create an atmosphere of interdisciplinary learning and enlivened academic study. In participatory classes, students learn through books, discussion, and hands-on learning in classroom and outdoor activities. The curriculum involves a wide range of courses. Extensive community service projects, wilderness skills training, a human development program, and Outdoor Learning Expeditions (OLEs) provide an individualized and integrated approach to education.

Outdoor Learning Expeditions

Students and faculty participate three times each year in Outdoor Learning Expeditions (OLEs) which coordinate wilderness skills instruction with relevant academic components. These expeditions explore significant places and ideas over a three-to-four day off-campus project. Such projects have included "Zen and the Art of Backpacking," "Women in Outdoor Literature," "Walden, Thoreau and a Philosophy of Nature," "Sustainability of the Ski Industry," "Exploration of the Geology and Ecology of the Alpine Zone in the Presidential Mountain Range."

Learning Assistance and ESL

WMS' Learning Assistance Program is designed to give each student the tools needed to become an involved learner as well as to understand his or her own strengths, weaknesses, and distinct learning styles. English as a second language (ESL) is also offered to international students.

Faculty and Advisers

Each WMS faculty member has the remarkable ability to challenge and support kids simultaneously. Individual attention is a basic part of the WMS approach to education. Students and faculty are on a first name basis, living and learning in a community of respect. Many are certified as teacher as well as Wilderness First Responders or Wilderness EMTs.

Facilities

McLane is the school's main building which houses the classroom wing, Linda McGoldrick library, multimedia lab, 2 computer labs, a student center and extensive studio art facilities.

The Linda McGoldrick library contains 7,000 volumes, plus an online catalog, several online databases, and inter-library loan with Dartmouth College and the University of New Hampshire.

White Mountain's art studios include a photo lab, ceramics lab, drawing room, printmaking facilities, and a music room.

Completed in Fall 2006, the new Fred Steele Science Center provides an academic facility equal to White Mountain's outstanding instruction in chemistry, biology, physics, earth science, and sustainability studies. These large science labs, fully equipped with state-of-the-art SMART Board interactive whiteboards, allow for multi-day experiments encourage students to go beyond the book.

The White Mountain 3000 square foot indoor climbing wall and fitness center is outfitted with 12 belay stations, a bouldering area, Nautilus, free weights, and aerobic equipment. The campus grounds also include two athletic fields, Edge Field and Solar Field, for lacrosse and soccer.

Athletics & Community Service

White Mountain offers students a special opportunity to learn and develop outdoor/wilderness skills as part of their education. In the fall and spring, students choose from hiking, rock climbing, mountain biking, paddling/canoeing and Farm & Forest Crew. Students who choose a wilderness activity as their sports option learn the technical aspects of their activity. They also explore such important topics as minimum impact travel, first aid, navigation, orienteering, trip planning and natural history. During winter, students choose among Alpine, cross-country, and backcountry skiing, and snowboarding. Interscholastic team sports include soccer (fall), and lacrosse (spring).

The School's rock and ice climbing programs are the first and only high school programs, public or private, to earn accreditation from the American Mountain Guides Association.

WMS has received local, state and national recognition for its Community Service Program. It has three components: local and national service opportunities and Community Service Odysseys, which have taken place as far afield as Haiti, Honduras, Peru, and Nicaragua. In 2007, the National Association of Boarding Schools honored White Mountain's Community Service Odysseys successes with a Global Sustainability Award.

WMS is accredited by the New England Association of Schools and Colleges and is a member of the Secondary School Admission Test Board, the National Honor Society, the Independent Schools Association of Northern New England, and the National Association of Independent Schools.

If you are interested in any of our programs and would like to request information, please contact us!

Visit the web site of The White Mountain School.