Colorado Timberline Academy - Review #4

CTA is very unique in that it works on a bloc system. Students take 3 courses per bloc, and blocs are 4-5 weeks in length. Students are very engaged during the long class hours, and courses fly by in the short time period. Teachers are amazing, and there's so much variety in the courses a student can take. Additionally, CTA is very focused on outdoor education and students go on 2-3 outdoor adventures (~1 week long) during the course of the school year, beginning with Wakan, a strenuous journey backpacking through the San Juan mountains. The challenging journey prepares you for the year, and for your life, and it helps students learn that they are capable of completing even the most difficult of journeys

CTA gave me an environment where the faculty felt less like authority, and more like people I could trust and count on and like. As a teenager, that really means a lot. It's an incredible place that allowed me to flourish in MY WAY and let me grow into the successful person I am.

Nothing! Best years of my life.

The location

Cabin 9! No longer has a loft, but it used to.

Because the student-teacher ratio is so low, I was able to receive very individualized attention, and coursework was geared to my abilities and helped me to learn in ways that were most effective to me. I excelled at and discovered a lifelong love of science, and teachers at CTA helped me excel. Workload was light, which can help students with behavioral problems, but also allows students to learn to love learning and academic achievement with less rigorous pressure.

Athletics at CTA are non-traditional, focusing on outdoor sports. Participation in adventures, backpacking trips is required.

Courses at CTA were very student directed. While there was not official music or theater program, if a student is interested in those areas, the school will find a way to fulfill that student's needs. Art program was not rigorous, but was very enjoyable. I focused on painting and photography.

Extra curricular activities were primarily focused on outdoor sports

The dorms at CTA are actually log cabins that accommodate 2-4 students. They are absolutely and totally awesome. The campus/dorm life made CTA really special.

Small school, able to accommodate different dietary needs. Students who are interested are able to work in the kitchen too, and contribute, learning to make foods they love. Each student cycles through kitchen responsibilities, and is required to take turns cleaning up meals. Food was good.

Durango is an amazing small town. Fresh mountain air, lots of activities. Beautiful town.

Small school, very intimate. Everyone gets to know each other very well. High school can be hard socially for everyone, but the friendships made at CTA are seriously long-lasting. I have known many people throughout my life, but the friends I made at CTA are the friends I've had for life. They are people I will know and be close with forever (this is coming 20 years later!) CTA kids are absolutely the best.