Academics, character, and adventure are the design tenets that drive our school. When we treat these tenets as equal, we develop confident and creative problem solvers who thrive in dynamic and challenging environments. Not only must TEA students engage in rigorous academic inquiry, but they must also call on their character as they tackle today’s messy and important problems.
Competitive skiing is an excellent real-world example of creative problem-solving in dynamic and challenging settings. Not only must competitive skiers possess physical strength, but they must also call on their character as they assess and take on risks in fractions of seconds while constantly adapting to every changing course condition. This confidence is as much built through physical conditioning as it is through collaboration with coaches and teammates.
“I will leave this school knowing I have the full ability to help people, let people into my life, and make future graduates proud to know that we share the same values because of our shared experiences.”
-Cody LaPlante, Class of 2019 / US Ski Team Member
A TEA education without character-building adventures would be similar to a competitive ski program that only focuses on physical conditioning. The most successful TEA students are similar to the most successful competitive skiers – they have developed their intellectual, physical, and emotional selves while learning how to be adaptable, perseverant, and resilient in the face of constant change.
We are proud to offer a one-of-a-kind Competitive Ski Team (CST) program at Tahoe Expedition Academy. Our program delivers a robust academic program alongside character-building adventures set in the real world. Additionally, our Competitive Ski Team Program integrates the real-world adventure of competitive skiing into our curriculum, creating additional learning opportunities throughout the ski season.
Why Join the Competitive Ski Program vs. the Individual Adventure Program?
While TEA’s Individual Adventure Program allows students to pursue their individual interests and provides flexibility in the schedule to do so, it requires students to complete their work independently. In contrast, TEA’s Competitive Ski Program includes TEA’s character, adventure, and academic program along with teachers dedicated to supporting our ski students, a modified schedule that aligns with the general ski training schedule, virtual lessons and personalized check-ins administered by their teachers while away for races, differentiated lessons to master core classes at their appropriate level, and separately designed projects that bring their passion for skiing alive in the classroom through project-based and real-world learning.
Program Details
Crew
Crew
Fieldwork Projects
Core Classes & Real-World Intensives
Program Specifics By Quarter
Crew
Fieldwork Projects
Core Classes & Real-World Intensives
Program Specifics By Quarter
Social Emotional Homeroom
Students in our CST program would be their own crew throughout the year. Crew serves as a social emotional homeroom to further develop their emotional intelligence. We focus on the whole child through social-emotional check-ins (stress management skills, team building activities, engaging in exercise and learning about nutrition), academic check-ins (digital citizenship, goal setting and tracking, executive function support, service projects), and honoring each student’s individual values to create a space of joy, respect, empathy, and belonging for all.
Where learning comes to life at TEA
This is where learning comes to life at TEA. Our fieldwork project experiences are designed to give deeper meaning to academic content while also developing character. During 1st and 4th quarters, CST program students will engage in fieldwork with their crew, as well as in their class aligned with intensives and/or core classes. During 2nd and 3rd quarters, CST program students will engage in fieldwork & adventure through their competitive ski racing and training.
National Standards and Deep Dives
When CST program students are on campus during 1st and 4th quarters they will participate in core classes and intensives with other students at TEA who are not necessarily in the CST program. During the 2nd and 3rd quarters, students are supported within their crew for all core classes so that it is more personalized to their academic and ski needs.
A Breakdown of Schedules
Quarters 1 & 4:
Same schedule as other TEA students (Monday – Friday 8:30 – 3:00)
Quarters 2 & 3:
Monday and Tuesday = 8:30 – 3:00 on campus
Wednesday, Thursday = 12:30 – 4:00 on campus
Friday = independent work with scheduled check-ins during afternoons
Ski Races/Travel = independent work + virtual classes and scheduled check-ins during afternoons
PROGRAM PROJECT EXAMPLES
01
Ski Jump Design and Build
Through this project, you will learn about the physics and math that go into designing and developing a ski jump as well as the forces acting on your body as you hit features at speed. You will also explore designing and prototyping with scale drawings and scale models. You will collaboratively take on the challenge of bringing your design ideas to life by building them in the snow.
02
Sports Psychology
Athletes encounter intensely stressful situations constantly, while in training and competition. In order to be successful, athletes are constantly training their bodies, emotions, reactions, problem solving and decision making abilities. Practices related to sport psychology that are effective in these engineered athletic environments have the ability to be utilized by people in dealing with stress and adversity, outside of an athletic context.
03
Heroes of High Fives
Students study the archetypal storyline of the hero’s journey which has been repeated in literature throughout the centuries. A series of writing lessons scaffolds students to their final product in which they applied their knowledge about the hero’s journey and the elements of mythology to create their own hero’s journey stories. Fortunately for us, we need to look no further than the Truckee-based High Fives organization to meet modern-day warriors who’ve recently completed their own hero’s journey. The High Fives Foundation supports the dreams of outdoor action sports athletes by raising injury prevention awareness while providing resources and inspiration to those who suffer from life-altering injuries. Our students were connected with several High Fives athletes to interview, record and narrate each of their hero’s journeys.
Program Tuition Schedule
Middle School ONLY (6th – 8th): $34,294*
**Discounts can be applied for based on financial need for the pilot year of the program
Program Capacity: 16 students
Apply HERE
If you are interested in learning more about our program, please complete this inquiry form and we will follow up right away:
