Upper School Program | Mountain Academy

Upper School – Gutenberg

We Let Students Choose Their Own Path to Success

The Mountain Academy Upper School program is housed on the Jackson Campus. Our small class sizes allow students and teachers to work closely to develop an academic path tailored to each individual student’s needs. Mountain Academy Upper School students are encouraged to pursue their interests through our Upper School Pathways. Students graduate with the social, emotional and academic skills necessary to thrive in college and beyond.

Request Information

Upper School Pathways

Our Upper School Pathways give our oldest students the opportunity to customize their learning with a variety of individual experiences and choices that can be tailored to their interests. Pathways can include community internships, wilderness training courses, travel abroad, and in-depth academic studies.

Two Mountain Academy upper school students standing at a desk working on a laptop.

International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme Pathway

The most rigorous and internationally recognized diploma program for high school students driven by academic success.

The IB Diploma Programme (IB) is a globally recognized international curriculum designed for students drawn to academic scholarship, critical thinking, and global citizenship. Colleges and universities worldwide highly regard the IB diploma for its rigor and depth, and some colleges offer credit for IB courses in advance of matriculation. Students on this pathway have the opportunity to earn two diplomas: an International Baccalaureate diploma and a Mountain Academy diploma.

A group of Mountain Academy upper school students hiking up a hill full of prairie grass next to a forest.

Outdoor Leadership Pathway

Leveraging outdoor interest and leadership skills-building to prepare students for professions of all kinds.

The Outdoor Leadership Pathway (OL) offers students mission-aligned opportunities in the art and science of leadership. Alongside the core academic preparation afforded by our selection of IB classes, students on the OL Pathway have the opportunity to travel and live in wildlands, learn land and wildlife stewardship, and build leadership skills. OL students can elect and design learning experiences in transformative leadership, ethical decision-making, and outdoor and wilderness skills. Eminently transferable, these skills prepare students for leadership roles across industries and interest areas.

Mountain Academy students working on assignments in a field of prairie grass with golden aspen tree behind them.

Community Engagement Pathway

Career-focused internship learning to gain real-world knowledge and skills.

The Community Engagement Pathway (CE) leverages the core experience of profession-based learning to deepen a student’s academic knowledge and skills. CE students pursue concepts of entrepreneurship, hands-on career experiences, and building leadership for the workplace. A reduced academic course load in twelfth grade enables one or more community internships, in which students gain real-world knowledge and skills. Students may also choose to study abroad or complete an extended outdoor expedition. This pathway is best suited for those students who are excited by the challenge of real work environments.

“Our son graduated from Mountain Academy last year, and is now in his first year of college. We wanted to ensure he was well-prepared for his future and we could not be happier with his preparation and advancement through the years. We credit his teachers for this! We wholeheartedly support the International Baccalaureate program and know the elements and rigors of this program, along with the execution and commitment by the MA team, will serve our son well. We don’t think his schooling could have been any better than what he received at Mountain Academy.”

Quote from a Parent ’20