Colorado Springs is home to something often associated with the East Coast: a 94-year-old institution and boarding school, Fountain Valley School (FVS). Established in 1930 as an all-boys high school for boarding and day students, FVS operates from its main 1,100-acre Prairie Campus on the southern edge of Colorado Springs — 10 minutes from the Colorado Springs Airport and about 80 miles south of Denver. The Mountain Campus, at the foot of the Collegiate Peaks, is two hours from FVS’s main campus.
FVS is a grades boarding and day student school for grades nine through 12, accredited by the Association of Colorado Independent Schools, the National Association of Independent Schools and the Association of Boarding Schools.
“We are fully aware of our place and space in boarding schools,” says Chuck Greene, assistant head of school for strategic marketing and communications at Fountain Valley School. “Our existence on the Front Range of the Rockies, in the shadow of Pikes Peak, provides us with a different perspective from other boarding schools. We have what is likely the only ninth-grade ecology class that takes advantage of our unique location to help our students understand issues such as land and water, providing them with a lens they can use for understanding problems that impact people around the globe today and in the future.”
The school has a student body of 220 with 50-60 students per grade and 12-16 students per class. The split between boarding and day students is 70% and 30%, respectively. Half of FVS students are from Colorado, says Greene. The school has 20 countries and 26 states represented, with about a quarter of students being international.
FVS boasts the largest high school climbing wall in the country, 15 miles of mountain bike trails and a working ranch that houses both English and Western riding programs. It also offers a travel experience to send students around the globe to expand their perspectives.
Megan Harlan, who joined FVS in 2022, is its ninth head of school. The school employs nearly 100 full-time faculty and staff. Approximately 98% of full-time teaching faculty reside on campus, and 63% of all teaching faculty hold advanced degrees.
“We average about $2.8 million in tuition assistance per academic year,” says Greene. “We have two different types of aid: merit- and need-based.”
“The school’s enduring Western values — courage, compassion, curiosity, self-reliance and open-mindedness — translate well to any era,” Greene says, explaining how the school continues to provide a unique learning experience over the decades. “It really is a testament to the school’s leadership, a history of outstanding faculty and the ability to attract generations of families who have trusted Fountain Valley School to prepare our graduates for whatever comes next.”
