
Students, Families, & Staff
I genuinely believe I wouldn't have survived high school without Avalon. I think there's also a very high chance I maybe wouldn't have graduated if I went anywhere else instead of Avalon. The support from the Avalon staff was unmatched, I never would have done so well in any of the subjects if not for the support from my teachers. From the individual attention from the advisor, to the class discussions you could feel that the Avalon teachers wanted you to succeed and that they were going to help you do that. Avalon has also had some of the most informed counselors and mental health professionals I have ever come across in a school setting and I think that was a huge part of my personal success.
Avalon has been committed to student empowerment by giving students a choice of how they learn. Some students learn best in a classroom, and some learn best working on an independent project. Avalon gives students that choice. Avalon advisors also empowers students by going by their first name. This puts students and advisors on a more equal level, so students can see advisors as part of their community instead of someone who simply has authority over them.
Avalon really gave me the tools to be a productive adult, advocate for myself and take learning into my own hands. When I was going through middle school I really struggled with public schooling, so when I made the move to Avalon I learned how to excel at what I do best and use project management skills to my advantage in my future.
I was given a tremendous amount of freedom and flexibility, both in organizing my time during the day, and in pursuing the core standards in the way I found most interesting. As a student, I was treated as though I was capable of being independent and making my own decisions
The advisors and staff are committed to helping students which I appreciated. I had a friendly relationship to all and I have throughly enjoyed my time at Avalon!
Avalon empowered me to be a creative problem solver, and to take charge of my own learning. Having to seek out and work with outside experts on my senior project was excellent practice going into college and forced me to get out of my bubble.
I really don't believe that I would have received this kind of guidance and attention if I were in a traditional classroom setting, because it's not set up for individualized teaching. I feel that this kind of guidance helped me learn resilience and professional skills, as well as life skills to be able to achieve my professional and higher education goals. Whatever path I wanted to take in life, they would help guide me there, and if they noticed I was struggling or on the wrong path they were there to guide me back.
Inclusiveness!
Avalon and its staff were excellent at preparing me for the independent learning and work output environment that students should expect in higher education and most professional settings. They pushed me to reach my potential by guiding to me areas where I could excel and be recognized for that achievement.
It has given our child the chance to be “seen” and to make mistakes in a smaller environment.
Flexibility and understanding around mental health needs and my child has been able to be themselves fully without worries around bullying because of how they dress or their sexual orientation.
Our son has finally become invested in his own learning... it's incredible!
I think Avalon has always done an excellent job of empowering students to do the things they really care about and be themselves. During my time at Avalon I was able to truly explore what it meant to be myself and even do projects and get school credit for that work.
Avalon School's project-based learning platform gave me the freedom to pursue my passion for architecture. It also taught me how to set my own academic and professional goals; and be self-driven.
Relationships, small learning community, inclusive community.
