Testimonials

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 love the small size and the limited amount of stressful transitions year-to-year (keeping the same advisor throughout middle school, high school; being in the same building for 6-12). I love that both of our children have the opportunity to explore their interests and to love learning again. Most of all, I love that both of my children are seen and valued for who they are and are treated as whole complex people.

I love the SPED services, the project-based learning is awesome, I love how invested the teachers are, and the diversity of the community

During my time at Avalon I was always encouraged to learn in a way that was most interesting to me. The focus on independent learning and the guiding of advisors on what could be an interesting approach to learning subjects made Avalon the best school that I have attended. Avalon was a great mixture of structured and independent learning that allowed me to take interesting courses on historical fiction, but also let me take topics into my own hands such as spending a year learning college math and working on making guides to help teach math to my peers in my advisory.

Inclusive community, student-led learning, amazing support of the staff

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

To this day I think Avalon contributed more positively to my life than any other single institution, educational or otherwise. I arrived there in a pretty rough place, had more or less given up on education and I don't think I really believed I'd even graduate high school. Four years later I graduated - I had rediscovered my love of learning. Avalon rekindled my intellectual curiosity, bolstered my confidence, and helped me remember that I cared about the world and wanted to at least try to make it a slightly less crumby place. Avalon was borderline life-saving for me; words can't express how much I love and appreciate the place.

Helpful with accommodating and being supportive of needs that I would not have been able to succeed without. Avalon was willing to accommodate me in ways that allowed me to succeed and have an equal education when I otherwise would not.

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.

Avalon encourages students who are committed to learning to meet and exceed their goals. For example, I graduated with almost 50 credits at the end of my senior year. I frequently exceeded my goals on the time I spent working on my learning through projects.

It has given our child the chance to be “seen” and to make mistakes in a smaller environment.

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.

10/10 would go to high school there again.

My advisors encouraged me to actively engage in the political process rather than sit on the sidelines just because I was too young to vote. As a result, I spent part of my sophomore year working on a political campaign with another student and utilized that volunteer experience towards meeting civic & government standards. One of the candidates we helped to elect won by only a small handful of votes. Avalon empowered us to get involved with our community and helped us to be the change we wanted to see in the world.

Our son has finally become invested in his own learning... it's incredible!