Fountain Valley School

In 1929, Elizabeth Sage Hare, a woman of extraordinary vision and compassion, convinced a group of friends to join her in founding the Fountain Valley School of Colorado. They shared the belief that a boarding school dedicated to traditional standards of excellence and progressive ideals of individual dignity and creative promise would thrive in the great West.

With the help of Colorado Springs entrepreneur and philanthropist Spencer Penrose, she convinced the school's first headmaster, Francis Mitchell Froelicher, to come West to start the school and commissioned architect John Gaw Meem to use the Pueblo Revival Style architecture model for its design. The site chosen for the School was a large ranch, known as Lazy B Ranch, belonging to Jack Bradley, and the school's first building was Bradley's spectacular 1927 home designed by Adison Mizner. The house was known as Casa Serena and was surrounded by a polo field, stables and some small residences for ranch hands.

Hare purchased the Lazy B and all of its amenities for $150,000 in November 1929. The school opened as a boarding school for boys in September 1930. Original faculty members included F. Martin Brown, who taught science, Alexander S. Campbell (English), Roswell C. Josephs and Robert C. Langdon (mathematics), Ernest Kitson (music), C. Dwight Perry (French), Boardman Robinson (art), and Froelicher himself, who taught history. FVS became coeducational in 1975.

Early funders, in addition to Hare and Penrose, included Ruth Hanna McCormick Simms, Lucile Alsop, Hagner Holme, and Alfred Cowles. The school has had only eight headmasters in its 85-year history: Froelicher served from 1930 to 1950 and was succeeded by Henry B. Poor (1951–1958), Lewis Perry Jr. (1958–1978), Timothy Knox (1978–1987), Eric S. Waples (1987–1995), John E. Creeden (1995–2007), Craig W. Larimer Jr. '69 (2007-2013), William V. Webb (2013-2022), and current Head of School, Megan Harlan.

QUICK FACTS

Fountain Valley School is a coed independent college preparatory school that offers day and boarding programs for students in grades 9-12. FVS was established in 1930 and is located on an 1,100 acre campus in Colorado Springs, Colo., which is 70 miles (115 km) south of Denver. Colorado's mountain ski resorts are two hours to the west, and the School has a 40-acre Mountain Campus near Buena Vista, Colo., that provides abundant opportunities for year-round recreation and experiential education programs.

MISSION STATEMENT

Fountain Valley School of Colorado provides a transformative curriculum in a supportive environment where students are challenged to think critically, become leaders, and live by our core values: Courage, Compassion, Curiosity, Self-Reliance, Open-Mindedness. 

Head of School

• Megan Harlan (2022)

Campus

• 1,100-acre central campus in Colorado Springs, Colorado
• State-of-the-art 60,000 sq. ft. athletics center with eight-lane indoor pool, strength training facility, gymnasium and 6000-sq.-ft. climbing gym
• 40-acre Mountain Campus

Accreditation
FVS is accredited by the Association of Colorado Independent Schools (ACIS), whose accreditation standards are formally recognized by the State of Colorado's Board of Education, National Association of Independent Schools (NAIS), and The Association of Boarding Schools (TABS).

2021-22 Enrollment

• 243 (Boarding 164, Day 79)
• Boys: 120; Girls: 123
• 24 states and 21 countries
• 32% of students reside outside the U.S.
• 38% are students of color
• 2019-20 Financial Aid: $2.8 million
• 43% of students receive need-based financial aid or merit scholarships

Faculty & Staff

• 75 faculty and staff
• 36 total faculty members; 23 full-time teaching faculty
• 63% of all full-time teaching faculty hold advanced degrees
• 41 are student advisers
• 56 are coaches
• 13 full-time teachers live on campus
• 10 are in residence halls as house directors

Class Size

• Average core class: 11
• Student-to-faculty ratio is 6:1

INTERNATIONAL STUDENT SUPPORT

Is English your second language? Are you anxious about living in a “foreign” country? We’ve got you covered. Through our international student support program and ESL courses, you’ll not only gain the language skills you need to thrive, but you’ll also be fully immersed and integrated into Fountain Valley’s diverse community, which includes students from 24 countries.

FACULTY SUPPORT

Kathleen Czop teaches ESL courses and is also available for help during free blocks and one evening each week during study hall. Mandarin faculty Xiaohong Teng also serves as an international student adviser, and she is adept at helping students navigate social, as well as the emotional and cultural transitions. Together, they are your advocates. They also work to educate the Fountain Valley faculty about students’ cultural differences and how the community can help support each student and the specific challenges they may face.  In addition, you’ll have a faculty adviser and an advisory group to support you through every facet of school life. These people and this forum also provide great opportunities for cultural immersion. Advisee cohorts give students the opportunity to learn from each other as they support each other. You'll meet with them and your adviser once a week. Groups are small and include a cross-section of students from different grades with various interests. You’ll expand your circle of friends as you meet to discuss topics, check in with each other, play games, and enjoy treats.