Frequently asked questions

A small, founders-led school in Telluride, Colorado for families who refuse to settle for traditional education. We pair best-in-class AI learning software with extraordinary human guides, structure the year on a four-quarter calendar aligned to the Telluride R-1 district (including a spring “Go Quarter” when families travel), and run two curricula in parallel — academics anchored by The Market and The Council, and a Second Curriculum of mountain sport, hockey, hands-on making, and the arts.

Discere et facere — to learn, and to do. Built by builders, for families who want their children taught by builders.

Forward-thinking families with high-capability children who feel the ceiling of traditional education — many already using AI-based learning, Alpha, or homeschool, who want a real-world community without giving up the academic acceleration they’ve found. Others are still in traditional school but quietly compensating in the evenings and weekends.

Founded and self-funded by Chris and Bevin Carter. We are working through accreditation pathways consistent with other independent schools in Colorado; our academic stack uses adaptive software with established mastery records, and students will be prepared to articulate with any accredited institution.

Children learn core academics through best-in-class adaptive software that meets them where they are — handling personalization, pacing, and mastery. Guides do what software cannot: mentor, coach, push, and connect learning to the real world. Software handles the curriculum. Humans handle the human.

Lower than any traditional private school — the founding-cohort target is roughly 6:1 or better, supplemented by AI that effectively gives every child a 1:1 tutor for core academics.

Q1 Autumn (Aug 18 – Oct 16) in Telluride. Q2 Early Winter (Oct 19 – Dec 18) — ski season opens, Semester 1 closes. Q3 The Mountain (Jan 4 – Mar 12) — peak Telluride winter. Q4 The Go Quarter (Mar 16 – May 26) — families travel during the district’s two-week Spring Break (Apr 5–16); the year ends with the Showcase the final week of May. Every break mirrors Telluride R-1 so your children and their friends are off at the same time.

Each spring, families travel — a week, a month, or the whole quarter — and the academic spine continues seamlessly through AI-powered learning. Italy, Patagonia, Tokyo, the Galápagos, the family ranch, an apprenticeship. The work returns to Telluride for the Showcase.

The capstone of every year, the final week of May. Every child presents what they learned during the Go Quarter to real audiences — families, guides, Council members, and the community. It builds public speaking, writing, and the art of teaching others into the architecture of the year.

An ongoing investment program that runs the entire time a child is enrolled — Benjamin Graham fundamentals scaling year over year. The founding cohort uses simulated portfolios, with optional real-money components that are family-elective and parent-supervised. The point is not the dollars; it is the thinking.

A guest-mentor program: extraordinary humans who sit with our students and each write one essay for The Telluride Essays. On purpose, we do not name them — the trust depends on a quiet, intimate format that protects both the mentors and the children.

Equal in weight to academics. Four streams — The Mountain (skiing, snowboarding, alpine literacy), The Rink (skating and hockey), The Workshop (robotics, coding, woodworking, applied making), and The Enrichments (music, art, theater, writing, language, debate, chess, astronomy). Every child does all four.

Yes — the Mountain is non-negotiable, taught by individual progression, not age. Every child learns to skate; hockey is built into Winter for those who want it, with beginner and competitive cohorts. Children serious about other winter sports are accommodated.

Tuition is structured on the four-quarter calendar; founding-cohort families receive a permanent founding rate. Need-based aid is available for families whose values align with the school. Specific figures are shared during the founders’ conversation, after the initial inquiry.

Neither. We have strong convictions — capable children shouldn’t be slowed to the average; financial literacy should begin in childhood; the most important job in a family is not one to delegate — but none of that is partisan. Our families come from across the political spectrum. Our politics, such as they are: every child deserves to be taken seriously.

Read the manifesto. Request the founding cohort packet at thetellurideschool.com. Or attend an info session. The most important step is the first one: raise your hand.