about

Since the beginning, Colorado Rocky Mountain School has welcomed students with a spirit of adventure and an enthusiasm for learning.  The goal of CRMS was to prepare each graduate for both college and “a full [and] self-sufficient adult life” and this purpose remains true today.

As a school community, we care about the well-being of each member of our community, and we recognize that the members of our community will by design come from a broad range of backgrounds, experiences, and perspectives. The school’s responsibility, therefore, is to educate and develop students from this broad range of backgrounds, experiences, and perspectives, and to do so in a manner that is respectful and considerate toward this wide spectrum of values and beliefs. 

The existential purpose of CRMS is to cultivate “a learning environment in which students discover their potential to excel as individuals, contribute to their communities, and thoughtfully participate in the world we share.” The core values we aspire to embody daily are respect, responsibility, and excellence. To advance this mission and these values, we have established a school community where students feel safe to explore and take risks, empowering them to experience remarkable growth and develop an abundance of self-confidence and compassion.   Our responsibility is to provide the conditions and opportunities for growth through exploration, hard thought, and the potential discomfort that comes with developing independent belief and judgment.

The central function of the school, therefore, is to promote and maintain an environment in which this mission and these values are primary, and the school has a responsibility to bear this function in mind when expressing or communicating positions on matters of public concern. The voice of the school should be limited to the central function of the school, and the school’s leadership will refrain from commentary or official statements about matters that do not directly concern the school’s central function. 

Only the school’s leadership is authorized to speak on behalf of the school itself. Individuals may, of course, speak for themselves and voice their opinions on matters as they so choose, provided they do so in line with the school’s core value of respect. 

In order for our students to be adventurous thinkers and independent in their thoughts, the school must provide an environment that allows for the freedom to explore, discuss, and inquire freely.  When the school maintains neutrality it creates a space where individuals may pursue each of these freedoms independently. It is through this individual pursuit of free inquiry with room to learn and develop that our students will achieve the self-sufficiency the Holdens envisioned for the graduates of Colorado Rocky Mountain School.