General description

Squaw Valley Academy is a grade 9-12 California boarding school and day school in the beautiful Sierra Nevada near Lake Tahoe. We offer a rigorous academic program that emphasizes close interaction between faculty and students and focuses on each student’s individual needs. Supervised two-hour study halls each school night, along with our average class size of eight students, assure individual attention and create a climate of academic success for every student.

Our team and individual outdoor sports in the fall and spring include soccer, mountain biking, rock climbing, hiking, kayaking, yoga, running, and weight training. During the winter season, if school work is up-to-date, students may ski and snowboard daily at Squaw Valley USA, 2 miles (3.2Km) from school. Squaw Valley was an International Olympic site and features 3,500 skiable acres with over 30 lifts and 170+ trails.

Weekends at SVA see a variety of staff-chaperoned activities including movies in Tahoe City, Truckee, or Reno; dinners on the town; shopping excursions to Reno; kayaking on Lake Tahoe; beach time; rock climbing; skiing/snowboarding; and occasional trips to Sacramento or San Francisco.

Summer students may earn credit for one semester in three weeks or for one school year in six weeks. Students attend intensive, two-hour classes in the mornings and enjoy summer fun at Lake Tahoe in the afternoons at the local pool, the local soccer field, one of Lake Tahoe’s many beaches, or in the Tahoe National Forest.

International students enjoy an immersion ESL experience to improve their English-speaking skills. Squaw Valley Academy typically hosts students each year from many countries, including South Korea, Germany, Taiwan, China, Austria, Spain, Canada, Great Britain, Russia, New Zealand, Brazil, and Japan.

Squaw Valley Academy is located in a safe and secure area with crystal-clean air at an altitude of 6,200ft/2,000m. A California boarding school, campus is 45 minutes by car/van/shuttle from the Reno/Tahoe Airport (RNO), which is 45 minutes by air from San Francisco (SFO) or 60 minutes from Los Angeles (LAX).

Please contact us with any questions about your family’s specific educational needs or to schedule a tour of our campus.

Why choose Squaw Valley Academy

• We challenge with rigorous academics.
• We support with consistent behavioral standards.
• We train in life-long sports.
• We provide outdoor adventure.
• We foster self-esteem through real accomplishment.
• We nurture the success of every student.