September School: An Inclusive Community for Boulder Teens
One of the Longest-Serving Independent High Schools in Boulder
For more than 40 years, September School has been one of the most progressive high schools in Boulder, Colorado, providing relationship-based education, learning, and achievement opportunities in academic and personal growth for students in grades 9-12.
Moving Forward with Meaning
While other high schools in Boulder focus exclusively on academics, September School values social and emotional learning in addition to traditional academic growth. When students are empowered to collaborate, support, and understand themselves and the diversity around them, there is an inherent desire to want to learn. We foster this desire as part of a well-rounded learning and growing experience.
Adolescence is a challenging time for many teens. But there are number of ways a relationship-based environment can make this a time of growth instead of angst. Our approach has given hundreds of students the ability to experience success in a wide range of topics, courses, and skills. Being welcomed into a community, filled with all types of people, gives teens the opportunity to trust themselves and rise above preconceived notions. Our students have all the tools they need to actively engage in preparing for life after high school.
September School is one of the most unique high schools in Boulder. As a small school environment, we provide effective academic instruction with a low student to faculty ratio, where students can truly understand and succeed in their school subjects. This education is paired with support and guidance to help students thrive personally as they mature. We help students build a solid work ethic by allowing them to focus on areas they excel at and explore a range of topics that challenge them.
Get to Know September School
To truly understand our approach and impact, we invite you to explore our programs, summer school, community, who we serve, and what makes us different.
Here are some key facts about September School:
- Founded as Boulder’s community independent school in 1973
- Relationship-based education focused on an immersive learning and social environment
- Our teachers show students how to use information and experiences to achieve success based on their learning style. We focus on the social component of learning.
- Located at 96 Arapahoe Avenue in Boulder, CO
- Our school serves grades 9th-12th
- Our student-teacher ratio is at most 8:1
- We welcome students with Learning disabilities, Anxiety, Depression, ADHD, Drug and Substance Abuse, LGBTQ+, Trans students
- Our staff of about 15 includes educators, administrators, and counselors
- Our student-counselor ratio is at most 20:1
- We encourage shared ownership and personal responsibility of the school
- Our school is accredited by North Central Association – Advanced and courses include English, Social Studies, Math, Language, Science, Physical Education, and a range of electives.
- We offer an experiential curriculum with opportunities for leadership development, personal growth, internships, summer school, community service, local and global field trips, and more.
Getting to Know Your Teen
We believe addressing the social and emotional learning of students is just as important as academic. In fact, success in one of these areas lays the foundation for success in the other. We help our students learn about and trust themselves as they learn how to build trust with others. What’s right for one student isn’t necessarily right for another; by creating different ways and opportunities for students to show what they’ve learned, we share knowledge together and embrace each others’ differences as we walk the path of learning.
Offering a Path to Learning Success
Our path to learning uses collaboration and teamwork. We strive to build trust and make sure students are seen, heard, and celebrated. We are not a high school of last resort or a therapeutic school. Our programs are sought after because we recognize that an individualized approach to education can accelerate learning and help students embrace their individuality on the way to adulthood.
We believe our approach is common sense. We’re focused on relationship-based learning, focusing on diversity and inclusion, responsibility and community, teamwork, and communication. With low student-teacher ratios and student-counselor ratios, we provide one-on-one interaction as much as possible to get to know your child, what they need, and what they can bring to the world. Our goal is to encourage the strengths and talents that are already there while providing the skills and education to help your teenager thrive, both in high school and in the world after.
