A Parent’s Guide to Getting Involved
More than 60 years ago, VMS was founded by a group of parents who came together to create a school for their children in a fledgling mountain town. To this day, parent support and volunteer efforts are at the core of who we are, and we welcome your participation and partnership in your child’s educational journey. Our parents’ commitment to each other and our school is essential to the VMS community.
We are thankful for our parents!
Parent Partners
The VMS Parent Association, Parent Partners, is committed to building community within Vail Mountain School in alignment with the VMS mission. Parent Partners provides meaningful volunteer opportunities and gatherings for families to partner with the school in support of our children and connect socially.
Gatherings such as ski days, hikes, bikes, and coffee hangs help our parents build relationships beyond their grade-level community.
All of the events and activities described below welcome VMS parents to participate as committee chairs, team members, and supporters in whatever capacity fits each family. Parent Partners’ goal is to make it easy for families to engage with VMS—join us!
Community Events & Volunteer Opportunities
Hullabaloo
A free, all-school event that is great for the entire family to eat, play games and socialize.
Kick off the year and see what a cross-age community means at VMS!
Volunteer Needs: Event planning and day-of volunteers to run games.
Gala & Auction
Our school’s largest fundraising event will exceed your expectations of what a gala can be! With a new theme each year, parents, friends, and faculty come together for a night of fine dining, dancing, and high-energy bidding on auction items—all in support of our students.
Volunteer Needs: Leadership and planning, auction item acquisition, data management, volunteer coordination, decor design, and day-of tasks.
Homebase Parents
At the heart of each grade is a team of two parents who help teachers coordinate grade-level activities and plan class gatherings that promote community within the grade.
Volunteer Needs: Each spring, current Homebase Parents will ask for new volunteers for the following school year.
Welcome Family Teams and Event Hosts
To ensure our new families feel welcome, we have families from each grade that coordinate social gatherings and help answer questions throughout the school year. Volunteer Needs: Share your enthusiasm for the school by welcoming new VMS families. We are also always looking for hosts for parent events at homes.
Athletics Ambassadors
Assist VMS athletics through the sale of gym banner ads and athletic team support.
Volunteer Needs: Become an athletic ambassador for your student’s team. We are in need of one or two parents per team to take photos and write brief game updates for the community to stay informed. Parents who can help at the score table or line judge are also greatly appreciated!
Book Fair & Holiday Market
For one week in December, the Common is filled with books for all ages and holiday gifts from local artists and businesses. A portion of all proceeds go to VMS!
Volunteer Needs: Working in partnership with The Bookworm of Edwards, parents set up, take down, and staff the event (helping students pick the perfect book is always a highlight). Parents may also choose to participate as a vendor.
Teacher Appreciation
Teacher Appreciation takes place throughout the year in many different ways, from monthly creative celebrations to the large breakfasts in the fall and spring. The culminating event is Teacher Appreciation Week in the spring, where we shower our teachers with love for an entire week.
Volunteer Needs: This is one of our most frequent volunteer needs. Opportunities include baking, setting up, organizing a monthly event, etc. Watch your emails for signup opportunities that are offered each month.
We also look for a handful of parents to help sell logo wear, coordinate Bingo Night and bring in treats for Lower School Town Meetings.
Sign up and learn more at: vms.edu/volunteer
Support VMS
Vail Mountain School is able to offer extraordinary experiences to our students and community today, because of the many parents, grandparents, alumni, teachers, and other friends of the School who have given so generously throughout our 60+ year history. Your generosity helps VMS execute our strategic plan and benefits both current and future students.
VMS Fund
The VMS Fund supports the aspirations, dreams, and needs of our community. All donations to the VMS Fund help us fulfill our strategic plan in areas such as hiring, retaining, and developing extraordinary teachers, and enriching the classroom experience with a curriculum that engages and challenges your children. We ask the entire VMS community to support this fund annually.
Gala & Auction
This fun-filled event allows our community to socialize together while raising money for our school. Past Galas have made it possible to add a school resource officer, theatre enhancements, interactive technology in classrooms, and so much more. Monetary contributions are the heart of the Gala, but equally important are the wonderful and generous in-kind gifts in our auction that are donated by VMS parents and businesses in our local community.
Corporate Sponsorship
Advertising opportunities in our printed materials and banners in the gym can help your business reach a great group of potential customers.
Endowment, Scholarship Programs & Restricted Gifts
Gifts to the VMS Endowment provide dedicated and permanent funding for our school and allow VMS to plan for the future and support our current students. In addition, we have scholarship programs and other institutional priorities essential to our strategic plan. The Imperi Educational Opportunity Scholarship Fund allows us to attract new students who might not normally be able to access a VMS education. The Taft Conlin Scholarship is merit-based and grants full four-year tuition to an incoming 9th grader every other year.
We welcome your questions and look forward to conversations about how we can partner to fulfill the school’s needs and engage your philanthropic interests. Please contact Colleen Davis, Director of Advancement, at colleen@vms.edu or 970-477-7185.