An Independent, IB, Boarding & Day School for Students in Grades 9-12
Sedona, AZ An International Baccalaureate World School
You are creative, motivated, curious.
Our
students think for themselves and work toward a better world. They are learners who pour their hearts into developing their minds.
We are passionate about learning.
VVS delivers education in a way no other school does. We connect classroom and real-world problem solving, guaranteeing relevance in your learning. Students dig in to experiences that matter to them.
115 Day & Boarding Students
18 Nations Represented
10 States Represented
100% College Acceptance
VVS offers a varied outdoor program in which we encourage students to take some time away from academics by getting outside, challenging themselves, and finding a passion for the outdoors that continues beyond their time here.
100+
trails for running, hiking, and mountain biking
You
will find yourself
here.
VVS Organic Farm
provides fresh food for the dining hall
horses in our oncampus barn for trail riding
Welcome to Verde Valley School.
Your time at VVS will be busy and rewarding. You will live, study, and work with people from all over the world. You will take part in field trips, work jobs, and project periods, and will discover strengths and interests that you never knew you had. Verde Valley School is in the heart of the red rock country and out your back door a desert landscape will invite you to explore. You might find yourself aboard a horse, carrying a backpack, peddling a mountain bike, or climbing a rock face. You will learn from a dedicated cadre of teachers, mentors, and peers, and lifelong friendships will develop.
The VVS experience rooted in these five principles – Academic Excellence, World Citizenship, Physical Labor, Service to Humanity, and Environmental Stewardship –will give you confidence and prepare you for a bright future.
Kevin Warren, ‘78 Interim Head of School
Our guiding principles
Academic Excellence
VVS is committed to providing the best possible academic program, giving students the opportunities to excel academically while learning to become independent, thoughtful, and responsible members of a community.
The value of World Citizenship
Students are ethical individuals with a strong sense of personal, social, and cultural responsibility.
Environmental Stewardship
Students and faculty live and learn by respecting our environment and being proactive in protecting it.
Service to others
Students work hand in hand with communities from Arizona to Mexico to Malawi. The principle of service is deeply rooted in our fabric and is a part of every day. Students work hand in hand with communities from Arizona to Mexico to Malawi.
The value of physical labor
Involving students in building and maintaining their school not only empowers them, but also gives them a greater appreciation for the campus they helped to build and care for.
principles
Build your foundation
Verde Valley School is a college preparatory school that stresses competition with oneself rather than with others. VVS offers a dynamic academic experience informed by the incomparable beauty of our environment and the five principles that have guided our mission since 1948. We challenge our students to fulfill their potential in every area: academics, arts, athletics, community, integrity, outdoors, service, and more.
We bring together talented young people from around the world and ask them to build and to study, to work and to learn, to see beyond cultural boundaries and to change the world for the better.
Hamilton & Barbara Warren
VVS Founders, 1948
Academics
Critical thinking, successful collaboration, academic challenge, intellectual risk taking, and project-based learning: this is what we guarantee in VVS classrooms. At VVS, “classroom” means many different things: a science lab, nearby Oak Creek, the stage of Brady Hall, the Grand Canyon, a beach in California.
Language & Literature
Language Acquisition
Individuals & Societies
Sciences
Mathematics
Visual & Performing Arts
IB Core
Soccer Equestrian Mountain Biking Rock Climbing Hiking
Cross Country Track & Field Basketball Volleyball
Sand Volleyball
Sports
Athletics at VVS are competitive and non-competitive, mainstream and alternative. The red rocks of Sedona are our gym for world-class rock climbing, mountain biking, hiking and horseback riding. Our facilities include an outdoor basketball court, soccer field, fitness center, and dance space. Golf and tennis facilities are nearby.
Music Theater Studio Art Ceramics Metalwork Film
Arts
We believe arts literacy is a key to leading an exceptional life. We strive for excellence in the arts, grounding our studies in an understanding of history, techniques, and practitioners from the disciplines. Students compose their own music and form their own bands, write and perform original stage musicals, and find quiet downtime in all of our studio spaces.
Community
Community is at the heart of all we do at VVS. Students, faculty and staff recognize that the community we live in is the one we create. We chose to live in a place that values knowledge, respect and compassion. We intentionally keep our school small to ensure that all students are known well by faculty members and by each other. We choose to live in a place that values knowledge, respect, and compassion. Teenagers and adults recognize and value the community that we co-create.
I came to VVS assuming that I would try it out for a year and then leave. Within one month of arriving, I knew I wanted to stay for all four years of high school. That’s the power of VVS: the impact this school has had on my life has been astronomical, something like Pandora’s Box. The difference between Pandora’s Box and VVS is that VVS has only ever been positive and remarkable. Had I not opened the box I would have never known what I was missing; having opened it, I can’t believe I almost opted out of this experience.