Steamboat Mountain School is a K-12 independent school with a boarding option for high schoolers. SMS blends academics and adventure, out of the classroom and around the globe to build students' knowledge, develop their confidence and independence, and prepare them for meaningful & fascinating lives
Steamboat Mountain School challenges the intellects and imaginations of its students to help them lead productive, creative and responsible lives in a dynamic, global society.
Approved by the Board of Trustees 08/2011
Steamboat Mountain School was founded in 1957 by adventurer, cowboy, and entrepreneur Lowell Whiteman, and it bears his Renaissance-man imprint today. The School's origins date back to the 1930s when Lowell sought to open a summer camp for boys as a complement to the Perry-Mansfield performing arts camp for girls a few miles down the road. In 1957, the ranch became co-ed and changed its name from the Lowell Whiteman Ranch for Boys to the Lowell Whiteman School. In 1993 Nancy Spillane founded the Lowell Whiteman Primary School as a K-8 school in town, though not legally tied to the upper school, Spillane sought to carry on Lowell's legacy as a local education pioneer. Both schools changed their names in the early 2000s to embrace the mountain town they reside in. In 2020, The primary school and upper school merged to offer a comprehensive K-12 independent school option in Steamboat.
"At practically the onset of their enrollment at SMS, and on countless occasions over the years, our children have said what every parent dreams about hearing: we love school, we love our teachers. Thanks to the stellar educators at SMS, our kids have blossomed intellectually and emotionally while making lifelong friends and embedding themselves in the community." -Parent, 2027
