From trail to summit, we’ll shape strength, spark thought, and foster responsibility.
An alternative, semester-based school in Northwest Arkansas for 5-7th graders.
Our 3 year expansion plan will add grades 8-12
Does your child bike or climb?
August 2025 will begin our first official school year. We’re looking for young athletes who would excel in a kinesthetic learning environment. We accept EFA funds (pending) and offer sliding scale tuition. Contact us to learn about the application process.
Rock Climbing and Mountain Biking
Our students will spend multiple days each week on the trail or at the crag, building skill and confidence through expert instruction and real-world terrain. Earning strength not just in body, but in mindset.
Adventure sports are core to our academic learning: engineering through bike mechanics and trail design; exploring physics through rope systems and body movement on rock.
Above all, we’ll teach students how to fall, how to get up, and how to keep pushing forward. These sports are not just for fitness—they’re for life.
Experiential Education
Experiential education is a structured approach to learning by doing. Students engage in hands-on activities, reflect on their experiences, draw meaning from them, and apply those lessons to new challenges. This four-step model—action, reflection, conceptualization, and application—builds deeper understanding and real-world readiness.
Stewardship of Self, Earth, and Community
We believe excellence includes responsibility—for the places we learn, the people we learn with, and the impact we leave behind.
Environmental stewardship means more than just spending time outside—it means caring for it. Our students will practice Leave No Trace ethics, minimizing waste, and learning how their choices impact ecosystems. Trail work, water conservation, and plastic reduction become part of daily life.
Community stewardship is just as important. Volunteering at food banks, exploring how local cooperatives work, and studying civic systems to understand how real change happens. They’ll learn what it means to support something larger than themselves—whether it’s a trail system or a local food network.
We’re not just building athletes and scholars—we’re raising contributors.
Happiness: A Key to Unlocking Our Potential
We all want happy children; but did you know that it is a central part of the learning process? Happy students actually learn better. Positive emotions like joy, curiosity, and confidence aren’t just nice to have - they’re biologically essential to memory, motivation, and intellectual growth.
When students feel safe, supported, and engaged, their brains release dopamine and serotonin - chemicals that enhance focus, strengthen neural connections, and increase long-term retention.
In contrast, stress and disengagement suppress learning centers in the brain. That’s why our model pairs physical activity, meaningful challenge, and emotional connection to create a learning environment where students don’t just perform… they thrive.
“Wisdom begins in wonder.”
— Socrates
Contact
Feel free to contact us with any questions.
Email
wren@aretemountainacademy.org
Phone
870.317.3604