Our Programs
Arête offers a range of enrollment options designed to meet students and families where they are while preserving what matters most: strong academics, meaningful challenge, close community, and experiential learning. Scroll down to see full descriptions of each program. Click the blue buttons to apply!
Rise Through Challenge
Care for your Community
Act with Purpose
Stay Curious 🦋
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Our traditional full-time program is designed for students who want the complete Arête experience, five days each week.
Students attend Monday through Friday and participate in all core academics, experiential & project-based learning, outdoor education, electives, and stewardship activities. Full-time students take part in our extended Monday elective block, Friday field trips, and off-campus learning experiences.
This option provides the most consistent weekly rhythm and allows students to fully participate in every part of the Arête program.
Schedule: Monday-Friday 8:15 - 3:45
Yearly Tuition: $7400 (Sliding Scale)
Gear Fee: $400 -
Our Flex Program is designed for families who need a more adaptable school schedule while still wanting their student fully integrated into the Arête academic program.
Flex students may attend any combination of Monday through Thursday, up to four days per week. This option can be a good fit for families navigating a long commute, changing work schedules, medical needs, frequent travel, competitive athletics, or other circumstances that make a traditional five-day schedule difficult.
Because attendance may vary, our staff closely tracks each Flex student’s classes, progress, assignments, and attendance to help ensure they stay connected to their learning and do not fall behind. Families and staff work together to create a schedule that supports both the student’s academic needs and the flexibility the family requires.
Flex students do not regularly attend Friday field trips, and participation in Monday’s extended elective block depends on whether Monday is one of their chosen attendance days.
To keep the program highly supported and manageable, only five Flex enrollment spots are available each school year.
Schedule: Any Monday-Thursday combination, up to 4 days/week
Yearly Tuition: $7400
Gear Fee: $100 annually -
Our Monday & Wednesday Part-Time Program is designed for students who want a two-day school experience that combines academics, creativity, movement, and community.
Students begin the week with our extended Monday morning elective block, where they participate in offerings such as mountain biking, outdoor education, creative studio, or garden-based learning. Across both days, students receive Montessori-style math instruction, hands-on science, Nature Studies, and elective opportunities.
Part-time students are fully integrated into the Arête community throughout the day. They join full-time students for class meetings, lunch, recess, and shared electives, giving them the benefit of a smaller part-time academic track while still being part of the larger school culture.
Schedule: Monday & Wednesday
Yearly Tuition: $4,800
Gear Fee: $100 -
Our Tuesday & Thursday Part-Time Program offers a consistent two-day academic and experiential schedule for students who thrive with hands-on learning and a smaller weekly commitment.
Students participate in Montessori-style math, hands-on science, Nature Studies, and rotating electives, with lessons designed to be active, engaging, and connected to the real world.
Nature Studies is built into both Tuesday and Thursday mornings and may include outdoor observation, ecology lessons, field study, or hikes when conditions allow.
Like our Monday & Wednesday students, Tuesday & Thursday part-time students are part of the larger Arête community. They join full-time students for class meetings, lunch, recess, and shared electives, allowing them to build friendships and participate in school culture while maintaining a two-day schedule.
Schedule: Tuesday & Thursday
Yearly Tuition: $4,800
Gear Fee: $100 -
Arête Basecamp is a wilderness and expedition training team for students who want to become genuinely capable in the field.
Students join the Basecamp Team for a full training season. Throughout the year, they build technical skill, physical readiness, judgment, and teamwork in preparation for expedition-style and bushwhack competitions, team challenges, and field assessments.
This is not a casual outdoor enrichment class. Basecamp students are expected to train, practice, improve, and contribute to the team.
The team is led by a Wilderness First Responder and EMT who is qualified to coach students at a high level in wilderness safety, field readiness, expedition skills, and emergency response.
Training areas include navigation and orienteering, primitive fire, rope and knot skills, plant and animal identification, wilderness first aid, shelter building, woodcraft, archery, paddling, gear management, teamwork, strategy, endurance, and adaptability.
Each Friday functions as a team training day, with:
technical skill development
field drills
timed or scored challenges
team strategy
mission-based scenarios
physical and mental endurance work
gear preparation
performance review
Students work toward proficiency across 15 Basecamp skill areas and earn patches only when they can demonstrate those skills in the field.
As the season progresses, students participate in mock competitions, internal Arête challenges, and qualification events. When outside competitions are available, Basecamp students may be selected to represent Arête on competition teams.
Students should join Basecamp with the mindset of an athlete joining a team: show up, train hard, support your teammates, and improve.
Schedule: Fridays 9:00 AM-2:00 PM, September to June
Yearly Tuition: $3,000 (or $300/month for 10 months)
Annual Gear & Competition Fee: $300 -
Teen Enrichment Program
Our Teen Enrichment Program is a free, small-group enrichment experience for teens ages 15 and up who want more opportunities to learn, create, and connect with peers.
Students join Arête’s high-school community from 12:00–1:00 PM on Tuesdays and Thursdays for rotating enrichment sessions that go beyond traditional academics.
Activities are designed to give teens opportunities to explore practical skills, creative interests, culture, nature, and self-expression alongside other students their age.
Offerings may include experiences such as:
ukulele and guitar lessons
songwriting and poetry
professional bouquet making
sewing, crochet, and other fiber arts
edible plant and tea crafting
cooking and cultural studies
nature-based projects
creative workshops
practical life and outdoor skills
The emphasis is not on mastering one subject. It is on trying meaningful things, developing new skills, and building real friendships with other teens.
Part of what makes this program special is its intentionally small size. Students spend time with the same group of peers and Arête high-school students, creating space for genuine conversation, collaboration, and community.
Students may attend one or more days per week, but consistent participation is encouraged so the group can build a strong community.
Ages: 15+
Schedule: Tuesday & Thursday, 12:00–1:00 PM
Cost: Free
Enrollment: Limited
What Makes Arête Different
Culture
A place where students are known.
Arête is intentionally small, relational, and community-centered. Students know one another, contribute to the group, solve problems together, and take responsibility for the spaces and people around them.
We value kindness, independence, and a culture where students can genuinely belong.
Small Classes
Individual attention without losing community.
Small class sizes allow our instructors to know how each student learns, where they are thriving, and where they need additional support or challenge.
Students receive meaningful teacher attention while still learning within a dynamic, collaborative peer group.
Learning by Doing
Academics connected to the real world.
Students don't spend their entire day sitting behind a desk. Learning moves between classrooms, trails, gardens, projects, field experiences, experiments, discussion, movement, and hands-on problem solving.
We teach students to do, reflect, apply, and grow.
Challenge & Independence
We trust students with real responsibility.
Capability develops through experience. Our students are given opportunities to make decisions, work through challenges, care for their community, manage gear and responsibilities, and discover what they can do without adults solving every problem for them.
Small by Design
Arête isn't trying to recreate a large traditional school on a smaller campus.
Our size allows students to be known across age groups, teachers to collaborate around individual students, and the school community to function more like a village than an institution.
Students eat together. They work together. They spend time outdoors together. Older students have increasing independence and responsibility, while younger students grow into it.
We believe young people become capable when they are given meaningful opportunities to practice being capable.
