The Fountain Valley School of Colorado (commonly known as FVS) is a private, co-educational college-preparatory boarding and day school in Colorado Springs, Colorado. Founded in 1930, the school’s primary campus is located on 1,100-acres of rolling prairie at the base of the Rocky Mountains. FVS enrolls approximately 220 students in 9th through 12th grade, representing more than 20 states and 23 countries.
The school is approximately 70% boarding students and 30% international students. Originally a ranch, FVS was founded in 1930 by Elizabeth Sage Hare, a civic leader, art patron, and visionary educator who sought to balance traditional academic excellence with progressive ideals and the character-building landscape of the American West. The school opened as a boys’ boarding school in September 1930 and later became co-educational in 1975.
History and Overview
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Origins
In 1929, Elizabeth Sage Hare gathered a group of friends to help establish what would become Fountain Valley School.
Together, they envisioned a boarding school that combined traditional academic excellence with progressive ideals of individual dignity and creative promise, cultivating both intellect and character amid the wide-open landscape of the American West. The site chosen for the school was the Lazy B Ranch, owned by Jack Bradley.
Its centerpiece, a 1927 estate designed by famed architect Addison Mizner, became the School’s first building. The house, known as Casa Serena and commonly referred to as the Hacienda, was surrounded by stables, a polo field, and several ranch residences. With an average class size of 12 students and a student to faculty ratio of 6:1, students engage deeply with ideas, applying inquiry-based and interdisciplinary approaches that connect the classroom to the world beyond. Graduation requirements total 20 academic credits, ensuring that every student experiences a balanced and comprehensive education that builds analytical skills, cultural understanding, and creative expression.
Signature Academic Experiences
9th Grade: Western Immersion
Every Fountain Valley education begins with a connection to place. The Western Immersion Program anchors the ninth-grade year, immersing students in the ecology, history, and culture of the American West. Combining literature, environmental science, art, and local history, students explore both the prairie on the main campus and the Class of 1969 Mountain Campus near Buena Vista.
10th Grade: Global Societies
As students progress to their sophomore year, the FVS academic curriculum shifts to a new focus on fostering a deeper understanding of the global societies beyond the classroom. Through common themes of Resources and Revolutions, students develop a global mindset that challenges and enriches their worldview, and spurs them to ask deep questions and analyze their place in the world.
Through Fountain Valley’s Interim Program, every tenth grade student will travel abroad for an experiential learning expedition. Working with faculty mentors, seniors design and complete original projects ranging from scientific experiments and art installations to policy analysis and film production.
Students may also pursue distinction through the Global Scholar or STEM Diploma, interdisciplinary pathways that integrate advanced coursework, independent research, and global or technical inquiry. These programs challenge students to investigate complex questions, build cross-cultural understanding, and contribute meaningfully to contemporary conversations. This approach has delivered meaningful results for Fountain Valley.
Over the past five years, 100% of FVS graduates have matriculated to post-secondary institutions, earning 419 acceptances to 159 distinct colleges and universities. The breadth of outcomes reflects the program’s commitment to helping every student find a path that sets them up for success in college and beyond. Interim Expeditions vary by grade level and focus. Ninth-grade students remain in Colorado, participating in regional, place-based programs that emphasize community building and environmental awareness. Sophomores all take part in international travel experiences that connect their language requirement with global experiences.
Juniors and seniors choose from a range of domestic and international expeditions. Recent renovations and additions, such as the Julie and Spencer Penrose Athletic Center and the Makerspace, integrate sustainability and craft into the architectural vocabulary of the prairie.
Signature Spaces
At the creative heart of campus stands the Art Barn, a cornerstone of school life since the 1940s. This three-story studio complex houses studios for painting, ceramics, metalsmithing, darkroom photography, digital media, and film production. Student exhibitions fill its gallery spaces, celebrating the fusion of craftsmanship and imagination.
The campus also supports a working equestrian program, featuring barns with 28 stalls with runs, automatic waterers, and rubber-matted flooring; a 150’ × 275’ indoor riding arena; four competition-sized outdoor arenas; a covered arena; and surrounding pastures that reflect the School’s enduring connection to the land. Adjacent fields and more than 15 miles of trails provide additional venues for athletics, cross-country running, mountain biking, and other outdoor activities.
Residential life is centered around ten dormitories, each housing between 16 and 20 students, fostering close-knit communities that reflect the School’s emphasis on belonging and shared experience.
Mountain Campus
Complementing the main campus is the Class of 1969 Mountain Campus, a 40-acre site near Buena Vista, Colorado. Nestled in the Upper Arkansas Valley, the property hosts class retreats, experiential education programs, and leadership expeditions. From rock climbing and field research to reflection circles by the fire, students can experience the same spirit of curiosity and independence that defined Fountain Valley’s founders. Traditional sports include boys and girls soccer, boys and girls tennis, boys and girls volleyball, boys and girls basketball, boys and girls swimming and diving, co-ed english and western riding, co-ed mountain biking, co-ed rock climbing, co-ed cross country, and boys lacrosse.
FVS teams also consistently qualify for postseason play. In the 2024-25 season, 12 out of 16 FVS competition teams advanced to post-season play.
- Ian Munsick, a country music star who led the resurgence of country western in Nashville
- Marshall Bell, actor (Total Recall and Outer Banks)
- Brad Dourif (HBO's Deadwood and The Lord of the Rings movie trilogy)
- Dominique Dunne, actress (Poltergeist)
- Griffin Dunne
- Lang Fisher, co-creator of Never Have I Ever
- Samuel Goldwyn Jr.
- David Hare, artist, son of founder Elizabeth Sage Hare
- Matthew Huxley, son of British author Aldous Huxley
- John R. Lane, director of the Dallas Museum of Art
- Steve Lemme, of Broken Lizard Comedy Troop (starring in movies such as Super Troopers, Club Dread, and Beerfest)
- Paul Matisse, grandson to Henri Matisse
- Belding Scribner, pioneer of kidney dialysis
- Ed Sherin, producer of Law & Order
- Peter Throckmorton, author and marine archaeologist; enrolled as Edgerton Alvord Throckmorton.
- David Philipps, two-time Pulitzer Prize winning journalist for the New York Times