STORY AND PHOTO BY KAREN BOSSICK
Community School students returned to school Monday to a new name.
From now on, the pre-K through 12 independent school will be known as Sun Valley Community School.
Head of School Ben Pettit said the name was carefully considered over years of conversations among board members and community members.
“We are one of hundreds of other schools called ‘Community School’ around the country. The overall educational experience we offer is distinctive but, on a regional and national level, our name was not,” he said.
More than a hundred families have relocated to the Wood River Valley from places like San Francisco, New York, Atlanta, Los Angeles and Seattle to take advantage of the educational opportunities that the day and boarding school offers.
Its residential program added in 2011 and its partnership with the Sun Valley Ski Education Foundation has drawn skiers and snowboarders to its Sun Valley Ski Academy. But the residential program also attracts non-skier students and students interested in other sports, such as figure skating.
Sun Valley Community School has gone by many different names over the year, both formal and informal.
In its infancy, it was known as Sam’s School in honor of founder Sam Hazard. It has also been known as Ketchum/Sun Valley Community School and The Community School.
“When talking to prospective families and students, college admissions offices and even highly sought-after faculty members, the question we hear most often is: Where are you?” said Pettit. “Place matters. Sun Valley is synonymous with the iconic Mountain West, world renowned outdoor recreation, cultural opportunities and winter sports. We thought it was time to let the world know where we are.”