Tahoe Expedition Academy

If you want your child to LOVE learning in the real world, Tahoe Expedition Academy is the place. Their Pre-K program is pure magic! The teachers are amazing, the environment is inspiring, and our child is thriving. We can't recommend it enough and our kiddo is stoked to be joining Kindergarten this Sept.

TEA has been a wonderful community to grow as a parent and a great community to foster my child's growth, development and experiences.

Tahoe Expedition Academy is a unique and special place that is educating the whole child to be the curious and adventurous learners that will build a better future for all of us. The school values and philosophy are clear and represented through my kid's entire curriculum. The world is changing rapidly and TEA is building an educational experience that is about what kids need to know NOW, not the past. And, my kids LOVE going to school!

I can't think of a better school to help prepare kids for the evolving world we're living in. TEA has been amazing for our 2 girls, now in their 4th year with TEA. They LOVE going to school every day, are challenged and inspired and are living the 'Real World Problem Solver' motto that TEA promotes. It's truly a unique place and we're grateful every day we found TEA.

I have a child who graduated from TEA and is now in his last year of college, and a daughter who is about to graduate after 13 years of education there. TEA envelops everything I could ever want in a school for both my kids and myself. It's a school that sets students up for life beyond K–12 academically, socially, and emotionally. It focuses' on the entire child. Teachers are caring and invested. The "curriculum" encourages self-reflection, creative critical thinking, and resiliency. Their project-based and hands-on learning allows students to enjoy the process of learning while diving deep into real-world problems. I'm so thankful that this education exists and that both of my kids got to be a part of it for so many years. Thank you, TEA!

TEA has been a phenomenal experience for our child. The personalized attention in small classes has really helped their academic growth. The emphasis on outdoor education is outstanding, fostering a deep love for nature and hands-on learning. The school's strong community and values have shaped them into a responsible and confident individual. Highly recommend TEA for its academic excellence, outdoor education, and character development.

At the foundation of the experience at TEA is the fundamental belief and trust in the strength and power of young people. Instead of spending a lot of time in theory/paper, the learning tangible and steeped in the ability to authentically manage curveballs and live in character and values. The outdoor expeditions leave a lasting impact and help young people be more of who they are rather than fitting into some societal construct. TEA kids will impact the world around them in positive ways, they just do not accept the status quo when it comes to world problems. They are taught and believe one person can and will make a difference. SO much admiration and respect to the founders, the incredible team, and staff.

This is our 5th year at TEA. The teachers and staff have nurtured our daughters every year. The strength, perseverance and self esteem that TEA teaches is something I never received in my education. Along with that, TEA teachers instill a love for learning that allows the kids to thrive through their struggles. TEA teaches our kids that even when things seem impossible or too much of a challenge, they can do hard things and make it through. We are so thankful to have found TEA and be able to send our kids to this exceptional school

My child has attended TEA since 4th grade. We came because our child was bored in Bay Area public schools. Our first year was amazing, then we hit some growing challenges and COVID. We opted to stay, and are glad we did. We have supplemented our child's academics outside of school to ensure college preparedness (something we would have done anyway) and are very active in their learning. Staying at TEA has given our child room to grow into themselves and find their voice. The expeditions may not always be perfect or conducted the way you want but the experiences are invaluable for kids. Through the TEA experience, our child has developed strong self-confidence, the ability to advocate for themselves, to think critically and consider multiple sides of an issue, to fail and get back up and keep going. In high school, there are tests and an amazing college counselor who will help any student and family with their goals. There are ways to supplement academics, but not personal growth.

We have four students at TEA, and we could not be more pleased with the school and the magic it has unlocked in our kids. We came to TEA from a public school in Woodside, CA which was a wonderful place. We really had no idea how incredible school could be! The fieldwork and experiential learning approach at TEA has our students leaping out of bed in the morning to get to school. My older kids literally cried when it was spring break and they had to stop school for 10 days - yes, it's crazy. This is a dream job for a teacher - to get to live and teach in Truckee at a school which has students out in the field for much of the week and engages students in the real world situations that are the basis for their academic work. Students love it, and teachers love it, which leads to an outrageously engaged and passionate faculty. The flywheel is working in high gear at TEA and if you are fortunate enough to live in the Truckee area with kids - you should be SPRINTING to get your kids involved here. It has been life changing for our family and I wish this experience on every family in the world.

As a parent, I couldn't be more impressed with the experience my sophomore son is having at TEA. Not only is he excited by the academic projects he is doing inside and outside of the classroom, but he is seen and supported as an individual by his teachers and peers. His strengths and opportunities for growth are recognized and he feels safe to take risks because he knows that he is sincerely cared about. The teachers at TEA meet students where they are and engage them as learners -- whether they are doing a chemistry lab about water filtration that leads into a trip they will take later this fall to the Rio Grande where they will visit a water desalination plant OR they are studying US History through the lens of conflict as represented in the media, the classroom assignments connect to real-world problems in a way that keeps him interested. The intentional focus on character development means that I have a school partner that I trust to help me raise an empathetic, compassionate, person who is willing and able to advocate for himself and others. The small school environment, while challenging in some ways -- no football team, means that there are plenty of opportunities for him to try new sports (ultimate frisbee) and participate on the student council, where he can develop valuable leadership skills. It also means that he develops important relationship skills as he has to work through conflicts with his fellow students because there is nowhere for him to "hide" or move on. He has learned to work with students who are different from him and has subsequently developed an appreciation and respect for students he might have just avoided at a bigger school. The program just keeps getting better each year and I am tremendously jealous that my own education didn't look like this!

Our 10th grader is thriving at TEA. We made the move from the South Shore to the North Shore as kids were starting to go back to school after COVID-19. We didn't have a great experience with online learning, so we wanted him to be back in person. He loves the adventures, backpacking, TEA trips, and especially the focus on crew and team building. He has a great group of friends and although the typical high school sports teams are limited, the after-school clubs make up for it (mountain biking, golf, etc.) We were in a Spanish bilingual school before we moved and he is now in Spanish 4, so we didn't lose out on that aspect. We are not the type of parents who stress over test scores or require our kids to get all A's. For us, the focus on character building and learning to be a kind and engaged community member is more important than grades. We know that he will do well in college given the TEA focus on problem-solving, collaboration, and community.

My kids have been at TEA for 8 years. They love going to school every day! How many middle schoolers you know LOVE to go to school? Our kids feel loved by the faculty and staff, they learn by doing real things (not made up busy work); the faculty has outside experts come into the classroom or the class goes to visit them, field studies are part of the curriculum (not an excuse to get off campus), and then there are the adventures. Kids start off close to home in elementary school studying things like stream ecology, but by the senior year of high school they are designing their own international travel experiences (logistics and learning targets included). If your kid graduates from TEA, they will not have taken 18 AP courses, but they will be ready for whatever the world has to throw at them.

We moved from San Francisco specifically to provide our daughters with the opportunity to attend Tahoe Expedition Academy. Having worked in Bay Area schools as a mental health clinician for over 15 years, I have been increasingly worried about our nationwide youth mental health crisis. Students may be churning out excellent report cards but they are suffering tremendously with mental health issues. There is a way to raise healthy, resilient, happy youth that enjoy the journey of education vs focusing on a future goal that may not reap expected benefits. Research and experience highlight the need to reimagine education, as TEA has done. TEA's admin, faculty and staff worked tirelessly to accommodate families' differing needs during COVID. TEA's ability to adapt quickly allowed them to focus on social/mental wellbeing while continuing to provide quality education. We are so grateful for how much our 3rd and 6th graders have thrived during COVID. We can't wait to see what is in store for next year and beyond!

We have 2 girls at the Tahoe Expedition Academy (TEA). Our eldest is graduating this year after 4 years at TEA and has been accepted to all her first college choices. TEA gets students to think outside the box through real-world learning, adventure trips and challenging/fun field trips that build character. The teachers are passionate about what they do and it rubs off onto the kids - and the small class sizes allow for more one-on-one learning. I would recommend any parent to review TEA as an option for their child if they desire a more mind expanding option for learning.

This is our son's second year at TEA (4th grade now), and we couldn't be more pleased with the experience and his daily enthusiasm and growth. Our goal with our son has always been to nurture a beautiful, well-rounded, empathetic, curious, confident and intelligent human being - and TEA is an instrumental component and complement to our approach. He is known deeply (and loved deeply) by all of the staff at TEA. They know his academic strengths and areas for growth, but equally importantly they know his character, his fears, where he can be pushed, and when he needs support. No longer is he in a class doing endless worksheets, but rather he is growing academically by leaps and bounds, all while findings his voice, challenging his own ideas and pre-conceived notions of the world, learning what it means to be crew-member (i.e. community member) and finding his meaning and purpose in this beautiful/crazy world we live in. For this we are forever grateful!

My two kids have attended TEA for the last ten years. Where to begin... TEA has been the best for both my kids socially, emotionally and academically. They are better critical thinkers and investigators, more resilient, confident, and empathetic human beings because of the education at TEA. They dive deep into real world problems, regularly interact with experts, are encouraged to take on hard projects where "failure" is part of the process, make time to reflect and self assess, are taught to be contributors, and are known and cared for by their teachers. I wouldn't want any other education for my kids.

We enrolled our kids (4th and 5th grades) at TEA last Fall after 4 years at another public school elsewhere in Northern California. We were very curious about TEA's radical approach to education and we are so glad we went for it! Our kids have experience personal growth like never before. They have become more responsible outside of school, they are much more physically fit because of TEA's extensive outdoor learning, and they are much happier and healthier kids. Despite COVID restrictions, TEA has been able to successfully provide in-school learning this year. TEA is not a college prep school; it's a life prep school. It's a great choice for families seeking an education that develops character, adaptability in an ever changing world, outdoor learning, compassion, and intellectual curiosity.

It sounds cliche but it's hard not to think "why couldn't I have gone to a school like this" after being part of this school community for a year. Our daughter has been at TEA for 4 years now and has certainly learned all of the "common core" stuff. But she's also become an advocate for the environment, is willing and able to have adult conversations about very adult topics (immigration, gun control, climate change) and has met with countless experts across agriculture, environmental sustainability, even NASA JPL!