Valley School of Ligonier

Valley School of Ligonier was founded in 1946 by constance prosser mellon and general richard king mellon. On september 24, 1947, the doors opened for 43 children. Mrs. mellon envisioned Valley as a nurturing community where students build their academic skill and learn to become responsible and compassionate adults. She felt that children learn best in small classes with skilled teachers who know and care about each child. She wanted a School with students from diverse backgrounds and she made sure that tuition was moderate and financial aid was available. An athlete, mrs. mellon knew the benefits of physical fitness and team play. Hoping children would feel at home in nature, she selected the School's 400 acre wood setting.valley School's primary responsibility is to our children. We present a program centered on the concept of the continuous growth of the whole individual. Because of our School's relatively small size, we can recognize individual needs and different rates of growth and maturation, and opportunities for success can exist for each child. We make a deliberate effort to develop the following habits: the ability to think; the self-discipline to work in a careful, imaginative, and independent manner; a willingness to trust and cooperate positively with others; the ability to risk and to adapt to new situations. We want our children to be honest with themselves and with others. We want them to be compassionate human beings.our goals are to build the foundations of academics and life skills necessary for self-confidence, academic success, and thoughtful decision-making. To achieve these goals the teachers must draw continuously upon their imagination, experience, knowledge, and humor. Through their intellectual excitements, culture and sympathetic response to a young person's enthusiasm they can draw out the individual potentialities of the child. The School hopes, moreover, to develop in a child, through a stimulating curriculum, an awareness that learning requires effort and that each of us have some responsibility for his or her own successes and failures.the School's curriculum comprises traditional subjects. Through this academic course work our children strive to learn to read with understanding, reason carefully, and express themselves thoughtfully and clearly, orally and in their writing. The content of the curriculum is designed to lead a student to an appreciation of man's interrelatedness, cultural heritage, creative potential, and the wonders of our natural and technological world. While our emphasis is on academic subjects, we also require participation and accomplishment in the arts, sports, electronic communication, outdoor and off-campus programs. We know that we can achieve these goals only in a School community in which parents and faculty communicate, aim high, are not discouraged by failure, and and share a common purpose: the well being and growth of our childrenvalley serves students from westmoreland, somerset, cambria, fayette, and Indiana counties located in southwestern Pennsylvania. Classes in k-5 average 20 students, and most upper School classes are divided with 13 students per section. During the fiscal year, approximately 200 students were enrolled at Valley School. The curriculum is challenging with hands-on science, technology, library, and world language all beginning in kindergarten. All students participate in music, art, and sports. Valley supports a big brother/sister program and several community service projects, culminating in a leadership program for ninth graders. Younger students travel locally on field trips while older students explore areas more distant. Valley School's campus is remarkable and sits on 400 acres of woodlands.