Idyllwildarts - anyone?

Does anyone have experience or knowledge with Idyllwildarts Arts Academy? Any info based on experience or hearsay will be appreciated!

Son of friends attends. Feel free to PM or post questions and I’ll try to get responses. He’s finishing his sophomore year and they all seem relatively happy with the school so far.

Thank you, @SevenDad. Just looking for some general but “personal” info about the school for a friend. How’s the boarding life there? Are students and teachers “serious” enough in learning and teaching? Any concerns/red flags that should be aware of by new comers? etc. etc.

I will send your questions to my friends (who are picking son up this weekend) and will report back.

Finally heard back from my friends (parents of a current student):

How’s the boarding life there?

  • We would say it’s amazing, but noting that it is far from the traditional model of NE boarding school. Feels much more like the world’s best summer arts camp on steroids. Some of the dorms are very nice with private baths, and some are rather down-market cabins (“Small Dorms”), but oddly most of the kids seem to really love Small Dorms. Probably it’s the super-genuine “grass-roots” communal feel of these.
  • The food is pretty decent for boarding school standards.
  • The town of Idyllwild is extremely quaint, picturesque and very teen-friendly. Very safe to walk around, very compact (only a few square blocks in the main village), with great options for food, snacks, and a small movie theater. The school offers a van that runs every 10 minutes on the weekends.
  • Also the area around the campus and town is some of the most beautiful scenery possible for such a school. The hiking opportunities are amazing, and not too difficult to be a concern.

Are students and teachers “serious” enough in learning and teaching?

  • The honest answer is that academics do get second priority to the arts. And the level of academic instruction and facilities is clearly less than the better range of NE schools.
  • While some of the arts teachers are genuinely legends in their fields, the same likely can’t be said of the academic instructors.
  • Having said that, the students are held to the same academic performance standards as any traditional school. They aren’t allowed to “slide” because of the arts. And since the arts education component is so rigorous (start at 2pm often going until 10pm), the students end up working very hard to keep up with everything.

Any concerns/red flags that should be aware of by new comers?
Just to know a few basics like:

  • High elevation (6,000 feet), even though SoCal, gets snow in the winter. Risks of forest fires. Obviously earthquake risks. Road access to Idyllwild only possible by 3 very windy mountain roads (VERY beautiful though), can be treacherous in bad weather, possible mudslides on roads. (No real mudslide risks on the campus though).
  • Posted signs to be aware of mountain lions. We have never seen one (nor has our son), and we haven’t heard of any incidents, but presumably this is a possibility, mainly a risk for small children.
  • Be aware that as an arts school in a liberal and open environment, there is a lot of gender identity and transition happening at the school. Seemingly much more open and fluid than all other schools we know.
  • Though the school ‘advertises’ as offering support for learning differences, this support is minimal and ends up being mostly extra study hall time and the normal accommodations on testing and extra time on assignments. Don’t expect significant training for new learning/study strategies focused on LD.
  • Alcohol and drug use seems in line with our understanding of all schools, nothing seems out of the ordinary in this regard to us.
  • Athletics options are minimal, no competitive teams. Some clubs for kids who want to join. Facilities are minimal.

In a nutshell, we think that Idyllwild is a truly amazing option for any kid who’s passionate about their art and would like to be in an environment completely immersed with other kids who have similar passions. We call it “Hogwarts for artists”.

Wow! Thank you so much, @SevenDad! That is great info! Friend’s daughter will be an international student. From their consultant (I believe), they got that the school is the #1 art school in the US, but #1 or not, they just want to know if it’s a good school in a safe place and if students are serious about learning and teachers about teaching. It sounds like the school fits the bill! And I assume that they will want to know the supporting system in place for international students and how well it works. They didn’t ask and I forgot to raise it… At this point of time, I think she will enroll, but it doesn’t hurt to have some perspective on that topic before she starts. So if you get another chance to talk to your friend…

You’re welcome…sorry for the delay.

They are US, but I’ll ask them for any insight they might have on support for/integration of international students.