Paonia Experiential Leadership Academy

The Paonia Experiential Leadership Academy is a non-profit private secondary school (6th-12th) in a small agricultural valley in Western Colorado. We are a student-centered school; we collaborate with students and parents to facilitate meaningful experiential learning field trips that develop the head, heart, and hands of the student. We focus on fostering student wellbeing by educating students about their health, environment, social and civic connections, happiness, self-expression, productive work skills, spirit, and their security and safety. We integrate these realms of wellbeing with core academic content to create meaningful learning opportunities. We focus on  process, accountability, and quality.

Here is a podcast with our Director speaking about the benefits of a wellbeing focused education.

The Next Generation: Raising Our Kids to Be Leaders for These Times with Dr. Emily Wassell

Here is a newspaper article about one of our graduates

Here is a video series from our collaboration with North Fork Senior Connections