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Academics
IB + Dirt
The International Baccalaureate is one of the most rigorous academic programs in the world. At VVS, we do it with dirt under our fingernails.
The Diploma
VVS students can earn two diplomas — the Verde Valley School diploma and the internationally recognized IB diploma. Candidates choose three higher-level and three standard-level courses across six areas of study, building the critical thinking, communication skills, and global perspective that define an IB education.
Students who pursue only the VVS diploma choose from the same six areas, with the same expectation of rigor and engagement.
VVS has earned a 100% IB diploma pass rate three years in a row.
The Dirt
Dirt is what happens when the IB curriculum meets the red rocks, the creek, and the community. Students catch macro-invertebrates in Oak Creek, take classrooms off the grid, make sandals from yucca fibers, and write persuasive letters that fund real projects. Every assignment has a place in the world beyond the page.
This is learning by doing — and at VVS, it's not a supplement to the IB. It's the point.
IB + DIRT IN ACTION
The combination is intentional. Academic depth and real-world application aren't in tension at VVS — they reinforce each other. Students who study global systems do it while standing in one. Students who write about environmental change are the ones measuring it.
The result is graduates who don't just understand the world. They know how to work in it.
Verde Valley School
Verde Valley School is an International Baccalaureate boarding and day high school for students in grades 9-12.
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Photo Credit to Arabella Media, John Sheedy, and others.
Photo Credit to Arabella Media, John Sheedy, and others.