Middle School

8th Grade JOY Projects 2021 Spotlights

JOY Projects: Marley Geist
Topic: Japanese

We Know Middle School Students.

Middle School students are social, inquisitive, capable, enthusiastic, even a little goofy, and we think that is just great.

A Sun Valley Community School Middle School education is founded on the wonder, reflection, and broadening perspective of early adolescence and seeks to fuel students’ understanding of the world and their place in it with relevant projects and meaningful work.

We offer students the opportunity to follow their curiosity, explore, build skills, dig deep, and find challenge through an interdisciplinary, experiential approach to education on our campus and in the outdoors.

Learn About Our Admissions Process

Meet the Middle School Head

Anthony Colello

Anthony Colello

Anthony Colello joins Sun Valley Community School as the new Middle School Head beginning in July, 2022. Anthony brings a passion for working with middle school students as well as a broad and deep understanding of the unique opportunities and challenges facing the middle school child. Anthony comes to SVCS from Seattle where he worked at Eastside Preparatory School in a number of roles including College Counselor, Grade Level Coordinator, and classroom teacher.

Anthony earned his Masters of Public Policy from Georgetown University with an emphasis on Education Policy and Political Strategy. Before that, he earned his Bachelors from Santa Clara University. Anthony’s educational philosophy encompasses an understanding of the importance of relationships and community in the educational journey as well as the delicate art of balance.

Anthony says, “The greatest challenges that our schools face in the coming years require a tolerance for, and even an appreciation for, nuance—the ability to hold what may seem to be competing values, simultaneously. We must be responsive to changing circumstances while also remaining firmly rooted in shared institutional values. This requires us to be reflective, while also being forward thinking. Our main goal as educators is to help students develop into people of integrity and character. We must stay grounded in the values that we know will be as important for tomorrow as they were for our past.”

When he is not talking to middle schoolers about Harry Potter or Fantasy Football leagues, Anthony likes to cook, play golf, and spend time with his 1 and a half year old son, Max, and wife Alex.