Welcome
- An intentional education
  
  This is our mission: Aspen Country Day School, through its commitment to rigorous academics, creative arts, and outdoor education, ignites curiosity, confidence, and critical thinking. In an inspiring mountain setting, our nurturing community encourages students to strive for individual excellence and instills in them a lifelong love of learning, sense of purpose, and responsible citizenship.
Admission
- An intentional choice
  
  Aspen Country Day School brings the ethos of mountain life into an education that rivals what you’ll find at the top schools in big cities. Whether you are considering a move to the Roaring Fork Valley or have already made a home here, we’d love to meet you, welcome you to our beautiful campus, and show you what makes Aspen Country Day School outstanding.
Academics + Arts + Outdoors
- The power of three
  
  Academics. Arts. Outdoors. Each of our programs is strong on its own, but the true value of an Aspen Country Day School education lies in the synergy of the three. The families that founded our school in 1969 drew inspiration from the Aspen Idea — the philosophy that true balance comes from cultivating mind, body, and spirit in a place of natural beauty and inspiration.
People of Country Day
- An intentional community
  
  The strength of any school comes from its people: the teachers, leaders, parents, and alumni who are committed to a shared purpose. Meet the adults who challenge and nurture Aspen Country Day School children to build confidence, resilience, and joy in learning.
School experience
- A sense of place
  
  At Aspen Country Day School, children grow up immersed in a remarkable landscape that feeds the growing soul. Year after year, they become steadily more prepared for the next steps in their journey. Soon they are ready and eager for lives of meaning and purpose.

Stories

Full Circle: Maria Semple, ACDS Alum, Back in Aspen

September 24, 2025

Fourteen years ago, The New Yorker introduced readers to Dear Mountain Room Parents, a crisp, comedic dispatch from writer and Aspen Country Day School alum Maria Semple. That early publication became a kind of calling card, hinting at the keen observational voice she would later bring to her bestselling book Where’d You Go, Bernadette and beyond.

We’re delighted to rerun our ACDS interview with Semple in advance of her appearance in Aspen at the inaugural Aspen Literary Festival on Friday, September 26. Maria’s newest novel, Go Gentle, will be released in 2026.

In our conversation, she revisits her creative evolution, reflects on how her time at ACDS shaped her trajectory, and revisits that New Yorker moment that, looking back, was only the beginning.

An intentional education

An intentional choice

The power of three

An intentional community

A sense of place

Stories

Full Circle: Maria Semple, ACDS Alum, Back in Aspen

Putting Pencil to Paper: Why Middle Schoolers Still Use Planners

The Science and Spirit of Play: A Conversation with the National Institute for Play

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