A new place. A new experience. New people. New teachers. A new weekend routine. A whole new school.

Junior Josie Gross-Whitaker spent her first semester at the Mountain School in the Berkshires in Vermont, learning about things such as sustainable farming practices, meeting new people from across the country, and spending time outside of school exploring the wilderness and harvesting crops.

“I just felt like I wanted a different experience in high school,” Gross-Whitaker said. “I wanted to try something new and be with different people.”

Gross-Whitaker said that the days are more intense and more scheduled than she was used to, so she had to learn how to be more efficient with her time.

“There’s only WiFi in the academic building, so once you go back to your dorm at 9:30, you have to be done with all of your homework that needs WiFi,” Gross-Whitaker said.

She said that because she attended the Mountain School in the fall, the students focused mainly on harvesting crops, whereas the spring semester focuses on different aspects of farming.

“It’s two and a half hours every afternoon and then three and a half hours on Saturday mornings,” Gross-Whitaker said. “Every day you learn how to harvest something new.”

However, the students not only focus on farming, but they also learn about the environment around them, Gross-Whitaker said.

“As you move on through the semester, we start doing Wood Crew, which is learning about sustainable forestry and cutting down trees by hand with an ax and a saw in the woods,” she said.

With the extra physical work combined with a rigorous curriculum, Gross-Whitaker said that one hard part about the Mountain School was learning how to balance the different parts of her life.

“I think the hardest part was just how intense the schedule was, from morning until night. You always feel like you’re doing stuff, and you’re always around other people.”

Junior Ellington Davis is attending the Mountain School for his second semester. He said he is looking forward to learning more about animal care, the environmental science program, and sustainability.

“I think that this is going to change my high school experience mainly by giving me experience in a school outside of Piedmont,” Davis said. “I am really curious to see the different perspectives that people bring to a school setting.”

Every year, the Mountain School admits 45 high school juniors for one semester from across the country, with a mission to create a diverse and interdependent community of students who adapt to a place and also learn how to take care of it, according to the Mountain School website.

“I think that many students have interests outside of what we can offer at PHS, and if they find other programs that will work alongside our programs, then I would support that,” counselor Ashley English said.

When students are thinking about doing an exchange program, they should set up an appointment with their counselor, English said. It is important to plan out their junior and senior schedules in order to make the transition to a new curriculum as smooth as possible.

“I would definitely recommend [the Mountain School] to any underclassman because I think it’s really important to be able to make that change and that adjustment,” Gross-Whitaker said. “It’s really fun to make new friends, to meet new people, and to try new classes.”

Gross-Whitaker said that being in a new environment and learning to be responsible taught her important values, such as communication and reflection.

“[The Mountain School] makes you recognize what’s important to you and what things you value,” Gross-Whitaker said.