Critchlow is new HMI head of school

Sam Critchlow is the new Head of School at the High Mountain Institute.

Sam Critchlow, a lifelong educator and outdoor experience advocate, is the High Mountain Institute’s new head of school. He officially began in the role earlier this month.

The High Mountain Institute (HMI) is an accredited independent school and gap year provider that offers programs throughout the year. The school was founded in Leadville in 1995 by Christopher and Molly Barnes as a way to combine classroom and outdoor education.

Although Critchlow is originally from New England, he is no stranger to Leadville or HMI. Critchlow first moved to Leadville 15 years ago to take his second job after college teaching math at HMI. That’s where he discovered his passion for teaching and began to see it as a viable career path.

After four years in Leadville, Critchlow moved in 2011 and began chasing a variety of teaching jobs across the country. Most recently, Critchlow served as the executive director for the Maine School of Science and Mathematics. Before that, he was the founding head of school at the Bozeman Field School in Montana and worked as a mathematics instructor at Montana State University.

“Teaching has always been in my blood and I’m really excited to continue that work back at HMI,” said Critchlow, who added that the school has shown immense growth since he last worked there with higher student participation, more staff, more programs and an expanding campus with new employee housing.

As he begins in the role as head of school, there isn’t much about HMI that Critchlow wants to change. Many of the programs and offerings that made HMI special when Critchlow first moved to Leadville are still at play.

HMI currently offers a semester, summer and gap program, each of which encompass a number of outdoor learning experiences. The semester and summer programs are aimed at high school students and take place at HMI, while the gap program is for slightly older youth and offers a travel component.

“We’re seeing amazing numbers for these programs this year – probably the highest we’ve ever seen in some cases,” said Critchlow

This year’s Lake County Backpacking Trip saw a particularly high turnout with 23 kids from Lake County Intermediate School participating in the adventure. The program is a long-standing tradition at HMI that has been offered in partnership with Full Circle of Lake County for the last 15 years.

As part of the program, students embark on a multi-day backpacking trip with HMI instructors and learn key skills like team building and how to make smart backcountry decisions. This year students trekked on public land near Hagerman Pass.

“These types of trips are so important for kids,” said Critchlow, recalling a 40-day canoe trip he made at 15 that changed his perspective on the world. “There’s something about nature at that age that is just so transformative.”

One aspect of HMI that Critchlow wants to improve is messaging around the school’s programming and scholarship opportunities. Although HMI is in Leadville, these opportunities are often lost to those who actually live here. Critchlow hopes to encourage more local students to attend HMI and wants to make scholarships more readily available to them.

Critchlow is also hoping to strengthen ties with community groups, including the school district and local nonprofits. “I’m a big partnership guy,” said Critchlow. “There have always been amazing advocacy groups in Leadville, but there are more than ever now, and they’re doing great work. That’s something we can contribute to.”

Critchlow plans to host a “Meet the New Head” tour later this fall at HMI, where he hopes to meet more of the Leadville community and the vast network of HMI alumni.

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