A school where every day's a snow day.

• Position: Sports - Vail Ski and Snowboard Academy in Minturn, Colorado - Brief article

With lockers, classrooms, and science laboratories, this Minturn, Colorado, public school is like many others. But 6th- to 12th-graders from as far as New Jersey, Virginia, and Michigan flock to Vail Ski and Snowboard Academy for one reason: It's the only public winter-sports school in the U.S. Since its founding in 2007, Vail has churned out several Junior Olympics champions and a Winter Olympian. Though the 90-student school must meet state academic guidelines, skiing, snowboarding, and other winter sports are taken...