50LEYSIN AMERICAN SCHOOL IN SWITZERLAND

A School for the World

A school is not so much bricks and mortar, textbooks and pencils, as it is a shared

vision of learning. Believing that such a place should be is largely why a school

exists and thrives, whether it is located in a bustling city or on a mountainside in

the Alps. For 50 years, this vision has sustained and inspired the Leysin American

School in Switzerland. Like this book, our school would not be here today without

the shared conviction and support of countless students, parents, teachers, staff,

businesses, and the town of Leysin itself. Thanks to all of you, LAS continues to

illuminate young minds throughout our world.

You never know when you are touching a child’s inner life.

THE HEART

TThis is the story…

…of a place that could only happen in one place, where jagged peaks fill the sky

by day and cowbells tinkle distantly at dusk. This is the story of an American-

style high school improbably located on what its residents fondly call “the Magic

Mountain,” after the title of the 1924 novel by German author Thomas Mann.

Most of all, this is the story of family—of the Ott family and the larger family

of students and teachers they have nurtured over three generations with

extraordinary accomplishment. This is the story of the Leysin American School, a

place that every day, in heart and mind, throws open its doors to the world.

5

Sigrid Ott

Sefore there was a school… there was the town. And

before the town, there was the mountain. The Tour

d’Aï sits on the western edge of the Bernese Alps, rising 2,331

meters over the Rhone Valley below, just east of Lake Geneva.

It was here on the southern side on the mountain, on a

lush hidden plateau, that Leysin’s original settlers founded

their town. Safe from plundering Roman occupiers and

later Germanic tribes sweeping

through the valley below, the

village of Leysin remained largely

undisturbed and self-sufficient for

the next 1,400 years, with a steep

4-km footpath its only link to the

outside world.

Sigrid Ott sits gazing out of the large window in her chalet’s living room. To the

south, across the valley from Leysin, the seven distant crags of the Dents du Midi

stand out sharply against the blue sky, dusted with snow even in late July.

“We actually started too late in our lives for a project like LAS—Fred and I were

in our 50s,” she smiles, her blue eyes flashing. “But it was the times—that’s what

you did in the 60s.” But for Sigrid, the path to Leysin began with a 10-day voyage

across the Atlantic in a crowded, converted Liberty ship.

But idyllic places like Leysin never stay secret forever. In his 1798

book, “Essays Upon the Principles of Population”, the English political

economist Thomas Malthus gave special attention to the life spans

of Leysin’s villagers, which were at the time much longer than those

of other Europeans. Malthus drew the conclusion that Leysin’s

relative isolation and sunny alpine climate contributed to the

health and longevity of the locals.

B

THE HEART

8 9

Leysin’s first “boom” period owes its growth to a microscopic organism

called Mycobacterium Tuberculosis. Highly contagious and all too

often fatal, TB (or “consumption”) was the scourge of the 19th and

early 20th centuries, reaching epidemic proportions and causing

the deaths of hundreds of millions around the world. By the late

1800s, one out of every seven people living in the United States

and Europe was succumbing to TB.

As a result, by the start of the 19th century, residents from the surrounding valley

towns began sending their ill children to Leysin, with the hope that its climate

would restore their health. In 1875, the first road from the valley was

extended to Leysin, followed by a cog railway in 1897, which finally

connected the village to the rest of Europe, and in turn to the

rest of the world.

“Licht und Luft”

THE HEART

Education is much more than a job to do.”

“

10 11

In 1947, Sigrid along with their two children Aldis

and Steven sailed from America to join her husband

Fred in Germany, who by then was working in the

American military government, assigned to create

a system of schools for American military bases

under development throughout Europe and Asia.

Almost immediately, Sigrid recalls, she was struck

by the attitudes of the American military families

living on base. “The U.S. military bases were like

little isolated American communities. They never

interacted with the country or people around them.

You get to know so much more about your own

country when you live and work abroad,” Sigrid says.

“That’s when I came up with the idea to start the

Ranger Camps to meet this need.”

Without a cure in hand, physicians of the day prescribed a regimen

of “Licht und Luft”—sunlight, fresh air, and colder climates.

Sanatoria for the wealthy sprang up in mountainous regions from

America’s Adirondacks to Finland. And in Leysin,

with its reputation as a vigorous, healthy locale

already established, the sanatoria and their

patients arrived in droves.

Founded by Sigrid in 1949, the International Ranger

Camps were the first post-war planned summer

programs for the children of American expatriates

and military families in Europe. During each of the

three, one-week summer sessions, campers would

engage in swimming, riding, hiking, camping

and mountaineering, led by counselors recruited

primarily from the U.S. The reputation of the camps

soon attracted other nationalities, including Swiss,

French, Germans, Israelis, and Iranians. For Sigrid,

this successful blend of cultures and beliefs at the

summer camps proved that a true international

community of young people quickly could learn to

tear down the walls of intolerance and mistrust,

even in the wake of World War II. “They discovered

soon enough that they were really all alike, despite

their initial differences,” she says.

THE HEART

Leysin’s first clinic, the Grand Hotel, was built in 1892 to

serve 120 patients. With the arrival of the “Sun Doctor,”

Dr. August Rollier, in 1903, Leysin

became famous worldwide. Dr.

Rollier’s treatment plan, combining

spiritual therapy, handcrafts, and

Leysin’s bracing environment, was

hugely popular. By 1930 there were 5,698 people

living in Leysin, 244 of whom were farmers and

3,000 tuberculosis patients served

by 70 clinics. In a period of just 40

years, Leysin had been transformed

into Europe’s leading center for

convalescent TB patients.

“You get to know so much

more about

your own country

when you live and

work abroad.”

Born in Upham, North Dakota in 1916,

Sigrid Ott grew up on the family farm

speaking Icelandic as well as English. While

enrolled at the University of North Dakota, she met

her future husband Fred Ott, whom she married

after graduating with a degree in sociology in 1938.

With their two children, Sigrid moved to Germany

in 1947 in order to join Fred, who was a member

of the U.S. Army stationed in Germany. Sigrid

founded the International Ranger Camps as a

summer program for American children, which she

directed from 1949 to 1980. With her husband, she

founded the Leysin American School in 1960 and

served on its board of trustees from 1960 to 1982.

In recognition of their contributions to the school

and the town, Sigrid and Fred were made honorary

citizens of Leysin in 2007.

12 13

at Franklin and Marshall in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, where he

finished his undergraduate studies and was awarded the BA.

He then enrolled at the University of North Dakota to earn a

master’s degree in Educational Administration.

The young woman, Sigrid Benson, was a first-generation

American whose parents had emigrated from Iceland to North

Dakota. At the University of North Dakota, where Sigrid

The Ranger Camps grew in popularity throughout

the 1950s, with sites in Switzerland, Denmark, and

Holland and long waiting lists every summer. In fact

it was the program’s growth that led Sigrid to the

small Swiss village of Leysin in early 1958. At that

point, Leysin, a former international center for the

treatment of tuberculosis, was trying to shed its

unwholesome image as a “sanatorium town” in

order to attract tourism. As Sigrid remembers,

“There were big empty buildings throughout the

town, all former sanatoria.” After renting one to

house her Ranger Camp for the summer, she was

approached by a towns person to look at another.

majored in Sociology, she was granted a work scholarship

and, in addition, earned her room and board as a

mother’s helper. Both shared a passion for education.

What’s more, unlike a majority of Americans of the time,

Sigrid and Fred each possessed a strong international

perspective and saw themselves, as Sigrid put it, as

“citizens of the world.”

“I said of course, I’d like to see it, even though I had

no idea what I’d do with it!” Sigrid laughs. But after

touring the building, now called the Savoy and an

integral part of the LAS campus, she knew that she

had to share her find with her husband. “The possi-

bilities for a school there was so evident,” she says.

The concept of a private international boarding

school with an American educational curriculum

was something Sigrid and Fred had long discussed.

From Sigrid’s decade of work with the Range Camps,

they knew that there was a ready population of

potential students to tap from the U.S. as well as

other countries. Even the American military had

asked Fred to consider opening a private boarding

school to serve those American military families

stationed on bases without a high school. With the

sudden availability of the Savoy, what had seemed

impossible was now in reach.

Still, it was a long reach. “Starting the school was

more of a growing into it than a spur of the

moment decision,” says Sigrid. “And we were both

used to taking risks.” Standing outside the Savoy, it

didn’t take the Otts long to make a decision. And at

that moment fifty years ago, the Leysin American

School was born.

I said of course I’d like to see it, even though I had no idea what I’d do with it!”

“

Sigrid & Fred – 1939 -1947 Meanwhile, far across the Atlantic in the

United States, two students at the University

of North Dakota met by chance and fell in love. Their

marriage in 1939 would prove to have a lasting impact on the

town of Leysin—and in a greater sense, on the entire concept

of international education.

The young man, Fred Ott, was a Swiss-American who came to

America when he was 11. During the Great Depression higher

education was a luxury and the federal government allocated

funds to universities for scholarships for a limited number of

qualified students. Fred spent a year as an exchange student at

the University of Basel, Switzerland, and on his

return was granted a teaching assistantship

14 15

The soul of the school continues.

THE SPIRIT

oon after their marriage, two children, Aldis and

Steven, followed. While Fred Ott held several teaching

posts after graduation, he still was restless. “His interests lay

not in classroom but in the larger contexts of how a school

should be run,” recalls Sigrid. Fred soon gained that opportu-

nity when in 1942, he was invited to develop an educational

program for the inmates of the Washington State penitentiary

THE SPIRIT

S

Call him a man of altruistic extremes, a restless dreamer and intellect. That was

Fred Ott. And nothing better explains his temperament than a story he loved to

tell on himself.

As an American exchange student at the University of Basel in 1934, Fred once

drove across the border from Switzerland into Germany, where he stopped at a

local tavern. He soon fell into a lively discussion with a group of young Germans

about music and literature. When asked to name his favorite composer and

author, Fred, noting the Nazi sympathies in the conversation around him, coolly

replied Felix Mendelssohn and Heinrich Heine—both German Jews. Although

he was immediately and roughly ejected from the tavern, Fred and his feisty

idealism remained intact. And in just 11 short years, he would return to Germany

again, as part of the liberating U.S. army.

in Walla Walla. With virtually no budget, Fred organized a

school program, recruited teachers from the prison population,

and soon launched classes for grades 1 to 12. When he left to

join the U.S. Army 18 months later, he had created a functioning

school that met the needs of the institution –

and encouraged hardened inmates

to open their minds.

18

Although born in Switzerland, Fred Ott came to the

U.S. with his family when he was 11, gaining joint

citizenship, a fluency in English as well as his native

German, and an early international perspective

that would form his life—and fuel his desire to

found the Leysin American School. But Leysin was

not Fred’s first adventure in education.

After graduating with a Masters in Educational

Administration from the University of North Dakota

in 1938, and marrying his wife the following year,

Fred and Sigrid moved to Washington State in 1942.

There, Fred was hired to organize a curriculum and

school at Walla Walla’s Washington State Peniten-

tiary for its 1,400 prisoners. Although he was given

few resources, Fred managed to launch that pro-

gram successfully. The job also left him with a deep

confidence in the power of education to transform

lives—even those of the most hardened criminals.

After successfully completing that project, Fred was

ready for a new challenge. “Fred loved teaching, but

he didn’t always want to stay in the classroom,”

Sigrid laughs. The Otts then moved back to North

Dakota, where Fred was instrumental in launching

an agricultural school. By then, however, World War

II was raging in earnest and he entered the U.S.

Army in 1944 during the last ‘father’ draft.

As a young officer in the post-war military govern-

ment overseeing the defeated Germany, Fred was

sensitive to the destruction around him, even in the

face of ridicule from fellow American servicemen.

Then in 1951, he was assigned to develop on-base

high schools around the world for the children of

U.S. military families. Over the subsequent 15 years,

he created a network of 56 American schools

educating 43,000 children in 13 countries from

Norway to Pakistan.

All of these experiences, distilled over time, provided

Fred with the skills, connections, and conviction to

in Basel during the year of 1934, and often traveled across the

border to Germany. Eleven years later, Fred found himself back

in Germany as a young U.S. Army Officer, surrounded by a

ruined and destitute country, and sometimes teased by fellow

soldiers for being a German sympathizer. However, his military

career was about to take a dramatic turn, one that would

provide him with the experience and connections that would

eventually lead him to the small Swiss village of Leysin.

THE SPIRIT

In the meantime, Sigrid Ott was determined to reunite their

family in Europe, if only for a few months. Bundling up young

Aldis and Steven, Sigrid boarded the first converted Liberty ship

to cross the Atlantic and joined Fred in Europe in 1947, settling

in Switzerland. “We were only going

to stay for six months,” says Sigrid.

In fact, the Ott family would never

live permanently in the U.S. again.

20 21

The War and AfterWhen World War II began, Fred Ott initially was exempted from service as a father and main

breadwinner for his young family. However, by 1944, the American Army, in need of additional recruits,

began its “father draft,” and Fred was inducted. Sent to Germany in June 1945 shortly after the surren-

der of fascist forces, Fred joined the military police. As a young army officer highly qualified in written

and spoken German, Fred was assigned to the military government in Munich, Germany, where he

was responsible for civilian prisons of the State of Bavaria. For Fred, it was a bittersweet

return. Fluent in German, he had been an American exchange student at the University

take on the most audacious step in his long career—

that of founding the Leysin American School with

Sigrid in 1960. Starting with only a rented building

and a long mailing list of student prospects, Fred

and Sigrid pursued their shared vision—that of a

truly international and exceptional education that

gives students from every nation the opportunity

to discover how much they share in common.

A prolific writer and avid traveler, Fred Ott was also

an accomplished pianist, sight-reading challenging

compositions and even composing his own music.

In his last days, according to his son Steven, he

listened to his favorite piano pieces by Beethoven

and Bach, his fingers following along.

“I could hear something else in Fred’s playing that

wasn’t present in the performance of even more

skilled musicians,” recalls his wife Sigrid. “It was

only then that I truly realized that he played with

his heart, touching something deep within us—

perhaps what people mean by the soul. But that’s

the same feeling he brought to the School. Today,

that soul of the school continues.”

Growing the Vision – 1950 - 1960Life in postwar Europe in the late ‘40s and

early ‘50s was both dynamic and desper-

ate. A page of history had been turned, and

everywhere there was the realization that while much of the

present lay in shambles, the future was rich with prospects.

This sense of optimism was not lost on Fred and Sigrid Ott. If

anything, it served to confirm their shared belief that an

international approach to education could accomplish much in

promoting understanding and acceptance among young

people of the post-war generation. But the challenge to turn

this idealistic notion into a reality was something else again.

Within two years of his family’s arrival, Fred completed his

military duties with the U.S. Army. Soon afterward, however, he

was approached by the U.S. Air Force with a surprising

proposal. In its emergence as a post-war superpower, the

United States was actively engaged in extending its long-term

military presence to strategic points throughout Europe and

the rest of the world. The development of these U.S. military

bases included a complete set of on-base amenities for the

families of stationed personnel, including homes, commissar-

ies, recreation facilities, churches, and schools. With his

experience and degree in academic administration, Fred was

seen as the perfect choice to plan and develop schools for the

children of American expatriate military families at U.S. air

bases around the globe. In 1951, he was appointed Director of

Plans, U.S. Air Force Dependents’ Education (Overseas), a post

he held until his resignation in 1966. During his tenure, he

created a network of 56 American

schools in 13 countries from Norway

to Pakistan, educating 43,000

children a year.

22 23

The International Ranger CampsSoon after they were reunited, Fred and Sigrid realized that the booming popula-

tion of U.S. military families throughout Europe would need activities for their

children over the summer holiday months. In response, Sigrid launched the “Yank

Camps” in 1949. As the first post-war planned summer programs for the sons and

daughters of American expatriates in Europe, they proved to be an instant success.

The first camp, held in Switzerland near Bern with just 35 children, was so popular

with both American and Swiss families that Sigrid agreed to schedule three one-

week sessions the following summer. In 1950, the newly named

International Ranger Camps attracted 130 children aged up to

16 for each session. To maintain an American flavor,

Sigrid recruited a majority of her camp counselors

amongst U.S. expats in Europe, who were skilled in

activities ranging from swimming and riding to

hiking and mountaineering. By 1956, the Ranger

Camps were so swamped with requests and long waiting lists

that Sigrid Ott launched a second summer camp in Denmark

on Fano Island and later at Frederiksvaerk, north

of Copenhagen. She would be honored by Den-

mark’s government for her work with the camps

in 1971 and remained in charge of the program

until her retirement in 1980.

Born in Basel, Switzerland in 1914, Fred Ott moved to the U.S. with his family

in 1925. After taking a joint degree in Philosophy, German Literature &

Psychology from Franklin & Marshall College in Lancaster, Pennsylvania in

1936, Fred earned his master’s in Educational Administration at the

University of North Dakota in 1938. Following his marriage in 1939, he held

several teaching and administrative posts before being drafted in 1944 and

becoming part of the U.S. military government administration in Bavaria,

Germany. Serving as the Director of Plans, U.S. Air Force Dependents’

Education (Overseas) from 1951 to 1966, Fred Ott helped to develop schools

all over the world for the children of U.S. expatriate military families. When

he resigned in 1966, he returned to the Leysin American School that he

founded with his wife in 1960, becoming the School’s Executive Director.

Additionally, he served on the LAS board of trustees from 1960 to 1982. Fred

Ott passed away in November 2007.

THE SPIRIT

24 25

Fred Ott

This is

not a

job,it’s

a passion,

acalling.

THE BOND

29

ith her training as a sociologist, Sigrid was quick to

notice some remarkable by-products of the camp

experience for the attending young people. Nearly from the

start, the camps attracted not just Americans, but campers

from countries throughout Europe and even the Middle East.

The effect of this international “chemistry experiment” was

remarkable; within a day or two, campers whose countries had

been bitter enemies became close friends. “It had to do with

the discovery of each child that despite our cultural

Her official job title at Leysin American School reads “Administrative Director.” But

ask Doris Ott what her role is at Leysin and she’ll tell you in one word: “Mother.”

What’s even more surprising than her response is her explanation, one that

captures the unique essence of LAS itself. “A Leysin neighbor and friend once

observed about us, ‘The reason that the Otts have been successful is that they

don’t run their school like a business; they run it like a family.’ That couldn’t be

more true,” says Doris. “If I see a student bare-armed at minus two degrees, I

send them back to their room to put on warmer clothes. If they say, ‘You sound

just like my mother,’ I know that I have done my job.”

THE BOND

W differences, we are really all

alike,” says Sigrid Ott. In addition,

each camper’s background was

celebrated through events like

National Days, when campers from

different nations would entertain

the rest of the camp. “Everybody

brought something that was their

own to camp,” recalls Sigrid.

30 31

To prove that point, one needs only to examine the

standard-issue LAS ID card. Each one has Doris Ott’s

personal cell phone number printed on the back.

“And you know, it’s not abused,” she smiles. “If they

call, I know it’s important.”

Over the past 50 years, three genera-

tions of the Ott family have nurtured

patiently what Doris Ott calls “this

total commitment of our family

to the school—to the point where

the school really does become an

extension of our family.” Outside of

the classroom, LAS students are sur-

rounded by adults, usually teachers,

who provide daily support and guidance. More than

95% of LAS teachers live on campus, coaching sports,

traveling with students, and providing supervision

in the dorms. In fact, LAS is the only school in Swit-

zerland that employs this approach instead of us-

ing house parents. “So this family approach really is

embodied in how we live,” says Doris. “We are serv-

ing as the parents of these children in terms of their

moral and ethical education as well.”

Then in 1958, Sigrid Ott learned that she had to move her Ranger Camp, then in

Glion, to a new location, due to a need for larger facilities. She found what she

was looking for—and much more—about 25 km to the east in the small alpine

town of Leysin.

A New Concept in Education – 1960 -1970When Sigrid Ott arrived in Leysin, she found herself in a town undergoing an

uncertain transition. Only one decade earlier, Leysin had been a boomtown,

internationally known as a center for the treatment of TB. Dotting the moun-

tainside above the town, huge sanatoria catered to the needs

of TB patients, while a steady stream of visitors arrived on the

cog train from the valley below.

Then in 1943, a treatment and cure for TB was discovered

through the development of the antibiotic streptomycin.

The worldwide epidemic of TB began to wane quickly, and

with it, the need for long-term convalescent care. By the

mid 1950s, Leysin’s sanatoria stood empty and abandoned,

seemingly too large for any practical use.

THE BOND

And the inspired location? “Well, it is the magic mountain,” she smiles a bit

mysteriously. “When you think about it, throughout history, most lasting

philosophies have begun on a mountain.”

“As a result, the kids see us and know we are very

approachable,” she continues. “We have a 24-hour

open door policy where they know that they can

come and chat with me at all times. Obviously I get

to know all of the students quite closely.”

But there are other ingredients to this special

chemistry at LAS, according to Doris Ott. One is

evident on any given day simply by strolling through

the school’s dining hall at lunchtime. Of the nearly

400 students currently at LAS, only three percent

are Swiss; the rest hail from 62 different countries.

As a result, says Doris, “There is no majority in our

student body. LAS students learn to appreciate each

other’s differences. They get closer to the world

through our school.” With her multilingual skills,

Doris herself is able to communicate directly and

often with students and their families, promoting a

close-knit sense of family throughout LAS.

Reinforcing this perspective is an approach unlike

many old-fashioned boarding schools. “We are de-

cidedly non-hierarchical,” she says. “Every student is

recognized for their individual worth as well as

their background.”

Every student is recognized for their individual worth as well as their background.”

“

The youngest of four children, Doris Ott was born in 1946 in the central

Switzerland canton of Schwyz, growing up on the family farm in a house that

has been in her family since 971. Following high school, she traveled abroad

for language studies, first at the Università per gli stranieri in Florence, then

Davis College in London, and finally the Alliance Française in Paris. Through a

national competition, she was awarded the Education Desk post at the Swiss

National Tourist Office in New York City, where she worked from 1966 to 1969. Following her marriage

to Steven in 1969, she and her husband moved to Switzerland, where she assisted Fred and Sigrid Ott

in government relations and human resources for Leysin American School and the American College

of Switzerland from 1970 to 1977. During her husband’s sabbatical in Saudi Arabia from 1977 to 1982,

Doris was employed at the Banque de l’Indochine et de Suez, later the AlBank AlSaudi AlFransi. In

1982, she and her husband returned to the struggling Leysin American School in Switzerland, which

they refinanced and relaunched with only 27 students. Currently, she is the school’s Administrative

Director, in charge of all non-academic services and departments as well as government relations and

human resources. She and her husband have three children— Marc-Frédéric, Stefanie, and Christoph.

If they say, ‘You sound just like my mother,’ I know that I have done my job.”

“

32

34 35

The SavoySeeking a replacement site for her International Ranger Camp,

Sigrid Ott found the perfect property to rent in Leysin—a

large, former sanatorium building called Chamois that was

an easy walk from the village. Over the next two summers,

Sigrid returned to Leysin for her camp sessions, becoming more

impressed with the town and its remarkable location, at once

removed and protected, but still close to major cities in Swit-

zerland and the rest of Europe.

Early in 1960, Sigrid was approached by a local tour com-

pany, which inquired if she and her husband might be in-

terested in renting a larger vacant building close to Cham-

ois. “I of course said I’d look at the building,” she recalls,

“not knowing what we would do with it!” The building, a

former clinic called the Savoy, was enormous but function-

al, complete with a dining area. Walking through the halls,

Sigrid Ott immediately recognized what she had found. “The

possibilities for a school there were so evident,” she says.

Grand Hotel reopened for vacationers, creat-

ing a model for other former sanatoria to fol-

low. Soon after, the town opened its first ski

lift (Aï-Berneuse) in 1957, making Leysin a new

magnet for alpine skiers. While the town’s

rebirth as a tourist destination was success-

ful, it also was about to discover a new source

of revenue—education.

Searching for alternatives to

replace this economic loss,

Leysin’s leading citizens hit

upon the notion of tourism,

given the town’s year-round

offering of outdoor sports and activities. Early

on, Club Med took advantage of this concept by opening its

first winter village in Leysin in 1956. That same year, the town’s

Sometimes, taking a chance takes you to your nextlevel of excellence.

THE VISION

S39

provide to launch a new school.

In short order, they assembled a

team of 26 investors and board

members to underwrite a new Swiss company,

Leysin American School SA (LASSA), which would manage

the school. Founding directors included Professor Hunziker

and Frederic Tissot, Leysin developer. Other key supporters of

the school included Robert McCausland, founder of Village

Campes, and Carlo de Mercurio, director of the Grand Hotel.

Steven Ott’s eyes gleam with excitement. As he shows yet another group of

astonished visitors around the nearly renovated Grand Hotel of the Belle Époque,

he makes no effort to hide his obvious enthusiasm. “This,” he smiles, gesturing

broadly around him, “is my sandbox.”

The “sandbox” in question, a massive, elegant, century-old former sanatorium

and hotel just up the mountain from the original LAS campus, boasts a storied

past all its own. Constructed as a luxury Victorian palace in 1892 to serve the

needs of aristocratic tubercular patients, the ‘Grand’ hosted balls, concerts, and

lectures. Igor Stravinsky reportedly wrote “Rites of Spring” there and first performed

excerpts in the building’s ornate “Grande Salle.” Tsar Nicholas II and his family

were guests there, along with Marie Curie, the famed German poet Rainer Maria

Rilke, and Josephine Baker. Even Mahatma Gandhi gave a lecture there.

THE VISION

red Ott’s reaction to the Savoy was also positive, but for

a more immediate reason. Only a year earlier in 1959,

General Maxwell Taylor, the commander-in-chief of the U.S.

Air Force in Europe, had asked Fred Ott to consider opening a

private boarding school for those American families stationed

on U.S. military bases too small to maintain their own high

schools. That opportunity was now at hand.

While enthusiastic, the Otts knew that they would need

a broader base of financial support than they alone could

F

40 41

On July 24, 1960, the first meeting of the company took place in

Leysin’s Grand Hotel, and the contract to rent the Savoy build-

ing was signed. As Executive Director, Fred, was responsible for

the overall planning of the new school, including facility

renovations, curriculum, staffing, marketing and a myriad of

other tasks. Quickly gathering family and friends together,

Fred and Sigrid began preparing for the school’s opening just

one year in the future.

Opening DoorsOn September 18, 1961, the Leysin American School opened its

doors with 89 students and 12 teachers. The months leading up

to that date were enormously hectic for the Otts. A last-minute

direct mail recruitment effort, using the extensive mailing lists

from the International Ranger Camps, had produced positive

results. In addition, the new school was given less than three

weeks to set up and prepare for classes in the Savoy. Under the

THE VISION

direction of Sigrid Ott, a team of 13 people from the Leysin

Ranger Camp worked up to 14 hours a day to prepare the

building for incoming students. They dismantled 118 beds;

collected, sorted, stored and reissued

350 blankets, 144 duvets and 286

pillows; checked 324 chairs; hemmed

hand and kitchen towels; sewed

aprons; and listed and washed

It’s a unique building, historical and phenomenal. Most of all, Belle Époque is both the culmination and extension of our school’s mission.”

“

During the 18-month long renovation, great care

was given both to restoration and new architectur-

al directions. Through a gift from an LAS parent, the

Grande Salle’s Scagliola marble has been brought

back and the cupola rebuilt. Just upstairs, an ar-

chitecturally innovative space has been created to

house the school’s new Arts Center, made possible

by an anonymous $1 million gift. In addition, the

building will house 200 IB students and offer 22

state-of-the-art classrooms. “All in all, Belle Époque

will provide the character and resources that we

want to give to our new International Baccalaure-

ate campus,” says Steven Ott. “In addition, it gives

our entire school a public face.”

As he guides his visitors into the next leg of their

building tour, Steven looks around as if for the first

time. “Belle Époque is where the leaders of the past

came to be healed,” he muses, “and the leaders of

the future will come to be educated.”

42

complete crockery and cutlery for 150 people!

The Otts originally had intended to have adminis-

trators run the day-to-day activities of LAS, while

Fred continued to pursue his work with the U.S. Air

Force in Germany. However, a constant turnover of

headmasters left the Otts with little choice but to

take over the reins and move to Leysin permanently

in 1965, with Fred resigning from his Air Force post

the following year.

THE VISION

43

Most students in the early years of LAS were Ameri-

cans from expatriate families. As the only school

in Europe providing the U.S. Grade 9 to 12 high

school curriculum, LAS and its sister institution, the

American College of Switzerland, offered a unique

opportunity to the children of American families

working abroad—an education similar to the one

they’d receive in the U.S. This was a radical concept

at the time, says Sigrid Ott. “We introduced the idea

of combining an American high school curriculum with the

boarding school model. All other Swiss boarding schools at

that time were either very traditional or finishing schools.”

Coupled with this innovative educational approach was the

Otts’ sense of what the ethical underpinnings of the school

should be in terms of ideals, behavior, and international under-

standing. Fred Ott best expressed these beliefs on the thirtieth

anniversary of LAS in 1990:

“First, the school accepts the challenge to serve, guide and

instruct boys and girls in their teens,

at an impressionable, difficult period

of life when organic changes affect body, mind and

emotions. The school welcomes students regardless of race,

religion, nationality or social status. In fact, diversity is sought

and encouraged. This principle, however, does not have a

leveling, egalitarian, non-critical effect. Rather it fosters

communal integration without loss of identity, of pride in

background, of personal faith, of bonds to kin and country.”

Even with such history, not to mention its architec-

tural merits, the Grand Hotel had suffered from a

slow spiral of neglect in recent years—that is, until

the opportunity arose for the Leysin American

School to purchase the

property in 2008. De-

spite the challenges in-

volved, says Steven, it

was an opportunity

that made perfect

sense. “With my train-

ing in engineering, I

saw what bad shape

the building was in—

and its potential,” he

notes. “It’s a unique

building, historical and

phenomenal. Most of

all, Belle Époque is both the culmination and exten-

sion of our school’s mission.”

In planning the long-term strategic direction of

LAS, Steven, as Executive Director and Chairman of

the Board, had determined that the next stage of

the school’s evolution was inevitable and overdue.

Like a cell splitting in order to grow, LAS needed to

divide itself into two campuses—one an “academic

powerhouse” concentrating on the school’s

advanced International Baccalaureate program,

and the other serving as a U.S. diploma high school,

providing additional support to students while

focusing on other aspects of excellence in addition

to academic achievement. “If we want to place more

of our graduates into the top 10 percent bracket, we

need to provide our most talented kids with the

environment they need,” he says.

However, the question facing the Ott family

was where to place the new IB campus. Initially,

locations in other nearby towns were explored but

did not pan out. Then, thanks to a tip from Leysin’s

mayor, the Otts were able to negotiate the purchase

of the Grand Hotel. “Within two weeks of our bid,

we became the owners,” recalls Steven. “The very

next day, our workers were in the building.”

Belle Époque is where the leaders of the past came to be healed, and the leaders of the future will come to be educated.”

“

The younger child of Fred and Sigrid Ott, Steven Ott is a true “citizen of the world”

in thought and deed. Born in Washington State in 1943, he is a dual U.S.-Swiss national

whose recruitment and development efforts on behalf of LAS have taken him to

literally every point of the globe. Grow-

ing up in Germany and Switzerland with

parents who were deeply involved with

international educational activities,

Steven attended Stanford University in

California, where he earned his B.S. in

Industrial Engineering in 1966 and his

PhD with Distinction in Structural Engineering in 1970. After

marrying Doris in 1969, Steven returned with her to Switzerland

in 1970 to serve as the Chair of Science and Member of the

Executive Board at the American College of Switzerland, and in

1975, as the College’s acting president. From 1977-1982, Steven

worked in Saudi Arabia, first as Special Advisor to the Rector at

King Faisal University, and later as a Partner in Romaih Water

Engineering. On hearing that LAS was on the verge of financial

collapse, Steven and Doris returned to Leysin in 1982 to take

over the management of the school. In the subsequent 27

years, Steven (as Executive Director and Chairman of the Board)

and his family have guided LAS in its successful development

and reputation as one of the world’s leading international

boarding schools.

44 45

The American College of SwitzerlandFounded in 1963 by LASSA, The

American College of Switzerland

(ACS) gave LAS graduates the

opportunity to continue their studies in

Leysin. Initially offering an A.A. degree, ACS added a B.A. degree

program within five years of opening. As the only American

THE VISION

college program available in Switzerland, the college rapidly

grew with the increasing enrollment of international students.

In 1975, the LAS board decided that for continued devel-

opment and the building of an endowment fund, the legal

structure of ACS needed to be converted into an independent

non-proprietary foundation. Unfortunately, this step resulted

in a less personal approach to education at the college and a

steady drop in enrollment.

In 1981, ACS moved into the Grand Hotel, now the LAS Belle

Époque Campus. When Schiller Universities took over the college

in 1991, they hoped to make ACS into the flagship of their nine

campus network. However in 2007, ACS was sold to a private

equity company and then, in June 2009, finally closed due to a

lack of students. Nonetheless, the college’s alumni organization

remains active and has been offered a home by LAS in the Belle

Époque building for occasional get-togethers and events.

Triumphs and Setbacks – 1970 - 1982By the end of the school’s first decade, the school’s student

population had more than doubled, reaching 180 in 1972. Stu-

dents continued to be primarily American ex-pats from fami-

lies in the military or employed by international companies.

The Otts, while maintaining a hands-on role in administration,

also traveled extensively to recruit new students and parents,

journeying to North Africa and the Far East.

The drive for educational excellence runs deep

in the Ott family. Half a world away from LAS,

Aldis Ott-Jaspers, Steven’s sister, has pursued a

similar vision. While visiting the small village of

Vediyappanur in South India in the 1990s, Aldis

and her husband discovered the children had

little or no access to schooling. In response, she

founded the Arunachala Village School in 1999.

Today, as an accredited institution with a two-

year kindergarten and five grades of primary

school, AVS teaches fundamental skills, such as

reading, writing, math and languages, to 180

children from the area’s poorest families.

The footprint I want to leave in life is global understanding.

THE COMPASS

T

48 47

“TCK,” says Marc-Frédéric Ott. “That’s what I was—a TCK.”

For those new to the world of international education, ‘TCK’ means “third-culture

kid,” an emerging class of young people around the world. Quite simply, a TCK

is a blend of two cultures, his home country plus his adopted country where he

currently lives with his family. That blend produces an attitude that is decidedly

global rather than monocultural—in short, a “third culture.”

As Marc-Frédéric explains it, “I realized fairly early that I had a broader interna-

tional outlook than most kids. This gave me a great curiosity for and apprecia-

tion of people different from myself.”

popular winter sports

program, especially skiing and

mountaineering. At the same

time, international travel was woven into the school year to

build foreign language skills and foster greater cross-cultural

appreciation. Not that academics didn’t play a major part in

every student’s day—as proof, 90 per cent of LAS graduates

were finding placement in U.S. colleges and universities.

THE COMPASS

s enrollment continued to rise, the LAS campus expanded

remarkably. By the late 60s, the school had not only

purchased the Savoy, but the La Clairiere, Beau Reveil and

Esplanade as well. In addition, a new gym, completed in 1972,

doubled as a performance space for dramatic

productions. As importantly, a distinctive LAS

culture began to emerge, a true esprit that

balanced personalized study with a highly

A

50 51

The TCK experience for Marc-

Frédéric, as a dual Swiss-American

national growing up in Saudi Arabia,

proved to be invaluable in terms of

his first job with LAS, managing the

school’s admissions recruitment in

North and South America. “I could

apply my own experiences to under-

standing the expectations of pro-

spective students,” he says. “In a way, they all feel

like outsiders. I explained to them that at LAS, that

made them all insiders!”

By the time he completed his doctorate in educa-

tional leadership at Columbia University and

returned to LAS in 2005, Marc was certain of the

career direction he wanted to take. While there

always had been a hope that he would “take over

the family business,” Marc-Frédéric says that his

father Steven made the transition to the third

generation of family management seamless. “My

Dad offered us a clear vision for the direction of

the school,” he says, “which my brother and I shared

and could follow.”

That blueprint, called the Vision for 2016, seeks to

make LAS one of the world’s top

boarding schools as measured by

college acceptances. Named as the

new Head of School and Executive

Director in August 2009, Marc

believes that the school is on

course to achieve that goal. “Over

the past year, we’ve been building

the future for LAS,” he says. Major

steps have included the acquisition of the Belle

Époque for the new IB campus, the reconfiguration

of LAS into a two-campus, school, and the introduc-

tion of a new eighth grade track. Ongoing efforts

will involve a continuous elevation of academic and

extracurricular standards to ensure that the best

students are attracted to LAS.

What’s more, Marc-Frédéric completely restruc-

tured the school’s administration functions in 2009

to introduce a more streamlined organization that

emphasizes teamwork and collaboration. Three

Deans respectively managing Faculty & Academics,

Students (all aspects of boarding school life outside

of the classroom), and the Belle Époque Campus

report directly to him.

One vital contribution to the LAS

spirit also was introduced in the early

70s—that of the faculty family

system. Through this system, each

LAS faculty member becomes

responsible for a ‘family’ group of

eight to ten students of various ages in the school dorm

where they live. (In many cases, the faculty member lives

within the dorm in an apartment.) Serving as a surrogate

parent, counselor and social coordinator, the faculty holds

weekly group talks, organizes birthday parties, and helps

individual students sort out their personal problems. Through

the consistent presence of this faculty parent throughout their

days and evenings, students come to feel a stronger sense of

extended family ties with the teacher and each other.

With so much going well for LAS in the early 70s, the unex-

pected events that followed were even more difficult for the

young school to negotiate. Between January 1973 and

Economic WoesThe impact of these events on LAS was immediate and crush-

ing. The school’s tuition rates, assessed in Swiss francs against

the falling dollar, tripled for American parents, pricing LAS out

of range for many. By 1975, the LAS student population had

fallen by half to 92, of which 66 were American. In September

1980, the school opened with just 36 students – 18 Americans,

four Canadians, three Libyans and one each from Switzerland,

Kuwait, France, Holland, Pakistan, Greece, Saudi Arabia, Bolivia,

THE COMPASS

“My Dad offered us a clear vision for the direction of the school, which my brother and I shared and could follow.”

December 1974, the New York Stock

Exchange crashed, losing almost half

of its value. This downturn caused a

chain reaction of crashes on foreign

exchanges around the world, trigger-

ing a worldwide recession that would

linger until the end of the decade. Compounding this economic

crisis was a severe devaluation of the American dollar abroad

as well as the OPEC oil crisis in October 1973.

52 53

Sweden, Brazil and Iran. There were only eight teachers and five other staff. LAS

needed a minimum of 87 students to break even.

Complicating the school’s economic woes was its financial entanglement

with the American College of Switzerland. By the 1970s, ACS was suffering from

a severe decline in tuition income as well as tumultuous student protests that

threatened to shut the college down. LAS, which supplied services to the College,

was dealt a further blow by the College’s failing finances. In 1976, ACS became

independent from LAS.

By 1982, with the school obviously in decline,

student recruitment difficult, and academic

standards in question, the LAS board seriously

considered the sale or merger of the school

with another. Fred and Sigrid Ott had retired

from the school two years earlier, leaving a void of inspired

leadership. At this darkest point in the school’s history, Steven

and Doris Ott paid a visit.

The New LAS – 1982 - 2000Growing up in his parents’ world of educational development

and administration, Steven Ott initially left to follow a different

path. At Stanford University in the late 60s, he earned his un-

dergraduate and doctorate degrees in industrial and structural

engineering. Following graduation, he and his new wife Doris

accepted positions at the American College of Switzerland in

1970—she as a special assistant to Fred Ott, he as a faculty

member and chair of the Science Department.

THE COMPASS

While Marc-Frédéric is reaching for the future, he

remains in touch with the school’s origins. “Like my

grandfather, what drives me is this passion for

education,” he says. “We have this privilege of hav-

ing these kids from all over the world at our school.

If we can give them a sense of high academic

standards, social responsibility, environmental

awareness, and global understanding while here,

it’s our hope that they’ll share those values back in

their home countries.”

We have this privilege of having these kids from all over the world at our school.”

“

54 55

Born in 1972 in Montreux, Switzerland, Marc-

Frédéric Ott was raised in Saudi Arabia and

Switzerland before attending the University of

St. Gallen, where he received his M.A. in Teaching

Business Administration in 1998. From 1999 to

2002, he was the U.S. Director for Admissions

for LAS, where he organized recruiting for North

and South America. While pursuing his studies

at the Teachers College of Columbia University

where he earned his Doctorate in Education (Ed.D)

in 2006, Marc-Frédéric managed admissions

for the school in the Tri-State area (New York,

New Jersey, and Connecticut) as well as the

Middle East from 2002 to 2005. Returning to

LAS after receiving his doctorate, Marc took over

the role of Director of External Relations from

2005 to 2007, where he directed worldwide

admissions, alumni relations, and philanthropy.

In 2007, he was named as the school’s Associate

Executive Director, and in August 2009, became

the Head of School and Executive Director of

LAS. Marc-Frédéric is married and father of one

daughter, Anna Claire. His wife, Stephanie, is a

medical doctor in Leysin.

Doris and Steven plunged into their new responsibilities while

caring for the needs of their growing family—Marc-Frédéric,

10, Stefanie, 8, and Christoph, 2. It fell onto Doris to revive the

original spirit of LAS, as a school that serves its students by

providing a true home away from home and a second family.

However in 1977, the couple left to pursue new careers in

Saudi Arabia. Steven initially worked as a special advisor to

the Rector of King Faisal University, and later as a partner in a

water-engineering firm. Doris served as a translator for a large

international bank. It was not until 1982 that events intervened

that would tie their destinies to the Leysin American School.

While visiting the school on holiday in July of that year,

Doris and Steven were given a sudden and grim ultimatum by

the school’s board. The offer was simple: take over LAS, or the

school would be forced to close. The Otts agreed, despite

having no previous experience in managing a school. Both felt

that LAS deserved to survive, not only because of their family’s

long association, but also because of the unique position LAS

held as a model for international education.

That summer, Steven and Doris immediately

plunged into efforts to pull LAS back from the

brink of insolvency, even before all of the legal

paperwork and negotiations were completed

for the school’s transfer and financial restruc-

turing. There was simply no time to waste. Doris assumed the

leadership of all non-academic operations and services, as well

as government relations and human resources. In the mean-

time, Steven Ott organized a three-pronged

development strategy of recruitment,

accreditation, and expansion—an approach

that raised LAS to new levels of stability and

success over the subsequent two decades.

We’re strong enough to grow from our own values.”

“

THE NEXT STEP

You gain so much more out of life through change, by systematically breaking out of your routine.

so more out

58 59

expatriate community made it a prime target for recruitment.

Through visits there, he was able to push the 1983 enrollment

up to 45. Additional recruitment trips to Japan and Korea also

proved fruitful. By September 1985, LAS had 122 full-time

students.

However, the key to Steven Ott’s recruitment strategy lay in

diversification. Rather than to depend solely upon prospects

from U.S. families working abroad, he also sought out affluent

families in Eastern Europe, the Middle East, West Africa, and

the Far East. For these families, he described a wholesome,

supportive and secure environment where their children would

receive a superb education and experience in international

living. His efforts were rewarded by a record enrollment of 210

students in 1991, even though the

proportion of American students

fell from 70 to 44 percent.

AccreditationA school’s reputation rests in many ways upon its validation as

an accredited institution. Steven Ott aggressively pursued such

credentialing from the start to rebuild and raise the school’s

reputation. In 1985 LAS applied for accreditation to the Euro-

pean Council of International Schools (ECIS) as well as to the

U.S. Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools, which

regulates and monitors standards among its members. In 1987,

Recruitment With fall 1983 enrollment at just 28

students, Steven knew that he

had to acquire qualified

students quickly. Through his

experience in Saudi Arabia, he

knew that country’s American

CChristoph Ott sums up his philosophy simply: “I’m a very pragmatic person. I

want things to be useful and to work.” Nonetheless, this perspective has led him

on a 20-year journey to carve out a professional career that is, well, useful and

works. And while not his initial intention, this search has

brought him back to LAS—and made him an essential

player in the school’s evolution.

A self-described “technology geek,” Christoph was a

computer enthusiast in his teens. His tech skills, coupled

with an interest in marketing, led him to design the first

promotional CD for LAS while he was still in high school.

“My father came to me with the idea that we needed to

advertise the school using new technology, so we brain-

stormed a bit and I got to work, “ he recalls.

The middle child of Doris and

Steven, Stefanie Eliasson-Ott has

charted her own career outside of

the LAS community as a financial

services professional. A graduate

of University of Geneva with a

Masters in Finance, Stefanie is

currently employed by the inter-

national financial consultancy

Deloitte. Still, she remains close

to LAS and its mission, serving as

a board member of the school.

THE NEXT STEP

60 61

Christoph labored on the CD for two years during his free time, weekends and

vacations. In addition, he analyzed other school publications, even teaching himself

how to program with the multimedia software he was using. Despite such early

accomplishments, Christoph doesn’t see himself as “a groundbreaking inventor.

What I do is to look into various disciplines outside of education and then see how

they can be applied in education,” he says. “I look at what’s happening outside the

box and then try to apply it back within my box.”

In order to marry his twin interests in technology and business, Christoph “took the

practical path” and studied engineering at Zurich’s prestigious Federal Institute of

Technology, Europe’s equivalent of MIT. While earning his B.S. and M.S. there, he

began working on a new concept, expressed in the title of his Masters thesis as

“Global Expansion Strategies for the Leysin American School.” His concept was an

innovative one—a full-service educational management group that

would seek out collaborative business ventures to create LAS-style

schools elsewhere in the world.

While still in his 20s, Christoph presented this proposal to the LAS

board. In 2006, the school backed his idea and the LAS Management

Group was born. To date, the Group has done over 40 project

proposals, with 15% ending up in contract discussions. Closer to

home, Christoph has applied the same systems approach to the

massive renovation of the Grand Hotel building in collaboration

with his father Steven and brother Marc- Frédéric.

LAS became the first Swiss international boarding school to

win accreditation from both organizations.

In 1991, LAS was approved to introduce the prestigious and

academically rigorous International Baccalaureate program

into its curriculum. At that time, the IB had been adopted in

less than 450 schools worldwide, but its implementation by

LAS paved the way to greater academic ambitions. As a result,

LAS dropped the general studies diploma, focusing instead on

its U.S. high school diploma and IB diploma.

Then in the mid-90s, Steven Ott and LAS made their most

aggressive credentialing bid to date by applying for ISO 9001

certification. This internationally recognized quality standard,

enforced by the International Organization

for Standardization, verifies that the needs

and expectations of an organization’s

customers are being met by the way that organization is

managed. The ISO standard applies to virtually any product or

service, made by any process, anywhere in the world. However,

no school had ever previously applied, let alone achieved ISO

9001. Steven Ott converted all the requirements framed for in-

dustry into a form appropriate for education. LAS was awarded

ISO 9001 status in June 1998, the first school ever to be granted

this extraordinary status.

ExpansionReflecting the growth of the school’s international student

body in the 90s, more and more Japanese students were

electing to attend LAS. Recognizing this growing interest,

Tokyo’s Kumon Institute of Education invited LAS to partner in

a project to create an international boarding school for Japa-

nese students in Leysin.

THE NEXT STEP

62 63

The new school, the Kumon

Leysin Academy Switzerland

(KLAS), opened in 1990 with

Steven Ott as headmaster

and Doris Ott as business manager. A new campus, planned by

Steven Ott, was opened two years later. With Kumon eager to

assume sole control over KLAS, LAS sold its share in 1994 and

ended its involvement in 1997. However, the project demon-

strated that the LAS model could be applied successfully to a

new educational venue, a concept that would be explored by

the school again a decade later.

Renowned as an international school offering an American

high school education, LAS needed to ensure that American

students were still attracted to the school. In 1998, when the

school boasted a record 303 students, just 98 were from the

United States. To improve recruitment in North America, Steven

Ott directed the reorganization of the LAS New York office in

1997, where Marc-Frédéric Ott, Doris and Steven’s eldest son,

took over in 1999.

With the continued influx of students came the needed capital

to expand campus facilities. The Eden building, leased in 1988

to provide extra accommodation, was purchased in 1990. In

1994, modernization of the Savoy was completed with the

addition of a sixth floor and en-suite rooms for all students.

The conversion of La Clairiere into faculty apartments allowed

all teaching staff to be housed on the LAS campus.

THE NEXT STEP

In 2010, Christoph’s involvement with LAS took an

added dimension, as he became the new Director

of the famed LAS Summer in Switzerland program.

“While we will be refining the successful model of

our summer school,” he says, “we also will be ap-

proaching other international private high schools

that could benefit by adopting our summer school

model.” In addition, by establishing relationships

with other schools through summer programs,

Christoph believes that opportunities also will

emerge to offer broader management services.

64

Beau Site was acquired in 1995,

providing additional girls’ housing

along with offices for the school’s

administration, accounting and

admissions staffs. By increasing its capacity to 330

students by the end of the century, LAS had become one of the

largest international boarding schools in the world.

Reflecting on his first 20 years at the helm of LAS, Steven Ott

notes, “My father wrote in the school’s first 1961 mission

statement about creating a synergy between the best of

America and the best of Europe. He was talking about

educational practices; what we did was to expand that synergy

to best management practices.”

THE NEXT STEP

The youngest son of Steven and Doris Ott, Christoph Ott was born in Montreaux in 1979 but grew up within

the bustling environment of LAS in Leysin. Pursuing his early interests in technology and business, Christoph

received his B.S. In Mechanical & Process Engineering in 2004 and his M.S. in Industrial Engineering in 2006

from the Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich, Switzerland. He currently is a PhD candidate in Manage-

ment and Marketing at the Université de Lausanne. After joining LAS in 2006, Christoph became Project

Manager for the school’s ongoing Management Group initiative. Additionally, he has taken the lead on

several key on-campus projects, including the physical renovation of the school’s Belle Époque building for the

new IB campus in Leysin. In 2010, he became the Director of the LAS Summer in Switzerland Program.

Christoph and his wife Gosia were married in 2009 and now have a son, Jonas.

Using the summer program as a springboard to grow the school—50 years earlier, Fred and Sigrid Ott used

the same strategy to launch LAS. This meaningful parallel is not lost on Christoph. “At the end of day,” he says,

“the Management Group is here to help LAS grow into the school it wants to become.”

While we will be refining the successful model of our summer school we also will be approaching other international private high schools that could benefit by adopting our summer school model.”

“

New Directions 2000 and

Beyond heLeysinAmericanSchoolenteredthe21stcenturyonthestrongest

footing of its existence in terms of growth. By the 2000-2001

schoolyear,enrollmentnumbersreached328;by2005LASwelcomed349

students. Of these, a third came from North America, with Kazakhstan,

Mexico,RussiaandSaudiArabiaaccountingforaquarterofthestudents.

Toaccommodatetheseswellingnumbers,theschoolacquiredtheVermont

complexofbuildingsin2001forresidencehall,mathematicsclassrooms

andoffices.Inaddition,BeauReveilwaspurchasedin2002,bringingto11

thetotalnumberofbuildingsonthecampus.Allofthedormitorieswere

equippedwithen-suitefacilities,whilebytheendof2007,Savoywasable

togeneratemostofitshotwaterfromnewlyinstalledsolarpanels.How-

ever,theschool’sexpansion,coupledwithgrowingparentalexpectations

forenhancedstudentprograms,madeitallthemorecriticalforLAStoseek

newfundsforinvestment.Withoutendowments,theschoolwasrestricted

in the scholarship support it could offer to talented students in need.

Additionalfundswerealsoneededtobringthecampusuptothestandards

expectedbymanyparents,includingthelatestineducationaltechnology.

T

67

New PossibilitiesIf anything, the school’s fifth decade reflected anexplosionofnewpossibilitiesineveryfacetofLAS,from technology and programs to managementandfacilities.

TechnologyIntroduced at LAS in 2000, the innovative Power-school, an internet-based reporting system, gavestudentsandparentsinstantonlineaccesstoinfor-mation on grades, discipline and health.The newsystem generated immediate approval from LASparents all over the world, increased facultyaccountability,andcausedstudentstofocusmoreseriouslyontheirindividualperformance.

With the aid of Christoph Ott, Marc Frederic’syoungerbrother,LASlauncheditsfirstwebsiteanddevelopedaCD-ROMasamarketingtool.Newtech-nologyalsomadeitpossibletoclosetheschool’sU.S.recruitment office in 2005 and administer NorthAmericanadmissionscentrallyfromLeysin.

FacilitiesThe school’s ‘Black Box’ theatre, which opened in2000,generatedagreaterinterestindrama,result-ingintheemergenceofanewtheatredepartment.Its first production in November 2000 featuredactorsfrommorethanadozencountriestakingpartinaperformanceofShakespeare’sTwelfthNight.

Other new or enhanced facilities on campusincluded an Information & Technology Centre, alibrary stocked with 20,000 books, four sciencelaboratories, a computer laboratory, and a VisualArts Centre dedicated to Fred Ott and Sigrid Ott,offeringstudiosforartandceramics.

Summer in SwitzerlandStartinginthemid-1980s,annualsummerschoolshad been held at LAS to make the most of theschool’sfacilities.However,since2001,arevitalizedprogramhasattractedgrowingnumbersofcamp-ers, increasing from 180 to nearly 300 annually.Renamed Summer in Switzerland, the programoffers boys and girls aged eight to nineteenclassroom study every morning and outdooractivities in the afternoons. Morning classes mayinclude languages, mathematics and technology,naturestudy,creativewritinganddrama,withtheafternoonsessions includingsports,shows,hikingand excursions. While providing an importantsourceof revenueforLAS,Summer InSwitzerlandgivescampersatasteofLASculture,manyofwhomreturnasnewstudents.

A New CampusOnce a luxurious sanatorium that catered to thewealthy,thehistoricGrandHoteloftheBelleÉpoqueinLeysinwaspurchasedbyLASin2008.Itsacquisi-tion provided several opportunities for the schoolatonce.Whenrenovationswerecompletedin2010,Belle Époque became the new campus for theschool’s prestigious International Baccalaureateprogram. The building now houses 200 studentsand their teachers, along with 27 state-of-the-artclassroomsandthreelaboratories.

In addition, Belle Époque houses the school’s newArtCenter.Thedramaticallydesigned,400-squaremeter space offers studio and teaching areas forstudents engaged in painting, printing, sculpture,photography,film,andmore.

As importantly, Belle Époque, with its distinctivearchitecture, provides the school with a strongvisual identity that it lacked in the past. “It’s ournewfrontdoor,”saysStevenOtt.

New LeadershipMid-decadesawotherimportantchangesatLASinthe transition of leadership from the secondgenerationoftheOttfamilytothethird.InFall2007,StevenOttshiftedaportionofhismanagementre-sponsibilities to his eldest son, Marc-Frédéric Ott.As associate executive director, Marc-Frédéricbecame responsible for much of the academicadministrationof theschool.ThatNovember,FredOttpassedawayattheageof93,havinglivedtoseethe school he co-founded achieve internationalsuccess.Hislosswasgreatlymournedbyhisfamily,friends,alumniandtheentireschool.

Inthesummerof2009,Marc-FrédéricOttassumedthe position of Head of School at LAS. As his firstorder of business, Marc introduced a new organi-zational structure for the school’s administration.Developed in close consultation with LAS boardmembers and administrators, the new structureeliminated thepreviousverticalhierarchy infavorof a flatter, team-oriented approach. That teampresentlyiscomposedofthreenewexecutiveposi-tions—DeanofFaculty&AcademicAffairs,DeanofStudents,andDeanoftheBelleÉpoqueCampus.

Energizedbythesepositivechanges,LASenteredits2009-2010 academic year with 375 students from62countries—afarcryfrom1982’s28students.

“What you always have to do is

to leave the next generation a

massive challenge. If you give them the opportunity

to look at the family enterprise

as a start-up, a reinvention, then

they will fly with it and make it

much betterSteven Ott

.”

The Assassination of a PresidentOn November 22, 1963, President John F. Kennedy was assassinated. The LAS community, mostly Americans, went into shock as the world around them changed within a few short hours. While most wished that they could be with their families back in the States, the school came together to support each other emotionally and spiritually. Even Leysin’s townspeople came by to offer their condolences.

The First Moon LandingStudents and staff were glued in front of the TV sets that had been placed in the boys’ and girls’ residences. Nobody could think of study or preparing for the next Algebra or French test. And then it happened —on July 29, 1969 at 20.17 Swiss time, Armstrong’s message was transmitted to the world: “The eagle has landed.”

The Russians ArriveIn November of 1990, Steven Ott received a call from the East-West Bank of Zurich, asking if LAS could accept twelve Russian students from Krasnuralsk. Steven was delighted to have them, and immediately had them picked up in Basel and brought them to LAS. One had his belongings in an old German Wehrmacht rucksack, while others had a few sturdy plastic bags or simple suitcases. Doris Ott had been provided with a budget to complete their needs: two pairs of socks, some underwear, warm winter clothing and ski equipment.

Two and a half years later, the Russians graduated, each a top academic performer and true ‘citizen of the world.’ Subsequently, they completed degrees at some of the best U.K. and U.S. universities before returning to ‘Mother Russia.’

9/11The 11th of September 2001 was a beautiful fall day in Leysin. Leaves on the mountain slopes were taking on autumn colors, while the first snows covered the peaks of the ‘Dents du Midi.’

Within minutes of the first attack on New York City’s World Trade Center towers, classes and offices emptied as staff and students glued their eyes to the closest TV set. The shock was visible on people’s faces as the towers collapsed and the dust clouds enveloped lower Manhattan. With transatlantic communications down, no further information was available for days. Only later was LAS able to confirm that no alumni, family of students or close friends had been lost.

The next day, the school’s Arab students were huddled apart from others. Noticing the difficulty they had in communicating and even looking into the eyes of other students, Doris and Steven decided that they, too, needed support. Doris and Steven had lunch at the ‘Arab Table’ and explained that they could not take on the responsibility of those who had committed this heinous crime. “Please join the others and express your sadness that man can commit such terrible crimes that are so hurtful,” explained Doris. The students were reassured and the LAS community was able to come together as one.

Columbia Shuttle TragedyIn the summer of 2002, during a visit to a local Leysin restaurant, Fred Ott chatted with some visiting tourists from India. To his great surprise, one woman, Dr. Kaplana Chawla, told him that she was an astronaut with NASA. From this initial contact, a lively correspondence developed between them, with the promise by Dr. Chawla to visit LAS to address the students after her flight to space. She also sent a personal invitation to Fred and Sigrid to witness the take-off. All were greatly saddened when she died during the midflight disaster of the shuttle Columbia.

MilestonesH

istor

ic

The Fall of the WallDuring the late eighties, LAS organized special Post-Graduate European tours, which took place in early November. As a result, the LAS group was in West Berlin on November 9, 1989, the historic day when the gates of “The Wall” opened for the first time since August 13, 1960. LAS students mingled joyously with East Germans pouring into West Berlin.

1969

1989

1990

2001

2002

The New RussiaOn August 21, 1991, during orientation for the 1991-92 school year, Russian students invited their friends to witness the dramatic events that took place in front of the Parliament Building. Yeltsin defied the Putschists and proclaimed the New Russia. “I crossed that bridge every day when I went to school!” exclaimed one LAS student.

1991

1963

84 85

The Placebo Effect J. was a 9th grade student who lived in the Esplanade building. One Saturday evening he made a fateful decision, deciding to go along with his older brother, a 12th grader, to a local pub. The seniors decided that J. was a perfect victim for a prank and bought him one beer after another. When he checked in at 10.30 at his dorm, he could hardly stand, bragging to the dorm supervisor that he had had twelve beers. But a quick Breathalyzer test showed no alcohol in his system. A second test gave the same result. “What was the brand of beer that you had?” asked the supervisor. “Why, it was Schlossbrau,” J. replied. The amused supervisor then told the surprised J. that this beer was alcohol-free!

Miss PerfectShe was everything that teachers and school administrators could wish for—an outstanding academic record, leadership abilities, and perfect behavior. But A. herself was deeply concerned. It seemed that other girls who ‘hung out’ with the boys, got into some minor trouble, or had weekend restrictions were much more popular. She decided to remedy her “perfect” reputation dramatically. During study hall one evening she snuck out of the Beau Site and onto the fourth floor of the Savoy, where the 11th grade boys lived. She hid in a closet to avoid detection by the dorm supervisor and waited for the dorm to be closed down for the night. What a coup – to be able to tell her friends that she had spent several hours on the Savoy 4th floor! Then, at 23.00 she tried to sneak out again to return to her room. To her great surprise, the dormitory main door was locked. Dejectedly, she knocked on the door of the dorm supervisor and turned herself in. Her punishment was one weekend restriction – the only one during her four years on the Magic Mountain!

A Final ChanceC. was a very bright but unfocused (if not lazy) 11th grade student. He always was getting into trouble, though never anything major. During the year’s final meeting, the Executive Committee decided that C. should complete his high school studies elsewhere. Steven Ott, as Head of School, had the unpleasant task of communicating this decision to C.’s parents. He quickly ran into trouble – C.’s mother was in Venezuela and did not speak English, Dad was a physician working for the WHO in West Africa, and C. was somewhere in the US with a sister. There was no email available and faxing was unreliable. Regular mail was the only alternative.

One month later in mid-July, Steven’s telephone began ringing—first from C.’s dad, then C.’s sister, and finally, with a translator, C.’s mom. All pleaded with Steven to let C. return to LAS. Steven, ever ready to offer one last chance, informed them that C. would need to write a personal letter, promising to abide by all rules. If not, he would have to leave.

C. returned to Leysin that fall wearing torn blue jeans and a marijuana leaf earring dangling from his left ear. Seeing this, Steven immediately told him not to unpack but to leave. “But I haven’t yet enrolled,” protested C. ”Your attitude has not changed. Just leave,” Steven responded. C. instantly ran to his room, changed into neater clothing, and from that point on was a model student. What’s more, he earned straight A’s for the first time in his life. Eventually, C. was accepted at a competitive university and followed in the footsteps of his father by becoming a medical doctor. Last chances work.

StoriesSt

uden

t

86

極東からラスベガスにやって来たばかりの英語を母国語としない少年にとって、学

校で過ごす一瞬一瞬は生き残りをかけたサバイバルのようであった。しかしながら

、ラスベガスでの生活が楽しく感動に満ちたものであるということを実感するのに

そう時間はかからなかった。個人的に、ラスベガスで得たもっとも貴重なギフトは

世界の人々の違いではなく、むしろ共通点を理解できた事にあった。

From the view of a non-English speaking fifteen year-old boy who just arrived to LAS from the Far East, every moment of school life first seemed like a quest for survival. It

however did not take much time to realize that life at LAS is filled with joy and touching moments. Personally, the most precious gift I received from LAS is understanding the similarities, not the differences, of people around the world.

Taro Itoh, Class of 1991

A Special VisitArriving in 1985, Johan was one of the first Aramco students at LAS. He was a handsome young man from the Netherlands, who always wore a smile and saw life in the most positive manner. Also enrolled at the time was Stephanie, a petite, pretty young woman whose parents also worked in Saudi Arabia.

Following school, each went their own way, with Johan realizing his life’s dream of becoming a pilot at KLM while Stephanie married and had two children. Later, after Stephanie’s marriage ended in divorce, they met, fell in love and married. The ties back to the ‘Magic Mountain’ were strong and memories formed the foundation of their love.

In December 2009, Johan was diagnosed with kidney cancer and given moderate chances of a long-term cure. Stephanie and Johan decided that they needed to revisit the place where they had passed some of the most memorable and happy times of life. During their visit to LAS, they happily noted how the School had grown for the better and become more international in scope. They enjoyed sitting into classes, having meals in the dining room and wandering the streets of the village. As they said good-bye, Johan promised to join the community for the 50th anniversary events in October 2010. We all hope that he will join us to celebrate their school’s anniversary.

Standing On His Own FeetPart of a prominent UAE family, A. was a rather typical ‘spoiled rich kid,’ used to being surrounded by servants. Not surprisingly, his first semester at LAS was challenging for the school, A.’s mother, and A. himself. He had to learn to do his own laundry, iron his shirts, keep order in his room and be on time according to the school schedule. Doris Ott recalls receiving frequent calls from A.’s mother, who was concerned abut her son’s ability to adjust.

When A.’s mother called on Christmas Day, Doris feared it meant the worst. Happily, she was wrong. A.’s mother informed Doris that A. had been thanking the servants, keeping his room clean, and reminding the laundry staff to not use so much detergent, since it was bad for the environment. A. later graduated from LAS with honors, completed university studies in business administration and is now a respected

entrepreneur in Abu Dhabi.

88

StoriesSt

uden

t

International UnderstandingV., a 9th grade Israeli student, showed a ‘joie de vivre’ from her first day at LAS. She enjoyed seeking out new friends among the various nationalities of the LAS student body. When she returned from winter vacation in Israel, Doris asked V.: “How was your vacation?” “Not so good” responded V. “In my country, we are at war against the Arabs and our country expects us to dislike and look down on them. But here at LAS, the Arabs are my best friends.”

“This girl of fourteen certainly showed more wisdom and humanity than most politicians!” mused Doris.

Mem

oriesAlumni

World TravelerD.H. came from Korea to join LAS as a 9th grade student. He spoke little English and initially had few friends outside of the LAS Korean community. However, he surprised his teachers, when during his 10th grade he announced that he would not be returning to Seoul for Christmas break, but spending the three weeks with his Kazakh roommate in Almaty. Then, for spring vacation, the boys went to South

Korea. In grade 11, D.H. went to Khartoum, Sudan, experiencing the Sahara as well as the interesting Coptic traditions of his host family. Again, during spring break the boys went to Korea. During his final year at LAS, D.H. spent Christmas in Saudi Arabia and spring break in Brazil. In short, D.H. exemplified the best spirit of LAS students in embracing the entire world as their home.

My favourite teacher is with no doubt Mr. Weiland. He taught math and was a T83 calculator master. He could also stand on his hands and ride a unicycle all the way

from Savoy to Beau Site! Amazing! Mr. Weiland is the best.

Faris El-Khider, Class of 1999

هنأل .دنالياو رفوتسيرك ذاتسأ وه تايضاير سردم لضفا ىلع فوقولا ًاضيأ هنكميو .هبالط بحيو لظلا فيفخو يكذ!هيدي

The gorgeous Alps were always the first thing that came into my mind when I thought of LAS. Whenever I looked from the Beau-Site windows, I could see the snow-capped

mountains glistening under the blue sky. That breathtaking view has never grown faint in my memory.

Yan (Alice) Wu, Class of 2008

在我想起LAS时，总会先想到美丽的阿尔卑斯山。每当我从观景窗口看出去，我就

会看到覆盖着积雪的山峰，在蓝天的映衬下闪闪发亮。那让人摒住呼吸的美丽景色

从未在我的记忆中消逝过。

Mem

oriesAlumni90

MemoriesAl

umni

I attended LAS for only one year, senior year; the hardest year of my life. Boarding school, a new country, a newbie in an old senior group and lifeaway from my family. I’ll never

forget the day that my name was announced as the winner of the ECIS award for International Under-standing. It was then that I knew, whatever I did for that one year on the magic mountain it was working, I still try to be that senior student today.

Aydin Ozkazanc, Class of 1999

Some of the fondest memories I have of LAS were the few times, on a Saturday or Sunday morning after a snowy evening, where Klemen (I believe it was Klemen) and

I were allowed to take the chairlift up Solacyre right after the crew that manned the upper chairlift station had gotten on the lift themselves. Normally we would have needed to wait until those guys had arrived at the top and gotten the upper end of the chairlift ready for business. But since we knew those guys, they allowed us to follow them up right after them.

There was utter silence. A new world enveloped in fresh, soft snow dampening all sounds. A wonderful crispness in the air. Fresh, untouched pistes. The anticipation of a day of great skiing. The view from the top of the mountain. If it was cloudy, breaking through the clouds in the chairlift and standing on a sun-drenched peak looking down on the cloud layer, skiing into it. Emerging below it. No one else around except the chairlift crew’s St. Bernard following the chairlift up by running underneath it.

Up on that mountain during those times I was able to forget everything and feel close to the natural world. Those were truly magical moments.

Uwe Schreiner, Class of 1988

Die schoensten Momente an die ich mich erinnere entstanden an Wochenendmorgen. Nach einer Nacht voller Neuschnee haben wir uns frueh morgens aufgemacht zum Skilift Solacyre. Dort waren wir die Ersten und, da wir mit der Crew am Lift befreundet waren, durften wir noch vor der offiziellen Oeffnungszeit auf den Lift und in die Hoehe. Unter uns, bis zum Hals im Schnee, folgte der Bernhardiner der Liftcrew den Berg herauf.

Dort herrschte absolute Stille. Der neue Schnee daempfte alle Geraeusche. Eine unberuehrte Landschaft erwartete uns. Die Vorfreude auf einen Tag am Hang. Eine wunderschoene Aussicht bis zum Genfer See. Wenn es bewoelkt war stiessen wir mit dem Skilift durch die Wolkendecke durch und konnten von oben auf ein weisses Meer herunter blicken. Auf dem Weg hinab tauchten wir dann in diesen weichen Nebel ein und kamen unter den Wolken in einer anderen Welt wieder hinaus.

Man konnte sich dort, ueber den Wolken und abgeschnitten vom Rest der Welt, in der ungestoerten Natur verlieren und das Alltaegliche vergessen. Das waren wirklich magische Momente fuer mich.

LAS helped me tremendously to enable me to construct the most appropriate attitude needed when interacting with someone from different background from mine. I have

not seen any other place on earth where so many students from such variety of backgrounds blend in with one another so well.

Min- Seouk Lee, Class of 2005

LAS’e lisenin son senesinde katildim; hayatimin en zor senesi. Yeni birulke, lisenin son sinifi, yatili okul, vede ailemden uzaktaydim. ECIS odultoreninde ismimin okundugu ani hic bir zaman unutamam. Iste o anda, bir seneboyunca o soguk daglarin tepelerinde birseyleri dogru yaptigimi anlamistim. Bugun, hala o lise son ogrencisi kadar azimli olmaya calisiyorum.

My time at LAS was truly amazing and occurred during a very impressionable time in my life. I arrived into my freshman class as a guy who struggled a little in finding direction

and focus and had just made a big decision to live abroad alone for the first time in my life…at age 14! Four years later, I graduated as a more confident and driven student that was able to accomplish a great deal both academically and personally. Oh, and I picked up some terrific friends along the way that I still keep in touch with to this day.

John Sutton, Class of 1998

For me, LAS was a big breath of fresh air in the sometimes complicated wilderness of adolescence. Looking back, I gratefully recall how it provided me with the essential

components a young man needs to transform his bursting energy into propositions for life. I remember how the connection with the “spirit of Leysin” and the everlasting nature that surrounded us, allowed us to play like “Gods on Olympus” when the fog covered the mountains leaving us protected in the top. Although more than anything else, it was the “spirit of its people”, the multicultural backgrounds, hearts, minds and dreams of some of the students and teachers I met, that convinced me forever that this life is worth living for, and that in some way or the other… I will never walk alone.

Fernando Casado, Class of 1989

Para mí LAS fue una sensación de alivio en el desierto a veces complicado durante la adolescencia. Mirando hacia atrás, recuerdo con gratitud cómo me proporcionó los componentes esenciales que un joven necesita para transformar su energía que estalla en proposiciones durante la vida. Recuerdo cómo la conexión con el “espíritu de Leysin” y la naturaleza eterna que nos rodeó, nos permitimos jugar como “Dios en Olimpo” cuando la niebla cubrió las montañas protegiéndonos en la cima. Aunque por encima de todo, fuera el “espíritu de sus personas”, los fondos multiculturales, los corazones, las mentes y los sueños de algunos de los estudiantes y los maestros que encontré, que me convenció para siempre que esta vida vale la pena para saber que nunca andaré solo.

I spent 3 years at LAS in which I had the best time of my life. I will never forget the opportunity of being in an international high school because I met different people

from different nationalities, from different backgrounds and from different cultures. Another thing I will never forget from LAS are the cultural trips. Cultural trips enabled students to visit and learn more about the city that the students were assigned to. I enjoyed traveling to these places as I have always liked to learn about different cultures and places.

Alexia & Laetitia Chalandon, Class of 2006

J’ai passé 3 ans dans un internat en Suisse dans un tout petit village, Leysin. C’ était un privilège d’y avoir vécu. Ce n’est pas possible pour tout le monde de se permettre une éducation comme celle-ci. Je n’oublierais jamais les gens des différentes nationalitées et des différentes cultures et d’en avoir pris connaissance. Je me souviendrai toujours des voyages organisés par LAS. En effet, j’ai appris beaucoup de choses lors des visites dans des musées, des lieux historiques... Ces voyages permettent également au étudians non-European de connaitre un peu plus sur ces pays là.

Mem

oriesAlumni92

MemoriesAl

umni

Studying at LAS is definitely a unique and remarkable experience for everyone. In the three years I’ve been here, it has become a large part of my definition of “home”. For me,

it was a very different environment from what I was used to. Living in the heart of Europe and being able to travel anywhere in short time; being immersed in an international environment and getting to know the different cultures from all over the world; living with your friends and sharing experiences all along the way: that is what I value the most in my LAS life. Perhaps the most memorable experience at LAS is ski season. There is no person who walks out of LAS not knowing how to ski or board – skiing two times a week and living five minutes away from the chairlift of the ski resort do the job. Personally, I wake up every weekend to hit the snow while it’s still fresh and untouched. Despite the great time at school, being far away from your family and old friends can sometimes be challenging, but I know that my friends are always there to support me. Here, in a boarding school, you meet friends for lifetime. And you know: it is the time of your life you will never forget.

Mariia Yelizarova, Class of 2011

Учеба в ЛАС является, несомненно, уникальной возможностью. За те три года, которые я провела здесь, ЛАС стал для меня домом. Сначала это было большой переменой тому, к чему я уже привыкла. Но жить в сердце Европы и иметь возможность путешествовать; иметь интернациональный круг общения и знакомиться с культурами разных стран мира; просто жить с друзьями и переживать все вместе – это то, что я ценю больше всего. Наверное, самые незабываемые ощущения приносит катание на лыжах. Ни один человек не покидает ЛАС, не умеючи кататься на лыжах или сноуборде. Лично я люблю просыпаться рано по утрам на выходных, чтобы успеть прокатится до того, как сюда нагрянут туристы, пока снег еще свеж и чист.

Иногда, конечно бывает трудно бороться с повседневными проблемами, но я знаю: рядом всегда есть плечо друга. Здесь люди встречают друзей на всю жизнь. И все знают - это время в нашей жизни, которое мы никогда не забудем.

A School for the World

“There’s always a next step.”

By constantly increasing the added value of educa-

tional services to students, Marc-Frédéric believes

that the levels of individual student achievement

will flourish as well.

In the meantime, LAS is exploring another poten-

tial—that of exporting its unique model of educa-

tion to other countries. Past experience with

successful ventures like the Kumon Institute of

Education partnership have shown that such a

concept can work. Presently, this long-term initia-

tive, led by Christoph Ott, is reviewing development

and management partnerships around the world,

from Switzerland to Eastern Europe, the Middle

East and Asia. The creation of other “LAS-model”

schools, offering a similar curriculum, would help

to create an international network and interchange

of staff and students, generating worldwide oppor-

tunities for study and travel.

While stretching to reach these lofty goals, LAS

remains true to its original mission of half a

century ago—to be that school that opens its doors

to the world.

As the Leysin American School begins its 50th year, it is led by a new vision of

excellence. Specifically, the Vision for 2016 has set forth an ambitious goal—

to make LAS one of the top boarding schools in the world as measured by the

acceptance of its graduates to leading universities. “We can achieve this vision

by continuing to strengthen our selectivity in the admissions process,” says Head

of School Marc-Frédéric Ott, “and by continuously raising our academic stan-

dards while improving all of our extra-curricular programs.”

Doris Ott94

Copyright © 2010 Leysin American School in Switzerland

All rights reserved. No portion of this book may be reproduced,

stored or transmitted in any form, by any means, for any reason,

without written consent from the publisher.

Published by Leysin American School in Switzerland

Writing: David Beaudouin, DB+C

Major Photography: Peter Howard, José Crespo, Billy Childress

Illustration: Beatrice Shaubhaas Lauenen

Design and Production: SDYM, Inc.

Printing and Binding: Asia Pacific Offset

Printed and bound in China

A School for the World