About EHS
Empire High School opened its doors in the Fall of 2005 as the first one-to-one laptop, textbook-free, comprehensive public high school in the nation. The mission of the school is not technology-based. Instead, the digital content is a means to achieving a vision that is centered on long-term student success. It is the mission of Empire High School to provide students with the tools and structures to be college-ready through challenging curriculums and a variety of educational opportunities.
Empire High School was designed to have all the amenities of a large comprehensive high school, in a small school package. Built to serve a total population of 850 students, Empire’s size and close-knit community feel continue to be the number one reason it is selected by students and parents.
The Vail school district serves a blended rural/suburban population and exercises school choice. The unique idea for Empire High School was conceptualized in early 2004. Because of the textbook-free environment, teachers were completely responsible for finding or creating content for their classes. This lead to the development of Beyond Textbooks.
Over the past decade, educators in Vail have and continue to develop a philosophy of teaching and learning that transcends textbooks and state standards to strengthen support for communities of teachers, facilitate teaching and learning, and improve student achievement. In practice, Beyond Textbooks, a comprehensive program of curriculum development, instructional improvement, student assessment, and multi-level interventions, is the result of this philosophy of planning, teaching, and sharing.
Want to know more about Empire? Check out our 21/22 EHS Demographics information.