Becoming a member of the Telluride Academy's summer staff is a competitive process - less than one-third of all applicants are ultimately hired - and we take pride at the high-caliber instructional staff the Academy is able to recruit each year.

Academy instructors are a mature group of experienced teachers, camp counselors, outdoor educators, and coaches. The average tenure with the Academy is three summers and the average age is 27. All instructors have cleared a criminal and driving background check and have participated in a week-long Telluride Academy training session that covers medical protocol, driver training and instruction in rock climbing and water safety.

All program staffers are required to maintain a minimum first-aid certification of Wilderness First Aid and many have taken additional training to become Wilderness First Responders. Instructors are also required to maintain current CPR certification.

Instructors rotate between different age groups over the course of summer and work with different co-instructors almost every session. This cross-pollinates the staff as well as excites our students with new instructors every session.