Academy School
860 Western Ave., Brattleboro (802-254-3743; academyschoolvt.com)
• School starts: Wednesday, Sept. 1.
• New teachers and staff include, according to school district meeting minutes: Keira Carmichael and Erin Hodge (music); Emily McLoughlin, academic support; Meghan Dillingham, school nurse; Emily Hartz and Joan Carey, instructional coach.
Bellows Falls Middle School
15 School St., Bellows Falls (802-463-4366; bfms.wnesu.org)
• School starts: Tuesday, Sept. 7.
• Sports practices begin: Thursday, Sept. 9.
• Picture day: Friday, Sept. 10.
• Preparing the classrooms: As described in a letter to the school community from Windham Central Supervisory Union Superintendent Chris Pratt, Rick Schuhmann, the head of maintenance, and his staff “are doing a fantastic job getting the school ready to welcome students and staff.”
• New teachers and staff, according to Pratt: Jill Moore, secretary; Kathleen Goodell, nurse; Kathy Henley, counselor; Ellen Boles, music; Chris Kelly, grade 7 social studies; Samantha Redding, grade 5 math and science; Jessica Illingworth, Title 1; Amanda Theberge, grade 7 English, language arts. Eighth graders can anticipate new faces in science and social studies.
Bellows Falls Union High School
406 High School Road, Westminster (802-463-3944; bfuhs.wnesu.org)
• School starts: Tuesday, Sept. 7. For students who also attend the Springfield Career Center (RVTC), the first day of school is also Tuesday, September 7, 2021. Students who attend the morning RVTC program will need to be at BFUHS by 7 a.m. to catch a bus that leaves the school by 7:05 a.m. The first day of school for the Windham Regional Career Center (WRCC) will be Wednesday, Sept. 1.
• New teachers and staff include, according to school district meeting minutes: Deborah Rossman, science; Jennifer MacKay, math.
• Preparing the clasrooms: “Maintenance has spent the summer reshuffling the classrooms, cleaning, and putting them back for the new semester,” according to Windham Central Supervisory Union Chris Pratt in a public letter.
• Advanced placement results: At BFUHS, pass rates for AP classes ranged from 23 percent to 100 percent, with Pratt looking to support teachers in improving student performance this year.
• Freshman Academy: The Freshman Academy conducts meetings with all incoming ninth. graders and their families to help support their transition to high school.
Brattleboro Area Middle School
109 Sunny Acres, Brattleboro (802-451-3500; bams.wsesdvt.org)
• School starts: Wednesday, Sept. 1.
• New teachers and staff include, according to school district meeting minutes: Doreen Burke, school social worker; Daniel Guerra, long-term substitute, world languages; Amy Martinez, science; Kristie Henderson, instructional coach.
Brattleboro Union High School
131 Fairground Rd., Brattleboro; (802-451-3400; buhs.wsesdvt.org)
• School starts: Wednesday, Sept. 1.
• New teachers and staff include, according to school district meeting minutes: Matthew Betz, assistant principal; Nancy Bushway, art; Jaclyn Bristol; academic support; Alexandra Keep, social worker; Tara McKenna, Latin/Spanish; William Norton, science; Winston Sailsman, student engagement counselor; Rebecca Savage, English; Kathy Thielen, Flexible Pathways Coordinator; Kimberly Edgar, school nurse; Julie Ackerman-Hovis, choral teacher; Nathan Blunk, English;
Central Elementary School
50 School Street Extension, Bellows Falls (802) 463 4346; ces.wnesu.org)
• School starts: Tuesday, Sept. 7.
• Preparing the classrooms: School administrators expect about 160 students in the fall, with Arthur “Sully” Sullivan and Ken Lawrence of the maintenance staff working on getting the school ready for students to return.
• After-school activities: Official paperwork will go home on Sept. 8, the second day of school. With spaces limited to 36 students, “If you rely on this programming for student/s, be sure to return the paperwork the very next day,” Superintendent Chris Pratt advises in a public letter to the school community.
After-school programming begins the week of Sept. 13 and will run until 5 p.m. each school day. Programming will not happen on holidays, vacation days, and professional development days.
• School year projects will begin with Project-Based Learning, where each grade level will focus on a specific question to be answered and work on a project throughout the year. “For example, second grade is partnering with Shelburne Farm on a Farm to School project and will work with our garden beds at CES and learn more about food, where it comes from, and the process from farm to table,” writes Superintendent Chris Pratt.
• Book Room: Title 1 Kerry Pickering and Terry Obuchowski spent many hours setting up the Book Room for our Fountas & Pinnell Literacy Program, a curriculum that supplements classroom literacy teaching. The room will house materials for all to share for resources for staff.
• New programs: Welcome to the pre-kindergarten program, the Early Childhood Special Education program, and staff.
• New teachers and staff include Laura Rounds, grade 4; Heather Murphy-Hicks, grade 1; Kathleen Karl, kindergarten; Alexa Phelps, school counselor. Sarah Lyon, HCRS clinician, is returning as permanent staff.
Dover School
9 Schoolhouse Rd., E. Dover (802-464-5386; doverschool.net)
• School starts: Wednesday, Sept. 1.
Dummerston School
52 Schoolhouse Rd., E. Dummerston (802-254-2733; dummerston.wsesu.org)
• School starts: Wednesday, Sept. 1.
• New teachers and staff include, according to school district meeting minutes and the school's Facebook page: Susan Gunther-Mohr (social worker); Nicole Thomas, school counselor; Anna Bassett, academic support teacher; Katie Tafe, special education; Hannah Lindner-Finlay, kindergarten.
• New, improved playground and outdoor space: As described in a letter to the community from the Dummerston School Leadership Council, a committee two years ago to evaluating the school and community's needs has been working with Adam Hubbard of Hubbard Land Design in Putney to create a proposal to consider the needs of all students. His design includes “features such as a pavilion, webbed climbing structure, outdoor amphitheater, improved accessibility, and natural play structures throughout,” the committee writes.
Describing the design as the “big dream,” the committee concedes that building it will be possible only through a “combination of local school funding, community financial and in-kind donations, and volunteer time put in by friends, family, and community supporters. Links to a GoFundMe campaign and instructions on donating by check can be found on the school's website.
• Welcome and Work Day: Plan to come to the school on Sept. 19 to “work together to take the first steps to make our dream playground a reality,” the committee writes.
• Back-to-school outdoor gathering: A community celebration kicks off the school year, hosted by the Dummerston Leadership Council and parent liaisons, on Thursday, Sept. 9 from 6 to 7 p.m.
Green Street School
164 Green St., Brattleboro (802-254-3737; greenstreetschoolvt.com)
• School starts: Wednesday, Sept. 1.
• New teachers and staff include, according to school district meeting minutes: Kate Margaitis, interim principal; Erin McIntyre, music; Eric Olderstein, library media specialist; Julie Ackerman-Hovis, music; Martha Lamb, academic support.
Grafton Elementary School
58 School Street, Grafton (802-843-2495; ges.wnesu.org)
• School starts: Tuesday, Sept. 7. The school expects to serve 51 students in kindergarten through grade 6. Gary DeRosia and Bob Robillard were busy this summer getting our school ready for students and staff. This included painting, waxing the floors, moving a couple of classrooms, and setting up shelving in our new book space!
• New principal: Angela Cartier.
• New teachers and staff include, according to school board minutes and information from the school: Lisa Buswell, grades 1 and 2; Laura Vogell, grades 3 and 4.
• Playground structure: A recent inspection determined that the playground structure needs to be replaced, and on Aug. 14 it was dismantled and removed. “This school year we will work to come up with replacement options,” Pratt writes. “While it is disappointing to not have this large structure to start the school year, it is very exciting to think of fresh new options for play to replace what was there!”
In the meantime, children can play tetherball; climb on the dinosaur; play on the parallel bars, green bars, or curvy balance beam; or swing on the swings. “Don't forget there is a basketball hoop and balls near the front door,” Pratt writes.
• Getting the lead out: Recent lead testing in the school - performed under a 2019 law requiring lead testing in water at all Vermont schools and child care facilities - found that water from eight fixtures in the building tested higher than 4 parts per billion. “We take our responsibility to provide a safe and healthy environment for the children and staff seriously,” Pratt wrote in a letter to parents. “Any tap that tested at or above 4 ppb was immediately taken out of service for drinking or cooking. We are working on fixes to permanently lower levels of lead in the water.”
As described in the letter, “Lead exposure poses a special risk to children because they absorb lead into their systems more easily than adults do. Lead can slow down growth, impair development and learning, and can cause behavior problems. While the major source of lead poisoning in Vermont children is paint, lead in plumbing pipes and fixtures can add to a person's overall exposure. Drinking water in schools and homes may contain lead from old pipes, plumbing fixtures (such as fountains and faucets), or the solder that joins pipe sections together.”
Guilford Central School
374 School Rd., Guilford (802-254-2271; guilfordcentralschool.org)
• School starts: Wednesday, Sept. 1.
• New teachers and staff include, according to school district meeting minutes: Michele Nelson, academic support; Karen Duggan, academic Support; Sean Quinn, social worker; Johanna Wells, physical education.
Halifax Elementary School
246 Branch Rd., West Halifax (802) 368-2888; sites.google.com/halifaxschool.net/southern-valley/)
• School starts: Wednesday, Sept. 1.
• New teachers and staff include, according to school district meeting minutes: Elizabeth Younce, nurse; Emrys Keevan, paraeducator; Tanya Cahill, administrative assistant.
Jamaica Village School
347 Depot Street, Jamaica (802-874-4822; jamaicavillageschool.org)
• School starts: Wednesday, Sept. 1.
• New teacher, according to school district meeting minutes: Daniel Crabtree, kindergarten to grade 2.
Leland and Gray Union Middle and High School
2042 VT Route 30, Townshend (802-221-2100; lelandandgray.org)
• School starts: Wednesday, Sept. 1.
• Project-Based Learning: A pilot program will have students engaging in projects throughout the year, Principal Bob Thibault told The Commons. We're very excited about this possibility and we believe it will lead into newly improved personalized learning opportunities for our students!”
• New teachers: “We have 11 new teachers this year, but I won't list them all here,” Thibault said.
• Summer improvements: Students will return to new LED lighting on the top floor (A-level) and new carpeting in a few classrooms.
• COVID-19: The school board has voted to follow the memorandum from the Secretary of Education, and the school community will be masking. “We won't have one-way hallways this year, nor distancing, but we will still monitor traffic in/out of classrooms for contact tracing purposes,” Thibault said.
Marlboro Elementary School
2669 Route 9, Marlboro (802-254-2668; marlboroschool.net)
• School starts: Wednesday, Sept. 1.
NewBrook School
14 School St., Newfane (802-365-7536; newbrookschool.org)
• School starts: Wednesday, Sept. 1.
Oak Grove School
15 Moreland Ave., Brattleboro (802-254-3740; oakgroveschoolvt.com)
• School starts: Wednesday, Sept. 1.
• New teachers and staff include, according to school district meeting minutes: Patty Meyer, music; Sean Quinn, social worker.
Putney Central School
182 Westminster Rd., Putney (802-387-5521; putneycentral.org)
• School starts: Wednesday, Sept. 1.
• New teachers and staff include, according to school district meeting minutes: Tara Cancio-Bello, grade 5; Susan Gunther-Mohr, social worker; Heidi Nystrom, academic support; Susan Vincent; academic support; Torin Riddle, middle school social studies.
Saxtons River Elementary School
15 School Street, Saxtons River (802-869 2637; sres.wnesu.org)
• School starts: Tuesday, Sept. 7.
• Academic highlights: “SRES has a rainbow theme this year and we will focus on equity, inclusion, and social-emotional learning,” Principal Laura Hazard tells The Commons. “Academically, this will be our second year of implementation with WNESU's literacy program, Fountas & Pinnell Classroom, as well as our second year working with All Learners Network to implement the math workshop model, including a math menu.”)
• New teachers and staff: April Putnam, kindergarten; Bethany Williams, grade 3; Ben Pickard, physical education; Jillien Drake, library/media specialist; Kayla Klein, interventionist; and Elyssa Eldridge, Ben Pfosi, and Abby DuBois, paraprofessionals. “Although not new to SRES, Dawn Bazin will move into the role of interventionist/building substitute,” Hazard says.
• Preparing the classrooms: Burt Lawrence and Gary Kinney, custodians, “have been extra busy this summer given the move back to using pre-Covid furnishings and making adjustments given Camp Achieve,” Superintendent Chris Pratt writes in a start-of-school update letter.
• Book room: Jillian White and Jennifer Herman, classroom teachers, set up our book room in July, house all of the school's new Fountas and Pinnell books for easy shared access by all teachers.
• Playground updates delayed: Our playground updates have been delayed as there was a fire at the swingset manufacturing plant. Once the swingset is installed, new wood chips will be brought in to meet VSBIT playground safety inspection guidelines.
Townshend Elementary School
66 Common Rd., Townshend (802-365-7506; townshendschool.org)
• School starts: Wednesday, Sept. 1.
• Tie-die shirts on the Town Common: Principal Craig Roach invites parents and students to a gathering on Monday, Aug. 30, from 4 to 6 p.m. (weather permitting) to tie-dye shirts outside of the school with teachers and staff. Shirts will be available for students who register. Then enjoy pizza outside, where parents can meet teachers, meet the principal, and celebrate a return to school. The school will also supply what Roach describes in a letter to parents as “a huge amount of free backpacks with school supplies in them (notebook, gluesticks, pencils, pencil box) so take one if you'd like one.” Sign up at bit.ly/627-tiedie.
• First day celebration: A Townshend tradition returns this year (weather permitting) with the school's first-day-of-school celebration. From 8 to 9 a.m., students and parents are invited to participate in hula hooping, eating breakfast, decorating masks, creating a schoolwide art project, playing cornhole, taking pictures, making bookmarks, and more.
Twin Valley Elementary School
360 Route 100 North, Wilmington (802-464-5177; twinvalleyschooldistrict.us/elementary/)
• School starts: Wednesday, Sept. 1.
• New teachers and staff include, according to school district meeting minutes: Lisa Janovsky, nurse; Jordana Linder, kindergarten; Hadley King, teacher.
• Building maintenance: First Choice is beginning work on implementing access cards. Paving by DMI will be complete prior to beginning of school.
Twin Valley Middle High School
4299 Vermont Route 100, Whitingham (802-368-2880; twinvalleyschooldistrict.us/middle-high-school/)
• School starts: Wednesday, Sept. 1.
• New teachers and staff: Amanda Bolduc, English; David Doucette, entrepreneurial education; Alexandra Gadway, art; Trevor Gardner, social studies; Keli Gould, English and social studies; Michaela Hearst, student assistance professional; MK Simpson, blended learning and library; Aaron Wood, math.
• Building maintenance: Paving by DMI Paving of Brattleboro will be complete prior to beginning of school. The TVMHS weight room window has been repaired. An asbestos remediation team is ready to perform work as part of a tile project in the kitchen, science room, and bathrooms and will get to work during a school break to do their work. First Choice is beginning work on implementing access cards. TVES light post is “still a work in progress,” according to school board minutes. The school has signed a contract with DeWolfe Engineering Co. in Montpelier to address feasibility of ADA ramp at TVMHS, moving younger-age equipment to TVES, and installing basketball court in its place.
Wardsboro Elementary School
70 School Rd., Wardsboro (802-896-6210; wardsboroschool.org)
• School starts: Wednesday, Sept. 1.
Westminster Center School
301 School Street, Westminster (802-722 3241; wcs.wnesu.org)
• School starts: Tuesday, Sept. 7. Westminster Center School anticipates welcoming 160 students in kindergarten through grade 6.
• Preparing the classrooms: Director of Maintenance Wade Kemp and his staff have gotten the building “into tip-top shape,” Superintendent Chris Pratt writes in a back-to-school letter.
• Academic highlights: “This year Westminster Center School will continue its work on the implementation of our new reading system, Fountas & Pinnell Classroom,” Principal Liz Harty told The Commons. “Last year was our first year getting to know these resources. Again this year, we will continue to build a balanced literacy workshop for our students. Teachers at WCS will continue to work with the All Learners Network to develop quality math workshops differentiated to reach all learners. Teachers at WCS will be participating in a four-day Responsive Classroom training throughout the school year. Responsive Classroom is focused on evidenced-based practices that create a positive classroom and school community.”
• Life Skills: Along with the Windham Northeast Supervisory Union preschool, Westminster Center School will be the site of the supervisory union's Life Skills program.
• New teachers and staff: New teachers include Kellie Hallock, grade 1; Meghan Marcucci, grade 5; Carla Acquadro, school counselor; Meghan Rink, school nurse; Bridget Goodell, confidential secretary. Amanda Mayo moves from special education to teach grade 4.
• COVID-19: “At this point our school board has approved a mask mandate for any adult or student entering the building,” Harty says. “WCS will be utilizing our outdoor space as much as possible. Both lunch and snack will be held outside as well as additional learning opportunities. We will continue to educate staff and families about the symptoms of COVID and when it is recommended to stay home from school.”
• Playground: The playground has been updated to meet the the safety inspection guidelines of the Vermont School Boards Insurance Trust.
WNESU Early Education Center
25 Cherry Street, Bellows Falls (802-460-1487; earlyed.wnesu.org)
• School starts: Tuesday, Sept. 7.
Windham Elementary School
5940 Windham Hill Rd., Windham (802-874-4159; windhamschool.org)
• School starts: Wednesday, Sept. 1.
Windham Regional Career Center
80 Atwood St., Brattleboro (802-451-3900; wrccvt.com)
• School starts: Wednesday, Sept. 1.
• New teachers and staff include, according to school district meeting minutes: Linda Alvarez, business education; Christopher Hodsden, math.