ADDISONINDEPENDENT
Addison County
AUGUST 14, 2014
Back to School
Here she comes!
THE SCHOOL YEAR will be opening at Addison County schools in just a few weeks, and the kids at Mary Hogan Elementary School will have a new play structure waiting for them. Here, Cassidy Rheaume tries out a slide on the new structure that went up this summer. Independent photo/Trent Campbell
Contents New leaders take reigns at local schools .....................1 Vermont students take intensive summer classes ..... 2 Kidspace replacement getting rave reviews ................ 5 Mt. Abe reviewing building upgrades ............................ 5 Try shopping local for back-to-school supplies ......... 6 Projects put some fun into back-to-school prep ....... 8 Students get hands-on museum experience ............ 11
New leaders take reins in region By ADDISON INDEPENDENT and BRANDON REPORTER STAFF ADDISON COUNTY AND BRANDON — Every school in the area will have some new children in the classrooms and a few new teachers as well. Many area schools and school districts will also have new administrators leading those schools — including new superintendents at two of the four area school districts. Those two new superintendents are JoAn Canning at the Addison Northwest Supervisory Union and Jeanne Collins at Rutland Northeast. Canning, who assumes the job from Tom O’Brien, who is retiring after 13 years at ANwSU, comes from the Orleans Southwest Supervisory Union in Hardwick, where she had been head of the schools since 2010. That supervisory union includes nine schools and about 1,100 students, according to her
résumé. Before that, Canning, who has both an undergraduate degree and a doctorate from the University of Vermont, was an assistant superintendent in South Burlington, her hometown, for six years. Canning also has extensive experience in special education, including a three-year stint in ANwSU between 1991 and 1994. Canning hit the ground running. As she arrived on the job last month, she got the news that the Vermont Agency of Education has sanctioned the ANwSU by withholding state and federal grant funds. The agency called the ANwSU’s financial record “very weak” in a July 3 letter and cited many accounting problems in a July 1 report summarizing a June 10 fiscal monitoring visit. In an email to staff, Canning said no jobs or programs at the four ANwSU
schools are in immediate danger and that the AOE made no accusations of impropriety. She did put the business manager on paid administrative leave. COLLINS LEADS RNESU All 18 members of the Rutland Northeast Supervisory Union Board voted unanimously to hire Collins. She replaces RNeSU Superintendent John Castle, who left to take a job in his hometown in the Northeast Kingdom after five years in Brandon. Collins, who was the lone candidate after a six-week search that initially brought in 22 candidates, was a bit of a controversial pick. She ended her last job as superintendent of the Burlington School District under a cloud. Her separation agreement with the Burlington School Board came about because of budget deficits and a difference in philosophy over the direction (See New faces, Page 3)
PAGE 2 — A Special Section of the Addison Independent, Thursday, August 14, 2014
Addison County
Back to School
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Learning citizenship
MEMBERS OF THE Beeman Elementary School chorus sing during the naturalization ceremony held in the New Haven Town Hall this past April. The school’s thirdthrough sixth-graders helped organize the ceremony, at which 21 new U.S. citizens after they gave their Oath of Allegiance. Independent file photo/Trent Campbell
Vt. high school students take intensive summer classes SOUTH BURLINGTON — Four hundred thirty Vermont high school students attended the Governor’s Institutes of Vermont (GIV) this summer. GIV hosts intensive, hands-on learning experiences for young people on college campuses throughout Vermont. Nine Institutes were held this summer in the following topics: Arts; Asian Cultures; Current Issues & Youth Activism; Engineering; Entrepreneurship; Environmental Science & Technology; Farms, Food & Your Future; Information Technology & Digital Media; and Mathematical Sciences. Local students who graduated from 2014 summer Institutes are: Abigael Dobson of Addison, Engineering; Emma Snyder-White of Bridport, Mathematics; Hattie Lindert of Bristol, Arts; Noah Dartt of Ferrisburgh, Information Technology; Sophie Homans of Huntington, Current Issues & Youth Activism; Luke Benz of Middlebury, Engineering; David Dregallo of Middlebury, Farms, Food & Your Future; Matthew Ferguson of Middlebury, Engineering; and Timothy Ferguson of Middlebury, Engineering. Also, Henry Ganey of Middlebury, Current
Issues & Youth Activism; Alexa Herrera of Middlebury, Information Technology; Jacob Klemmer of Middlebury, Arts; Ian McKay of Middlebury, Arts; Garrett Pyfrom of Middlebury, Arts; Genevieve Chiola of New Haven, Arts; Amanda Cousineau of New Haven, Arts; Robin Kuhns of North Ferrisburgh, Engineering; Eliza Letourneau of North Ferrisburgh, Environmental Science & Technology; and Elias Wyncoop of Orwell, Current Issues & Youth Activism. Also, Samantha Duncanson of Salisbury, Arts; Danielle Morris of Salisbury, Environmental Science & Technology; Isabel Velez of Salisbury, Arts; Nick Coe of Shoreham, Arts; Eamon Small of Shoreham, Arts; Sarah Clark of Vergennes, Information Technology; Peter Ferland of Vergennes, Engineering; Nimaya Lemal of Vergennes, Arts; Aaron Welt of Vergennes, Information Technology; Samantha Foote of Weybridge, Arts; and Maia Parsons of Weybridge, Arts. Students apply to the competitive Governor’s Institutes through their schools. Learn more at www.giv.org, or call (802) 865-4448 with questions.
A Special Section of the Addison Independent, Thursday, August 14, 2014 — PAGE 3
Addison County
Back to School
including participating in the have worked out some details, such as Stetzel Ferrisburgh Central School working more closely with the food service parent-teacher organization and staff and Taylor with maintenance personnel. math club, and coaching youth Other aspects will be determined. basketball and baseball. He “As principal, the buck will stop with me,” has also coached baseball and Taylor said. “I see Jay as very competent and basketball at VUHS. capable, and we work well together.” MONKTON HIRES KNOX Supervisory union officials are working with Betsy Knox, a longtime educateachers to make sure Common Core standards tor who lives in Hinesburg, has are adopted into classrooms and students are taken the helm as the interim prinprepared to take related Smarter Balanced cipal of Monkton Central School. Assessment Consortium (SBAC) tests. The vacancy was created when Stetzel and Taylor said they want to offer full-time principal Susan Stewart more support to VUHS teachers. Many of the asked the school board for one positives in recent years have been driven by year of unpaid leave in May. teacher-leaders, who at times could use more Knox, 52, completed her backing. STEPHANIE TAYLOR ABBY SESSIONS undergraduate studies at the “Teacher-leaders still need support from State University of New York administration,” Stetzel said. “I think there at Geneseo, and earned a master’s degree at are varying levels of support they have gotten. SUNY New Paltz. She began her teaching So my vision is we are there to provide that JAY STETZEL career not too far from there, at an elementary support, and we will provide that support.” (Continued from Page 1) school in Pine Plains, N.Y. She said she knew Stetzel will take charge of one board goal of the district. In the separation, the Burlington board agreed to she wanted to be a teacher from a very young age. — working with a nutrition adviser and probably a committee to give a severance package to Collins, who had two more years on After completing her master’s degree, Knox landed her first evaluate the existing VUHS food service and quality and upgrade her contract, totaling roughly $230,000. Collins has a one-year teaching position at Seymour Smith Elementary School in Pine its nutritional value. contract with RNeSU. Plains, N.Y., in the Hudson Valley. “One of the things I want to work on is the nutrition piece,” The recommendation of the RNeSU Interview Committee was “It was a very rural community, very much like Monkton, Stetzel said, adding, “Hopefully over the next year we can figure based on the final phase of the interview process, which involved a where the school is really the vibrant part of the town,” Knox said. out where we want to go and how we want to get there.” trip to Burlington. RNeSU Board Chair Carol Brigham of Whiting, Knox taught second and fourth grade at Seymour Smith As change comes to VUHS, Taylor and Stetzel also want to Neshobe Elementary School Principal Judi during four years there. She then served five make sure parents and community members are kept in the loop. Pulsifer and one other principal made the trip years as a reading teacher at an elementary “I want us to reach out more so that people know they can to speak with school staff, central office staff school in Poughkeepsie, N.Y., before land- come into the school, call us, email us,” Stetzel said. “If they and others who have worked with Collins over ing a job as a lecturer in the Elementary have an issue, if they have something good to share, whatever her nine years at the helm of the Burlington Education Department of the University of that might be, we’d like to see that communication increase.” district. Vermont. She said being a part-time lecturer SESSIONS IS FAMILIAR FACE IN CORNWALL In addition to her nine years in Burlington, was a good fit for her, as she had a flexible The Cornwall School Board’s search for an interim princiCollins spent 11 years as a director of special schedule and could take time to care for pal has ended virtually education in Burlington and Washington her two young sons. Now, her elder son is within shouting distance West Supervisory Union. Named a student at UVM, while her younger son of the school. Longtime Superintendent of the Year in 2011, she is a senior at Champlain Valley Union High Cornwall resident impressed the RNeSU school board with her School. and former Salisbury comprehensive knowledge of educational From 2004 until this year, Knox served Community School issues and passion for successful outcomes as the literacy coordinator at Hinesburg Principal Abi Sessions for all students. Community School. has been picked to lead “The board chose Collins following a thorShe said her primary goal at Monkton Cornwall’s Bingham ough search process which included several Central is to watch, learn and support the Memorial School during GAYNELL LYMAN interviews, site visits, and over 60 personal work that is already going on in the build- the coming academic and professional reference checks across ing, and to support the professional growth of year. the state,” the school board said in a press faculty and staff. She placed a strong emphasis “As an interim leader, release. “The board was impressed by an overwhelmingly posi- on academics, but this isn’t to say that it’s all about the reading, my role will be supporttive response from those referenced and believes that RNESU is writing and arithmetic. ing the great work gaining a strong, positive leader in Ms. Collins. We look forward “The academics are very important, but so are the social and happening in Cornwall to her contributions and leadership in advancing our innovative emotional parts of learning,” Knox said. BETSY KNOX and reaching out to the model of education.” Knox said that she enjoys working with elementary students community to continue In addition to new superintendents, there will be new principals because they are vivacious and incessantly curious. the tradition of inteat Vergennes and Mount Abraham union high schools, as well as at “I think the younger kids are just so full of love for learning, grated, community-wide support for Cornwall School,” Sessions elementary schools in Addison, Monkton, Cornwall and Bridport. which is exciting,” Knox said. “But they are also very busy, so said. DEBLOIS COMES TO ADDISON you need a lot of energy and need to be up all the time.” Sessions will replace Bingham Memorial Principal Susan Matthew DeBlois is the new teacher at Addison Central SHARING THE LOAD AT VUHS Hackett, who is stepping down in order to help her husband School. He replaces Wayne Howe, who took a job as principal in As Vergennes Union High School enters convalesce from a serious illness. Northfield. DeBlois taught French at VUHS and served on many a time of academic transition, its top leadDuring her lengthy career in education in VUHS committees, played a key role in creating the school’s ership team will have a different look this Vermont, Sessions has worked as a school morning advisory system, and in 2009 was named a Rowland coming school year, although the members librarian in Ripton and Sudbury, as an Foundation Fellow, an of that team are already well known at elementary school teacher in Shoreham, as a honor that came with a the school and to one another. The VUHS teacher trainer for the Vermont Department $100,000 grant. board has changed co-principal Stephanie of Education, and as a principal in Salisbury, The Addison princi- Taylor’s title to principal, and she will no Roxbury and at the Sustainability Academy in palship is a 60-percent longer have primary responsibility for just Burlington’s Old North End. Three years ago, position. the middle school, but will now oversee she retired from the academy, which under DeBlois is a 1997 grades 7 through 12. Sessions’ leadership became a magnet school graduate of St. Lawrence After the departure at the end of June for the city. University who earned of former Co-principal Ed Webbley, the She is excited to help her local school. a master’s degree in VUHS board also decided to hire an interim “Cornwall School has an excellent repucurriculum and instruc- assistant principal for the coming school tation, and I anticipate that working in my tion in 2001. year rather than another co-principal. own community will be a joy,” Sessions said, O’Brien said DeBlois Filling that interim post is Jay Stetzel, noting she and her husband’s three children stood out because of a Vergennes resident who has served as a TRACEY HARRINGTON attended classes there. Her husband is U.S. the leadership role he VUHS middle school counselor since 2004 District Court Judge William Sessions. has taken at VUHS and and earned his administrator’s license in “Our whole family has many fond memohis strong community 2010. ries of learning and playing in the supportive Cornwall School involvement in his homeSome of their division of responsibilities between Taylor and community,” she said. town of Ferrisburgh, Stetzel will develop as the school year progresses, although they (See New principals, Page 8) MATTHEW DEBLOIS
New faces
PAGE 4 — A Special Section of the Addison Independent, Thursday, August 14, 2014
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A Special Section of the Addison Independent, Thursday, August 14, 2014 — PAGE 5
Back to School
Addison County
THE STRUCTURE THAT replaced Mary Hogan Elementary School’s Kidspace, which was torn down in June, will likely be swarming with kids by the end of the month, once school is open. Results of an informal poll of those who have tried the new structure: Kids like it.
Mary Hogan playground is getting some rave reviews
By MARY LANGWORTHY MIDDLEBURY — Kidspace, the imaginative, wooden playground built with volunteer community labor in 1987 behind Mary Hogan Elementary School, was showing its age and school administrators worried that it was becoming unsafe. So, the structure was dismantled this summer and replaced with a beautiful, new structure that includes slides, swings, climbing walls and other apparatus. A generation of youngsters grew up romping around on Kidspace and loved the old structure, so how will the new one be received when children return to Mary Hogan School later this month for school? Well, the new playground at Mary Hogan Elementary School seems to be getting rave reviews from the jury whose verdict matters most: kids. The Hamel family of New Haven was visiting the new play structure for the first time on July 30, a few weeks after it went up, and their general consensus was that it’s a lot better than the old one. Mother Amy Hamel pushed Jen, 8, and Kaden, 4, on a swing with a large, flat, circular seat on the hot July
afternoon. “I like this swing because it’s really cool, you can feel the breeze on a hot day,” reported Jen. Her brother, Kaden, agreed. “It’s like a two person hammock,” he said, in between requests that his mother push the swing higher. In addition to being a lot of fun for her kids, Amy Hamel said this new structure seemed a lot safer. The new structure is made primarily of powder-coated steel, with various plastic components, including slides and a plastic climbing wall made to look like rock. This will drastically reduce the possibility of splinters, a common problem on the old wooden Kidspace. Nearby, Jayda Perrin, 7, of Calgary, Alberta, Canada, explored other features of the playground. “My favorite thing here is the monkey bars,” she said, swinging ably from bar to bar, skipping two at a time. “Although I really like the whole playground. I’d (See Kidspace, Page 7)
Independent photo/Trent Campbell
Mt. Abe looking at building upgrade BRISTOL — This past spring the Mount Abraham Union High School Board created the Mount Abraham Facility Advisory Committee to assist the board with planning for the renovation/building project at the middle/high school in Bristol. The advisory committee is charged to “research, draft, present and work with the board to implement a facility renovation/ building plan for (Mount Abraham Union High School), including a time table for a bond vote and construction.” The advisory committee continues the work begun by the Facility Sub-committee about a year ago. Shawna Sherwin is chair of the facility advisory committee. Other community members on the committee are Troy Paradee, Louis DuPont, Mark Bouvier and Kathleen Clark. Other members of the body are MAUHS Facilities Manager Reg Wedge, ANeSU Facilities Director Alden Harwood, MAUHS Principal Gaynell Lyman and ANeSU Superintendent David Adams. The Mount Abe Bond Project was initiated by community members that believe it is time to update and upgrade the middle and high school facilities. The building has
seen no real renovation or updates since its initial build in the late 1960s. At that time the school was considered by some the most innovative and advanced school building in the state. For 48 years the building has served the community well. However, many in the community believe it has become necessary for this generation to responsibly upgrade the facilities, not just for visual and innovation purposes, but also because there are safety and code upgrades that must be addressed. The architectural firm Dore and Whittier produced a detailed survey of the existing conditions of the building last summer. Since that time they have presented three feasibility updates that can be found on the Mount Abe Facilities Committee website, http://mtabebondproject.weebly.com. A presentation last October has begun to flesh out three potential options for the renovation. They range from dealing with code, life safety and Americans with Disabilities Act improvements, updating the mechanical systems and addressing deferred maintenance, to improving the quality of the indoor spaces with natural light (many (See Mount Abe, Page 7)
Students – Did you know that each week the Addison Independent features two star students from the 4 area high schools? Keep an eye out for these
Students of the Week and help us recognize their great achievments. Keep your studies up, local involvement high and you could be on these pages too! ADDISON COUNTY
INDEPENDENT
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PAGE 6 — A Special Section of the Addison Independent, Thursday, August 14, 2014
Try shopping local for back-to-school supplies By CHRISTY LYNN It’s the middle of August and that time of year when you wake up in the morning and there’s a chill in the air that reminds you autumn is on the way. It’s also that time of year when you start looking at your kids’ tattered, stained clothes and worn-out shoes and start thinking about what they may need to start another school year. This year, when heading out on the annual back-to-school shopping spree, consider staying closer to home and sourcing clothes and academic supplies from local retailers rather than making the trek to big-box stores or outlet centers far from home. Money spent locally comes back Shopping locally works to stimulate the local economy, as those store owners are twice as likely to shop at other local businesses than at large corporate stores. With this money being reinvested in the community, it builds the tax base, which then goes to support schools, roads, public safety and municipal programs. “Studies have found that $100 spent at a local bookstore produced $45 worth of local economic activity,” says Kate Selby of the Bristol Downtown Partnership, a non-profit organization working to support businesses of Bristol. “$100 spent at a chain store brought back only $13. Online shopping? … almost zero local reinvestment.” Selby and other local business leaders encourage shoppers to consider the impact in slightly larger terms, rather than focus only on the sticker price of single items. Aside from the obvious savings of not having to drive as far and therefore saving money on gas and time, there are the residual savings that come with your dollars going to the businesses that support the local fund-raisers and programs that you otherwise may have needed to fund individually anyway. Andy Mayer, president of the Addison County Chamber of Commerce, echoes Selby’s call. “There are a number of reasons for people to shop locally,” he says. “First of all, you are supporting your neighbors and friends, just as you would like them to do for you. When you spend money here you’re putting money in the pocket of someone who might need your service or product in the future.” A lesson in spending Keeping your spending money local could provide a great lesson for your student heading back to school this fall, as well. It provides parents an opportunity to explain
some of the complexities of how money is transferred and circulated on a level that can make sense for them because the loop is relatively small. Paying in cash also helps to make this lesson more tangible for students, as they can more easily imagine a bill being passed around than a credit card being swiped at one location and then another and another. Teenage shoppers make for a captive audience if the bargain is that they get to shop for a new outfit, new pair of shoes, new electronics, or school supplies, even when you’re talking about math or local economics. In a consumption-rich society where debt is a part of many people’s lives, the opportunity is ripe to encourage your teen to think about where their money is going and the impacts of each dollar spent. Options abound “Many people don’t shop local because they think they can’t buy the things they need in a local store,” writes small business consultant Alyssa Gregory, founder of Small Business Bonfire. “That’s simply not true. Small business owners are more willing to carry and stock special items their customers need in order to be more accommodating.” In Addison County, clothing retailers like Skihaus, Wild Mountain Thyme, Mendy’s, Linda’s Apparel, Everywhere Boutique, Forth ‘N’ Goal and Green Mountain Shoe and Apparel stock items that are practical while also being unique and special. Resale clothing shops like Sweet Charity, Round Robin, Neat Repeats, Junebug, and Enchanted Closet also offer an affordable and fun day of shopping as you rifle through the racks looking for treasures that only you could find. The Vermont Book Shop, Recycled Reading, Kimball Office Supplies, Main Street Stationary or any of the local drug stores can help set your family up with the books and locker supplies that will keep your mind active and your organization tight throughout the school year. For bags and backpacks, jewelry and accessories that help add a proud smile to a student’s day, drop in to Rainbow Room, EmeraldRose, Clementine, Edgewater or Cacklin’ Hens. You may be surprised at how many local supplies you can find right under your nose in Addison County. So, with the knowledge that every dollar spent shopping locally this back-to-school season means an investment in your local community, open your eyes to the variety of options within our county lines and head down Main Street. Editor’s note: Christy Lynn is associate publisher of the Addison Independent.
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WEYBRIDGE ELEMENTARY SCHOOL student Timothy Hunsdorfer prepares to do a weight test on the popsicle stick bridge they helped build at the school last October. Independent file photo/Trent Campbell
A Special Section of the Addison Independent, Thursday, August 14, 2014 — PAGE 7
Addison County
Kidspace (Continued from Page 5) definitely recommend it to other kids.” Ryan Hanford, 4, of Massachusetts, recalled previous visits to his family in Vermont when he had played on the old Kidspace structure. Although he enjoyed the old structure, he was very fond of the slides on the new playground. “This one is better,” Hanford reported of the playground, after giving every slide a test run. “It’s bigger.” School officials said they would have a contest in the fall to name the Kidspace replacement. The new structure was built by Pettinelli & Associates, a Burlington company that has constructed multiple playgrounds throughout the state, including structures in East Middlebury, Leicester, Shoreham and Vergennes. In a December 2013 interview with this newspaper, Mary Hogan HAMEL, 8, and her brother Kaden, 4, get a push from their mother, Amy, on Elementary School Principal Tom theJEN new playground at Mary Hogan Elementary School on July 30. The new powderBuzzell expressed his confidence in coated steel and plastic structure replaced the popular wooden Kidspace playground. Independent photo/Mary Langworthy this project. “It meets all existing codes and regulations for playground equip- playing and climbing options that make it “I see it as a great structure that will ment,” said Buzzell, adding that the an exciting, stimulating environment for serve Mary Hogan Elementary students for structure features a wide variety of children. years to come,” Buzzell said.
Back to School New playground in Bristol is in the building process
BRISTOL — Late last month construction began on the new playground on the Bristol town green. Crews broke ground July 30, and Bristol Recreation Director Darla Senecal said organizers believe the project will be complete Sept. 6, just after the start of the school year. Senecal said that organizers of the project have raised $80,000 of $90,000 needed for the playground, and are still soliciting donations. After holding a contest this past fall in which anyone was welcome to submit a design, the committee selected a plan by Mary Beth Stilwell of MB architecture + design of Lincoln. The new playground is being built on the site of the former playground, which had swings that were more than a half-century old and elements that do not comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act.
Mount Abe (Continued from Page 5) classrooms currently have no windows) and updated finishes. Additional work that could improve the educational function of the building includes bringing natural light to all classrooms, eliminating tandem classrooms, and improving the layout of the building. Part of the work of the Facility Advisory Committee will be to solicit input from parents, taxpayers, staff and students about their vision for Mount Abraham for the decades ahead, and keep voters informed about the architectural plans and project costing as the work progresses. The committee is working toward putting a bond vote before the voters in November.
PAGE 8 — A Special Section of the Addison Independent, Thursday, August 14, 2014
Back to School
Addison County
DIY projects put some fun into back-to-school prep (StatePoint) — You can help your young ones get motivated for a new school year by getting them more involved in the back-toschool shopping experience. Personalizing and accessorizing school supplies, lockers and work spaces can be a
simple antidote to the back-to-school blahs. For instance, take notebooks. Why settle for the same plain notebooks everyone else has? Liven up math, history and English by decorating a notebook for each subject with its own unique design and color concept. Doing
so isn’t just fun, it can help students find their stuff quickly during the rush between classes. One easy way to decorate notebooks and reinforce them at the same time against wear and tear is with duct tape. Lay down a solid color duct tape along the cover of your
notebook in rows, then use a crafting knife to cut along the sides, making the edges sharp and clean. After that, lay a few horizontal, diagonal or vertical stripes of patterned duct tape down over the base in fun patterns to make it your own.
New principals (Continued from Page 3) Sessions began her career as a Montessori teacher, and said she still feels deeply influenced by Montessori’s philosophy of respect for the dignity of each child’s unique path to learning and the value of hands-on learning. TWO NEW FACES IN BRIDPORT A transition team is in place for Bridport Central School after Principal Kathleen Kilbourne stepped down at the end of the last school year to take the top administrative post at Castleton Elementary School. The Bridport School Board hired two current ACSU administrators — former Mary Hogan Elementary School Principal Bonnie Bourne and current Ripton Elementary Principal Tracey Harrington — to serve as an interim leadership team beginning this fall. Bourne served as principal, and then co-principal, at the Mary Hogan Elementary School in Middlebury for more than two decades. She stepped down from that role last year, but has continued to serve the school as a part-time administrative consultant. Harrington is the part-time principal at Ripton Elementary and will continue in that role in concert with her new Bridport duties. She joined the Ripton school in 2011 after having taught math at Middlebury Union High School since 2000. ACSU Superintendent Peter Burrows said Bourne’s and Harrington’s combined salaries as part-timers next year will amount to a little less than what Kilbourne has been earning
in the job. The pair will devise a work plan this summer to define their respective responsibilities. LYMAN COMES TO MOUNT ABE After two decades, Gaynell Lyman is finally coming home. Lyman, a native Vermonter who has been teaching in Virginia since the 1990s, started this summer as principal of the school, replacing Andy Kepes. For Lyman it’s a return that has been a long time coming. “I was always looking to return,” Lyman said. “When I took the job in Virginia it was with the intention of getting experience to come back.” Lyman, 42, was born in Bennington and raised in Newport. At an early age, she realized she had a passion for teaching. She earned her bachelor’s degree from UVM in 1993. Because of stiff job competition in New England, Lyman looked elsewhere for her first teaching job. She was hired to teach chemistry and physics at Varina High School in Henrico, Va., a suburb of Richmond. While in Virginia, Lyman earned a master’s degree from Virginia Commonwealth University, and later a Certificate of Advanced Study in Education from that institution. She ascended the ranks to become an “Instructional Technology Resource Teacher” at a middle school in the same district. In this capacity, Lyman served as an adviser to educators on teaching students 21st-century skills. In 2013, Lyman was promoted to be
the associate principal at Douglas S. Freeman High School, the position she holds currently. Lyman said that she hopes to continue the school’s focus on indivualized learning for students. “Something that draws me to Mount Abe is the concept of personBONNIE BOURNE alized learning,” Lyman said. “What is exciting for me is finding ways to appropriately challenge all students, and this is a rigorous experience that prepares them to be highquality thinkers and members of the community.” Lyman said she and her stay-at-home husband, Ty, welcomed the chance to educate their children in Vermont. The couple’s children, ages 7 and 8, will attend school in ANeSU. Outside of her job, Lyman has taught yoga for 15 years, which she said has provided her with balance in her life. When she’s not roughing it in the woods, Lyman said she enjoys a good novel. “We’re an outdoor family, we like to hike and garden,” Lyman said.
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A Special Section of the Addison Independent, Thursday, August 14, 2014 — PAGE 9
PAGE 10 — A Special Section of the Addison Independent, Thursday, August 14, 2014
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A Special Section of the Addison Independent, Thursday, August 14, 2014 — PAGE 11
Back to School
Addison County
AURORA SCHOOL STUDENTS Theo Wells-Spackman, left, shows off a wooden decoy of an American avocet; Kenneth Barkdoll, middle, stands with a hooked rug he made; and Camilla VanOrder-Gonzalez, left, Sabina Ward and Sarah Reiderer pose at the Shelburne Museum with each of the projects they created for the Middlebury school’s project on American folk art that was exhibited in May at the museum in Shelburne. Independent file photos/Evan Johnson
Local students gets hands-on experience at a museum By EVAN JOHNSON SHELBURNE/MIDDLEBURY — While it may be a school project, 12-yearold Kenneth Barkdoll makes the rules very clear: “It’s a museum exhibit,” he said. “You’re not supposed to touch anything.” Barkdoll is one of the curators of a folk art exhibit put up at the Shelburne Museum this past May. In talking about the exihibt then the sixth-grader at the Aurora School in Middlebury was quick to give a firm admonishment to anyone who gets too close to his hooked rug, a panorama of him canoeing with his father. That hooked rug is part of a yearlong theme at the Aurora School examining early American history and American folk art, specifically the hatboxes, quilts, weathervanes, hooked rugs and wooden decoys of the era. The projects began in October, when students visited the Shelburne Museum and observed collections of artifacts from the 19th and 20th centuries. Each student selected one of the pieces on which to focus more closely, learning more about the form
Do the twist
THREE-YEAR-OLD AUSTIN RHEAUME of Forestdale gets a ride on the lap of Hillary Daily down the slide at the new play structure at Mary Hogan School.
Independent photo/Trent Campbell
and function of each piece. The pieces were then presented with their descriptions in an exhibit that opened at the Shelburne May 8. Susan Vigne, director and principal of the Aurora School, said one of the objectives of the project was to learn the difference between fine art and folk art. “Folk art is something that always started with a function,” she said. “Weathervanes were used to tell which direction the wind was coming from. Now they still do that but they’re great to look at.” Besides function and aesthetic value, Vigne said the pieces reflect periods of American history. “It goes well beyond just making the art,” she said. “They’ve been looking at what folk art is and how the different kinds of pieces reflect life in different regions of America.” The students titled their resulting exhibit, “Learning Heritage by Hand.” They wrote descriptions and did research on the pieces before deciding on a piece they wanted to recreate on their own. “They took it very seriously,” Vigne said of the students’ participation in the project. In the first stages of the project, students spent hours learning about each item. “At that time they knew they were going to be doing a project of their own,” she continued. “They were highly motivated.” In the next phase of their projects, students worked with local artists. Students who elected to hook their own rugs visited rugmaker Amy Oxford’s studio in Cornwall, while students making decoys worked with Gary Starr at his workshop in Weybridge, who helped rough-cut their models from basswood. Theo Wells-Spackman, 11, worked on a decoy of an American avocet, a shorebird found near marshes and beaches in the Midwest and on the Pacific coast. “I looked at pictures online and it was the most graceful bird I had ever seen,” he said. “I just loved the shape of the bird. Its beak was half the reason I chose it.” Ten-year-old Camilla VanOrderGonzalez said she enjoyed making her hooked rug so much that she’s planning on making more and maybe trying her hand at quilting. Sarah Reiderer and Sabina Ward, ages 10 and 11 respectively, worked on hatboxes. For them, they said the most satisfying part was planning their project and then having
a finished product that they could use. “It was very satisfying,” Ward said. Seven rugs, eight quilts, four decoys, four hatboxes and four weathervanes later, students had an entire installation that will be on display for the rest of the month. In addition to learning about, designing and constructing their own pieces, fifthand sixth-grade students also worked with Karen Petersen, Education Department Director at the Shelburne, as well as installation staff to learn about composition, contrast and color when arranging
an installation, which they completed together. “They came as a team of curators,” Petersen said. “They knew in many ways what they wanted to accomplish and they laid it out, wrote the labels and installed it — with a little bit of help, of course.” Petersen said she hoped their experience would make them future museum enthusiasts. “This is going to make kids look at museums in a completely different way and see beauty in everyday objects,” she said.
PAGE 12 — A Special Section of the Addison Independent, Thursday, August 14, 2014