Assessing the schools

Vermont education secretary sees innovation spark at Leland & Gray

BY CHRIS MAYS Brattleboro Reformer

TOWNSHEND — Leland & Gray Union

Middle and High School received glowing praise from the state’s top education official during a visit on February 6, 2023.

Vermont Secretary of Education Dan French called Leland & Gray “historically one of the more innovative schools in the state.”

“It’s really great to see your project-based learning work going on this morning,” he told students during an assembly. “I wish I could have had that kind of program when I was in school.”

French thanked teachers for their hard work and Principal Bob Thibault’s leadership over the years. Windham Central Supervisory Union recently announced Thibault would be its next superintendent.

“He was instrumental with our work in the state planning for COVID recovery during the pandemic itself,” French said of Thibault, who served on a task force.

French commended the maintenance staff. He described the building as “exceptionally clean, well maintained.”

“Really nice to see,” he said. He also touted the upgrades to air systems, large-scale improvements which caused the school to stay closed longer than others during the pandemic.

French heard about how students are participating in Rescue Inc.’s newly created Vermont EMS Academy, winter activities and a Town Meeting every month where input has been sought on food, building improvements and issues such as vaping and inappropriate use of bathroom. He said it’s good to put an emphasis on civic engagement.

Journey Away, a reboot of the Journey East program that provided opportunities for students to travel to China, is another highlight at the school. Thibault said the change is to ensure the program is sustainable after China was closed to visitors during the pandemic.

This year, students in Journey

Away will be studying climate disaster. They have a trip booked to New York City and New Orleans. A ropes course and updates to the weight training room also were shown off. Superintendent Bill Anton said the investments are another avenue for promoting student engagement.

French visits local schools to inform his work. He told the Reformer he gets to look at the “dynamics of ecosystems.”

At Leland & Gray, he said it’s “really interesting” to see how the school is focusing even more on project-based learning post-COVID. Coming out of the pandemic, he’s emphasizing the need for re-engagement and socioemotional health, believing such efforts will help with addressing academic learning loss. French, who lives in Manchester, served as superintendent of Bennington Rutland Supervisory Union from 2007 to 2016.