We Ascend Together THE CAMPAIGN FOR VERMONT ACADEMY’S FUTURE
THE CAMPAIGN FOR VERMONT ACADEMY’S FUTURE
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The steeper the climb, the sharper our focus Today’s students are growing up during a time of significant unrest and uncertainty, facing challenges that some of us would find insurmountable. At the same time, we recognize how Vermont Academy students answer the call to overcome, to climb, to pursue their dreams with an irrepressible sense of determination. This is the Vermont Academy Way. This is what our world needs — right now. And right now, We Ascend Together.
Grounded and unbounded A Vermont Academy education has never been more relevant than it is today. The demand for innovative thinkers has never been greater. Solving the big problems our world faces has never been more urgent. Our students know they can spark real change — by blazing a trail of individualized learning, Wildcats discover personal purpose, learn through doing and create visible impact. Here, for 150 years among Vermont’s trails and mountains, rivers and landscapes, we have instilled in independent-spirited students how to be the authors of their own education, for life. As we ascend toward our future together, we look to become the pre-eminent New England small college-preparatory school that successfully traversed the difficult obstacles of today and rose above, better prepared for tomorrow.
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Vision, accelerated We stand at a pivotal moment in educational history. We are experiencing a paradigm shift in thinking about how students should work and learn — coupled with a global pandemic. The Vermont Academy Way of teaching and learning is more suited to this educational moment than ever before with an emphasis on practical experience and self-direction. The economic fallout from the global pandemic has caused significant stress on our students, their families, and, as a result, the School. Our determination to secure our vision is unwavering. Preparations were underway for a $25 million campaign in support of the School’s strategic plan and creating a set of actionable beliefs about learning that would distinguish Vermont Academy as a leader in the modern marketplace. To fortify this mission while leading our students on their educational journey in the safest and most accessible space, we need your support — and flexibility — with gifts today.
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Delivering on the future Your unbounded support will ensure our students move forward in an unmatched learning environment. We will begin building our future together with a two-year, $8 million campaign: Shaping the Future with Scholarships
New Heights for Program Leadership and Development
Revitalizing Our Campus with Pride
• Support and increase diversity
• Hire talented educational leaders to support enrollment efforts
• Build on the foundation for exceptional student experience
• Provide professional development for faculty
• Renovate dorms to provide a safe, accessible and comfortable environment
• Continue to make education available for all
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PRIORITY #1:
Shaping the Future with Scholarships Volatility, instability, and uncertainty in our society call us to act now. Economics and social-justice barriers are combining to make it even more difficult for families and students to succeed. We must care for our students and fortify their resilience, creativity, and determination. These are pillars of a Vermont Academy education and the calling card of our alumni who distinguish themselves as leaders and agents of change.
Our students require more scholarship support than ever. This extraordinary moment requires an extraordinary response; a campaign to help students access a Vermont Academy education is essential to our pursuit of the best outcomes for every student. We will scale up scholarships for students to continue to make education available for all. Together, we have the power to provide a life-changing education when our students need it the most.
Vermont Academy has always helped in these times and we need to step up once again.
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PRIORITY #2:
New Heights for Program Leadership and Development Vermont Academy always has been known as the small school that produces nationallyand internationally-known winter athletes. This success is due in part to the recruitment efforts of our coaches. We’re now building on that success. Our enrollment and educational approach will take on a similar structure to athletics, with program leaders recruiting and retaining students who have unrealized potential and who will thrive with our program design and community.
Our strategic plan has us developing pillars of educational success: • Individualized learning • Innovation and invention through STEM • A strengthened community life on a restored and enhanced campus • A cultivation of our students’ knowledge, love of and appreciation for the land In the next two years we’ll build educational teams based on these pillars. This groundbreaking educational and enrollment work has already begun with our Center for Learning. This campaign will support the program leadership and development needed to expand this model across campus.
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PRIORITY #3:
Revitalizing Our Campus with Pride Our community is central to everything we do and makes Vermont Academy a place like no other. By providing a small and supportive community, our students feel known and are encouraged to grow and discover their voices. Our residential program is an integral part of our students’ lives. Living with peers and dorm parents strengthens the relationships within our community. Our day students also are often found on campus far after the academic day has concluded, visiting friends in their residence halls, studying in the library or chatting in the dining hall.
In these unprecedented times of crises, the student experience has become front and center — being able to safely socialize, study together, and lean on each other as family in the face of mounting uncertainty. This campaign will build the foundation for exceptional student experience by renovating students’ homes — their dorms — to provide a safe, accessible, and comfortable environment so students can focus on what’s important — their own individualized education.
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Building on amazing results Our commitment to a bold, student-centered vision for Vermont Academy is unwavering. There is an energy in the air about Vermont Academy right now, an electricity about how what we offer makes us, more than ever, a school of the future. This can be seen in last year’s annual fund, where we smashed records by raising more than $1 million. This can be seen in this year’s record-breaking new student application and acceptance rates. Our students, parents, and supporters believe that Vermont Academy matters, that we deliver something that cannot be duplicated, and that the team and vision are set to go. Your financial support will allow us to put our strategic plan in place — now. Vermont Academy is not your typical school, and this is not your typical fundraising effort. We need our supporters to accelerate giving, investing directly — immediately — in the student experience to deliver on our mission at this critical time.
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You are a catalyst Vermont Academy is a destination for explorers, thinkers, doers — students who want to make something happen. The same can be said of our donors. You seek impact, to light a spark or solve a problem. Our fundraising for scholarships, program leadership and development, and capital improvements is an all-in effort that will result in immediate impact, on behalf of today’s students and the future of our School. Vermont Academy seeks remarkable outcomes for every one of our students, every day they are here. Whether tinkering in a STEM lab, editing (and re-editing) a weekly writing prompt, or taking a first run through the ’77 Winter Sports Park, our students challenge and shape themselves every day on campus. Vermont Academy is a place of remarkable individuals who together can meet any challenge. This moment calls us to do exactly that, so We Ascend Together. The Campaign for Vermont Academy’s Future invites your partnership and support.
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