Peacham School Board Community Planning

Like many other towns across Vermont, Peacham has experienced a decline in student numbers over the last decade. In response to this situation, and to the changing statewide environment for school funding, the Board and a number of community volunteers are engaged in a series of discussions to help determine whether our current model of providing education is still appropriate, or whether changes should now be considered. Four workgroups are meeting from the spring to the fall of 2007, examining different approaches to structuring education in Peacham: keeping the school as is with possible cost-cutting measures and/or initiatives to increase enrollment; collaborating and/or merging with a neighboring school district (Danville or Barnet); closing the school and offering school choice from kindergarten through high school; and expanding the elementary school to include seventh and eighth grades. The website includes documents from this process, beginning with results from a community-wide meeting in January, 2007; minutes of the monthly meetings of the entire Planning Group; and minutes from the individual workgroups as they are filed. Please note that workgroup minutes reflect ongoing discussions, and do not necessarily represent the views or findings of the School Board as a whole.

At the first community meeting on January 21, 2007 Winton Goodrich from the Vermont School Boards Association moderated a "Peacham Community Dialogue" to consider the future of education in Peacham. The minutes of this meeting and all additional community meetings are available below.