Dummerston School
a PreK-8 community school in southern Vermont
At Dummerston School, we believe individuals of all ages--children, staff, and families--learn best in an environment that prioritizes relationship building, autonomy, play, challenging opportunities for learning, and safety. We are a community of learners who seek to support each other and our students in developing critical skills in communication, leadership, conflict resolution, and deep understanding of self, others, and the world. We love learning together and take joy in embracing the unique social, emotional, and academic journey of each of our students.
Social, Emotional, and Academic Learning
To support our students' social, emotional, and academic growth and sense of connection to self and others, we implement the Developmental Designs Framework at Dummerston School in all grades, PreK-8. This framework provides common language, experiences, and opportunities that support us in flourishing as learners and as active and engaged members of a diverse community. These experiences include the student-led development of a schoolwide social contract each September, daily Morning Meetings, weekly community-based events, such as All-School Meetings and Buddy Classroom time, and student-led conferences.
Students as Leaders
At Dummerston School, all students are leaders, take ownership of their learning community, and work together to make a difference. Older and younger students are paired for Buddy Classroom and mentoring activities, and all students engage in school-based community projects, such as garden development and harvesting, building projects, and facilities and grounds maintenance. Our middle school ASSET team uses school climate data to create and implement action plans related to students' sense of belonging at school, and the student team GLOW seeks to create a school--and a world--that is safe, accepting, and empowering for LGBTQ+ individuals and their allies.
About Us
Dummerston School is a PreK-8 community school just north of Brattleboro, VT with approximately 160 students. On the west end of our school building, the Early Learning Center houses our PreK and Kindergarten program. This wing of the building, along with its outdoor learning spaces, is designed specifically to support the developmental needs of the young learner. Our elementary wing includes grades 1-4, and grades 5-8 make up our middle school. All students have daily opportunities to learn and play outside on our 10-acre campus that includes a forest trail, outdoor classrooms, student-tended gardens, soccer and baseball fields, and a variety of play structures. Visual arts, library and media, tech instruction, instrumental music, general music, chorus, sports, and physical education are core components all students experience at Dummerston School. We implement a Multi-Layered System of Support where all students engage in both enriching core academic, social, and emotional instruction, as well as necessary interventions based on their unique profile as learners. We seek to support students in understanding themselves as learners and in shaping their unique pathway toward success.