Vermont has a long history of Independent schools with public missions. Over 90 Vermont towns have school choice and support both public and independent schools throughout the state. If you are in a region with choice communities around you, you have the potential to attract more students to your school. The Town Academy model is still in use today, in fact, The Mountain School at Winhall, recently founded in 1998 is New England's only elementary Town Academy. We have presented their model on this website for your review. Other Town Academies are: St. Johnsbury Academy, Lyndon Institute, Thetford Academy, and Burr & Burton. Vermont has over 100 Approved Independent schools serving a wide range of student needs. 

Quality  - Independent schools are nimble and respond to the changing needs of learners and the world we live in. They have control over their mission,  hiring of faculty, and curriculum design and implementation.

Accountability - Independent schools are accountable to their community, they function on a market driven model to deliver quality education.

Staying Local - The benefits of changing to an independent school model may make the difference between whether or not a community is able to maintain a local school.

Fiscal Restraint - Independent schools are frugal - they tap into limited resources so they must run responsibility.

Small Works - Many VT independent schools are deliberately small and as such they respond very well to the individual needs of their students.

Creative Funding - Unlike public schools, independent schools can set up endowments to ensure the long-term viability of the institution.