Vermont Academy Notes From the Hilltop A Private Boarding and Day School in Saxtons River, VT

Admissions

At Vermont Academy, learning by doing inspires the independent thinker. We believe that high school isn’t just a time to learn how to launch a business, create a masterpiece, and save the planet, but to actually do it. Vermont Academy doesn’t just educate its students. We teach students to be the authors of their own education, for life.

Campus Life

Our community is the center of everything we do at Vermont Academy and makes us a place like no other. By providing a small and supportive community our students feel known and are encouraged to grow and discover their voice. The lessons we impart in the classroom and dorms, on the fields and stage, provide our students with an education for life.

About

Vermont Academy is a small New England college preparatory school where learning by doing, learning in nature, and learning in a supportive and safe environment successfully prepares students for a future of their own making. We are trailblazers of the future. We are leaning into educational innovation and defining ourselves clearly as a school of the future. The Vermont Academy Way is all about student-centeredness and offering students the opportunity to experience the joy of discovery.

List of 5 news stories.

Head of School Dr. Jennifer L. Zaccara's 2024 Convocation Address
9/4/2024
Dr. Jennifer L. Zaccara

Several years ago, I became acquainted with the work of Kwame Anthony Appiah, professor of ethics and morality at Princeton University. Appiah writes that sometimes "in talk of honor, it is the self-respect of those seeking honor as much as the respect of others that matters" (p. 134). Yet what distinguishes honor from mere concern for reputation is precisely that self-respect (tied to principled codes) always matters as much as the respect of others. If the former is missing, the motive in play is not honor but the mere concern for reputation.
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Celebrating the Year Ahead
8/2/2024
Dr. Jennifer L. Zaccara

Our campus is alive with energy and excitement with construction underway, with our returning and new families on the horizon in a few weeks, and with the highest enrollment we have had in almost a decade. As you may have read in yesterday’s email, this is my last year as Head of School at Vermont Academy. The time is right to move forward with the energy and vision of a new Head of School. I am so proud of the Vermont Academy that I will be delivering to that next Head and I will ensure the smoothest transition possible. You can read the official letters sent to the full VA community here and this webpage will be updated as we move through the search process.
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Reflections on the Past Year and Looking Towards the Summer
5/31/2024
Dr. Jennifer L. Zaccara

Vermont Academy’s 2023-2024 school year has drawn to a close, and we are coming off our awards ceremonies, dorm cleanouts, faculty grading and comment writing, and the culmination of everything: our commencement ceremony.
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Becoming You - 2024 Head of School Commencement Address
5/25/2024
Dr. Jennifer L. Zaccara

Good Morning Faculty, Class of 2024, and Families!

Believe it or not, you are attending the 140th graduation at Vermont Academy, and our wonderful school is just two years away from being 150 years old. Our school has existed for three centuries, and it has continually been focusing on enabling students to strive toward self-understanding, to thrive in the discovery and expression of their talents, to be valued for their authentic selves, and to, in finding and defining a purposeful life, have empathy for others, finding ways to make positive impacts on their neighborhoods, families, communities, and even in some cases, on a national and international level. As most of you know, our motto, created in 1889 by graduate Clara Converse from Grafton, is “Be True to Your Best Self.” It seems like a simple statement, but it bears consideration to think about what your Best Self looks like and what it means to be “True” to it.

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Living with Principles - 2024 Baccalaureate Remarks
5/24/2024
Dr. Jennifer L. Zaccara

Welcome to the 2024 Baccalaureate, Class of 2024, faculty and staff, and families. We are so excited to celebrate the achievements of our students and so nostalgic and proud at the same time.
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