School Leadership

List of 3 items.

• Installation Address - October 10, 2025

  Good afternoon, Vermont Academy.

  Standing here today, formally installed as your Head of School, I feel a combination of awe and gratitude. Awe at the beauty of this place – both its obvious physical beauty as well as the beauty in how it sees, supports, and celebrates each member of the community. Gratitude for the privilege of leading such a remarkable school at such a pivotal moment in its history.

  Gratitude — to our trustees, for entrusting me with this responsibility. To our faculty and staff, who give themselves every day to the care and growth of students. To our families, for your trust and partnership. To our alumni, whose lives are testament to the power of this place. To the past Heads of School, including Mike Choukas Jr. who is with us today – their work in stewarding the school serves as an inspiration and a call to action. To my family, whose support means the world. And most of all, to the students: you are why we are here. 

  150.

  Vermont Academy has been transforming the lives of its students for 150 years. It is a school where students have found — and continue to find — the room to become their best selves. That will never change.

  Here, teachers see something in each student that those students don’t yet see in themselves.
   Coaches translate victories on the field and the slopes into confidence that carries into every part of life. Artists and performers turn creativity into courage, as directors and teachers draw out both imagination and discipline in every rehearsal and performance.

  This is what we do.
  This is the power of Vermont Academy.

  A school – a community – where there has been, is, and forever will be: Room to Become.

  As one of the VASA co-presidents shared last week, when presenting in front of our board of trustees:
   “This is a school where,” he paused, “where you… become yourself.”

  There is room to become a roboticist and a cyclist.
  A hockey player and a peer tutor.
  An entrepreneur and an artist.
  A student class president and an environmental club leader.

  An actor and a scientist.
  This is a school where there is room to become.

  Before I share a vision of the future, I want to share what will not change — what will never change.

  From the very beginning, this was a school that celebrated healthy excellence. It still is, and forever will be.

  
   It was, is, and will be a school that helps translate singular successes in a student’s life into a habit of healthy success across all domains.
   It was, is, and will be a school where students make their own line — where the community not only accepts but expects students to become authors of their own education.
   It was, is, and will forever be a school where land is both a teacher and a classroom – a place to restore, to recreate, and to steward.

  As we look to the future, we must honor our founders by building with their same courage of imagination. It was just over 150 years ago that William Wilbur stood here, on a gravel bed covered with wild strawberries, and saw possibility. He inspired others to see it too. Brick by brick, oxen hauling clay, the buildings along the Long Walk were erected.

  The founders named the school Vermont Academy so as to connect the school to Vermont’s ideals of Land, Independence, Ingenuity, and Community.

  These ideals became The Vermont Academy Way.

  These ideals – which are of and from Vermont– have become our four pillars.

  Looking to the future, our growth will be grounded in– and supported by – these pillars. They are not slogans. They have been, are and will be the essence of how we live, how we learn, and how we prepare students for the world. They are what make us the Academy of Vermont. They are what make us: Vermont Academy.

  Land. In every season — the blaze of fall, the stillness of winter, the burst of spring — the land calls us to slow down and pay attention. It is our teacher. It is our classroom and our laboratory, from forest biodiversity studies, to reflective writing exercises in the woods, to making syrup in the sugar shack.

  Here, each student learns to consider the impact of their actions — on both the immediate and the world community — for the benefit of present and future generations. 

  Because the truth is clear: The world needs trailblazers who will imagine — and then build — a more sustainable, more humane, and more beautiful future. And here, at Vermont Academy, that’s exactly who you’re becoming.

  Independence. It is not just about going at it alone. It is about discovering your strengths and building the confidence to take charge of your own journey. Here, every student is recognized as capable and full of potential — and is given the opportunity to grow further. Each is challenged and supported to strive for the highest standards in the pursuit of personal excellence. This is what it means to live our motto: Be true to your best self.

  Because the truth is clear: the world needs independent thinkers who are self-aware, self-directed, and unafraid to stand up for what they believe in.

  The world needs trailblazers who know how to listen deeply, act with integrity, and chart their own course while caring for those around them.

  And here, at Vermont Academy, that’s exactly who you’re becoming.

  Ingenuity. It is courage in the face of the unknown. Our graduates will solve problems that don’t yet exist, in jobs that don’t yet exist, using technology that doesn’t yet exist. At Vermont Academy, students learn to see opportunity in challenge, to find comfort in ambiguity, to cultivate their strengths and overcome their challenges. Whether they are designing pop-up cafés, entering entrepreneurship challenges, producing films, or solving real-world problems through robotics and engineering, they are learning to be creators, problem-solvers, and innovators.

  Because the truth is clear: The world needs trailblazers willing to imagine — and then build — a future none of us has yet seen. And here, at Vermont Academy, that’s exactly who you’re becoming.

  Community. It is the heartbeat of Vermont Academy. It is formal dinners and Friday lunches. It is Mountain Day, it is Winter Carnival and it is Wildcat Games. It is also the quieter moments — in the dorms, advisories, rehearsals, late-night conversations — where no one is invisible and everyone belongs. Community at Vermont Academy is both the anchor and the launchpad: it grounds us deeply, so we can grow bravely. 

  And the truth is clear: the world needs communities of care and courage. The world needs people who can listen across differences, build trust, and hold one another capable. The world needs trailblazers willing to imagine — and then build — communities that are healthy, that are inclusive and just, that are resilient and strong. And here, at Vermont Academy, that’s exactly who we are becoming.

  These pillars are our foundation.

  And from the very beginning, Vermont Academy held a clear vision: that young people — all young people — when provided with care and challenge, could become something extraordinary.

  Generation after generation, Vermont Academy has lived that vision. Our alumni tell the same story in different words:
   “VA changed my life.”
   “I owe every success I’ve had to my time here.”

  For 150 years, we have given our students room to become. As we look to the next 150 years, we feel great possibility and opportunity in not only our students’ room to become, but in Vermont Academy’s own room to become.

  To become a school that is both healthy and excellent.
   A school that both honors our natural world and equips students with the most robust technological tools.
   A school that both celebrates each individual while strengthening the community.

  So here we stand – at the space between tradition and tomorrow – celebrating 150 years and looking 150 years ahead. 

  Looking ahead … 

  We have already launched the initial designs of a bold new strategic plan,  and you are all invited to join.
  
  

  We will soon launch the most ambitious comprehensive campaign in our history, 

  and you are invited to join that, too. 

  Starting with the newly added mountain bike trail and leading to projects significantly larger in scale and impact, I invite each of you to be part of a vision and campaign that will transform our campus just as we transform the lives of our students.

  You will see over the next five years, and in some cases as early as next year:

  • Wonderfully refreshed dorms with new housing options.
  • Athletic facilities that allow our athletes to compete at the highest level.
  • A deeper connection to our land and to sustainability.
  • A cutting-edge academic program, including an Ingenuity Lab that provides facilities for unparalleled design, engineering, and entrepreneurship.
    
    

  You will see well-cared-for faculty.
  Healthy, vibrant students — unplugged, yet deeply connected.
   A thriving community — inclusive, ambitious, grounded, and exceptional.

  You will see this because the Vermont Academy community—past, present, and future—deserves this.

• Convocation Address - September 1, 2025

  Good morning, Vermont Academy. What a great day to be a Wildcat.
  
  

  When I told Wendell, my 6 yr old, that we’d be moving to Vermont last January, she immediately replied with a question:

  “Tomorrow?”

  Every day thereafter, it was a similar question.

  “Are we moving to Vermont today?”

  She was immediately excited. Mira, my 9-yr old, took a little bit longer to warm up.

  Since arriving on campus, our two children — Mira, who’s nine, and Wendell — have been exploring every corner of this campus: climbing trees, riding bikes, and with great anticipation asking me almost every day, “When will the students get here?”

  It will be great, I told them.

  I know this from having worked at boarding school and from having grown up on a boarding school campus quite similar to this, just like my wife did. I know what it feels like when students return — the walkways fill with conversations, friendships pick up right where they left off, and the campus comes alive.

  When just over a week ago they asked: “When will the students get here?”  I replied: “Soon.”
  
  

  Well… you’re here.

  And the place already feels different.

  And better.

  And it feels more like home.
  
  

  I want to share a poem about the journey of arrival, titled :

  The Trail is not a Trail, written by Gary Snyder.
  
  

  I drove down the Freeway

  And turned off at an exit

  And went along a highway

  Til it came to a sideroad

  Drove up the sideroad

  Til it turned to a dirt road

  Full of bumps, and stopped.

  Walked up a trail

  But the trail got rough

  And it faded away—

  Out in the open,

  Everywhere to go.
  
  

  I love the last line – Out in the open, everywhere to go.
  
  

  It was just over 150 years ago, when Wiliam Wilbur – out in the open, every to go – inspired a group of Baptist leaders to build a school - our school, Vermont Academy - here. On what was a gravel bed with nothing other than wild strawberries growing. But he saw something here. And he inspired others to see something too. Over 150 years ago, Jones dorm was built brick by brick. The clay for the bricks carried in on wagons powered by oxen, and the bricks themselves were fired right here on the spot in a kiln built specifically for creating the beautiful buildings that still line Long Walk. Consider how many students have slept in these buildings over the 150 years. Consider how many students have studied in these buildings. Have formed amazing friendships. Have laughed. Have cried.  Imagine if these buildings had memories, could speak and share. The buildings would be able to reflect back so many successes. They would inspire you with stories of the past. And yet, these are your buildings now – while you are a student here to enjoy and when you are alumni to take care of and steward. As we begin this new chapter at Vermont Academy, I want us to be constantly reminded that we are part of something so much bigger than our own experience.
  
  

  I start with this because place matters. Land matters. It is a teacher. A classroom. A place of refuge, restoration and recreation. May you all find a deep and enduring connection to this place.

  While I felt an instant familiarity arriving here in July– the historic brick buildings, the green fields, the expansive trails– it is not the same without the most important part of school. You. the students.I feel even more at home now looking out at each of you, filling this beautiful theater. And I will do everything in my power to ensure each and every one of you feel right at home. So, welcome home. Welcome to the 2025-2026 school year. Welcome to Vermont.

  
  Vermont Academy is more than a school. It’s a place where your days— in the classroom, in the dorms, on the field, on stage, and in the woods —will shape who you are and who you’ll become.

  As our mission states: We are a nurturing home that inspires trailblazers to advance our world. Being a home for trailblazers, inspiring them – inspiring you – to advance the world… has always been — and will always be — the work that we do. Vermont graduates – Our alumni –shape the world as thinkers, creators, and changemakers.
  
  

  From the very beginning, we built a culture of success and support. A place that meets each student where they are, inspiring you to be authors of your own education. From the very beginning, Vermont engaged in the work of transforming the lives of its students. Scientists, like Florence Sabin, Class of 1889, who broke gender barriers as the first woman elected to the National Academy of Science. Humanitarians, like Paul P. Harris, Class of 1888, founder of Rotary International, who launched a global service movement. And over time, we continue to let success beget success. Allowing the momentum to build, graduating

  World-famous musicians, such as Joe Perry, Class of 1968, the lead guitarist of Aerosmith, whose music has entertained millions of fans. Authors, like Ethan Tapper, Class of 2004, who writes about the complexity of caring for wild spaces. Professional athletes, like NBA champion Bruce Brown, Class of 2016, whose discipline and teamwork have fueled his success on and off the court.

  These are the members of Vermont Academy classes that came before you. These are examples of some of the ways in which they defined and carved out their journeys of success. What will your journey be? What will success look like for you? How will you engage in the Success Syndrome — the idea that success in one area builds momentum for success in another. Florence Sabin didn’t just succeed in science; her early achievements gave her the confidence and credibility to break barriers for women in her field.

  NBA star Bruce Brown’s commitment to discipline and teamwork on the court translates into the way he approaches his life beyond basketball. Author Ethan Tapper’s curiosity about the environment turned into a lifelong mission to teach others how to care for the natural world.  One success, no matter how small, can start a chain reaction that transforms you. Can you do that? And here’s the most important part: the Success Syndrome is just as real for a 9th grader here at Vermont as it is for an NBA champion or a rock legend. A great essay can lead to the confidence to join a club.

  That club leadership might inspire you to run for student council.

  That student council role might give you the skills to lead your own buisiness one day. That’s how momentum is built — one step at a time. Can you take that first step? 

  
  Our four pillars are your foundation: Ingenuity, Independence , Community , Land. This year, we’ll see these values in action — in the determination of our athletes, the discoveries in our classrooms, the magic of performances on stage, and the friendships that grow in the dorms. Every one of those moments can be the start of your Success Syndrome — will you make them count? But living our values matters beyond campus, too.

  We live in a time of deep political, cultural, and environmental divides. Too often, people stop listening or make quick assumptions. The climate crisis threatens the future you will inherit. The work of your generation is not just to succeed personally — it is to succeed in making the world more habitable, humane, and united. That’s why the Success Syndrome matters. Every act of creativity, courage, and stewardship you practice here is not small — it’s training for the challenges out there. You’re not just building a résumé; you’re building the habits and the character to be peacemakers, healers, restorers, storytellers, and lovers of the land.

  At Vermont, success means thriving here and using what you gain to advance our shared world.

  The crises our state, country and world face are not separate from your journey — they are the arena in which your journey plays out.

   

  At Vermont, I believe  we will be successful in modeling what it might look like to care for oneself and find purpose in one’s life,

  to live well in community, to live well on this land, and – dare I say – thrive. Together , we will make this campus and then this world more habitable and humane. As Vermont alum and author and forester Ethan Tapper wrote: “Someday, I will teach my children that this world is not ours to hold but that we hold it anyway, that each of us is a steward for one brief and precious moment in time. Someday, I will teach my children that, despite everything, we are destined to thrive — to live in a world that is beautiful.”

  We get to call this beautiful part of the world – home. And we get to hold it. To steward it. To thrive in and amongst it.
  
  So, this year, I ask you to:

  Hold one another capable.

  Be more curious than certain.

  Take your first step — and let it lead to the next.

    

  This year, as we prepare for our 150th anniversary, design a bold strategic plan, and imagine the future of our campus, remember this: every success you have here — no matter how small — is a spark. Nurture it. Build on it. Let it propel you to the next challenge, and the next. And let your success become part of our success.

  
  And when you leave here — whether this is your first year or your last — you will find yourself, like in the poem, out in the open, everywhere to go. The trail will be yours to make, and you will have the courage, the skills, and the heart to walk it.
  
  

  It’s a great day to be a Wildcat — let’s make it a great year.

  Thank you.

• Community Letter - August 17, 2025

  Dear Vermont Academy Community,
  
  

  It is a great year to be a Wildcat! Since accepting the position as Head of School last winter, I have been eagerly anticipating the start of this year. I love the myriad possibilities that mark the beginning of a new school year. It is a time when traditions are renewed, new friendships are started and rekindled, and new stories begin. This year feels especially meaningful as we embark on our Vermont Academy journey together. I look forward to all the “firsts” that will mark the start of this important new chapter—our first Convocation, a first game or performance, a first night in a new dorm or with new roommates, the first time returning to campus as an alum, the first time dropping off your child at orientation, or one of the countless unscripted moments that make this broader Vermont Academy community so remarkable.
  
  

  For my family, this year is also a homecoming. After years in California, we are back in New England, close to where my wife and I grew up. Our two children, Mira (9) and Wendell (6), have been exploring the campus with curiosity and joy, already imagining what it will feel like when Long Walk and the fields are buzzing with student energy. My wife and I know that feeling well—we both grew up as children of boarding school teachers, and we remember the excitement of students returning, friendships rekindling, and a community springing to life.
  
  

  As I step into this role, I want you to know the values that will guide me. I will lead with courage, making decisions that put students at the center and strengthen our school for the future. I will lead with authenticity, showing up as my real self—transparent, direct, and ready to listen. And I will lead with a sense of wonder, because school should be a place that sparks curiosity, joy, and possibility for all of us. These values aren’t abstract—they’re the lens through which I’ll approach our shared work and the way I hope we’ll treat one another.
  
  

  Our senior leadership team is equally committed to leading with optimism, collaboration, and accountability as we focus on three guiding questions this year:
  
  

  1. How do we re-engage every member of our community so they feel seen, valued, and connected?
     
     
  2. How do we drive meaningful engagement—in classrooms, on teams, in dorms, on stage, and with our families and alumni?
  3. How do we tell our stories in ways that capture the full spirit and impact of Vermont Academy?

  What makes Vermont Academy so special is not just its history or its setting, but its people and its purpose. Our mission comes to life through four pillars:
  
  

  • Ingenuity — the creativity, curiosity, and problem-solving that turn ideas into action in the classroom, on the trail, or on the stage.
  • Independence — the journey of self-discovery that helps each student understand their strengths, navigate challenges, and grow into their fullest selves, as authors of their own education.
  • Community — the collective strength we find in supporting one another, embracing diverse perspectives, and knowing we are part of something larger than ourselves.
  • Land — the joy, health, and perspective that come from time outdoors, and the responsibility to care for and steward the natural world around us.

  This year, we will live those values in countless ways—through purposeful learning in the classroom, shared commitment on the athletic fields, moving performances in the arts, and friendships that take root through shared experiences. These moments will shape how we see ourselves, how we understand others, and how we engage with the world for years to come.
  
  

  We are also at an extraordinary moment in Vermont Academy’s story. Together, we will prepare to celebrate our 150th anniversary, design a bold new strategic plan, and imagine what’s possible for our campus through a master planning process. These efforts will lay the foundation for an ambitious comprehensive capital campaign that will help bring our shared vision to life. Students, families, faculty, alumni, and friends will each play an important role in this work.
  
  

  My hope is that, years from now, we will look back on this year as an inflection point—one filled with pride, purpose, and joy. I am grateful to be joining this community at such a pivotal time, and I look forward to learning your stories, celebrating your successes, and working alongside you to shape Vermont Academy’s future.
  
  

  It’s a great day to be a Wildcat—let’s make it a great year.
  
  

  With excitement and gratitude,

  
  Mike Peller
  Head of School