About

Welcome

Welcome to Vermont Academy

It is my great honor to welcome you to this beautiful corner of Vermont, nestled in the foothills of the Green Mountains. Welcome to an intentionally small boarding school with nearly 150 years of honoring the dignity and worth of each and every one of our 230 students. Welcome to a joyful community that inspires the next generation of trailblazers to make a positive difference in a global world. Welcome to Vermont Academy.

From the first moment I stepped onto campus, I felt it. There is something extraordinary about this community: a powerful and rare sense of belonging. At Vermont Academy, students are known as they wish to be known, challenged when they need challenge, and cared for when they need care. It is in that very balance — of being known, challenged, and supported — that VA students begin to discover not just who they are, but who they might become.

From the dorms to the classrooms, and from the fields to the stage, our students grow and thrive in an experiential learning environment — grounded in place— that is both supportive and demanding. Our students explore everything from environmental science to entrepreneurship to electronic music to AI. They create, question, and apply what they learn in real-world ways, whether they’re conducting forest management studies in our woods, iterating on a robotics design in the lab, or presenting a senior capstone project. The learning is rigorous, joyful, and full of purpose. It prepares them for college, but more importantly it prepares them to live a life of meaning. It is an education for life. On the fields, ice, courts, and slopes, VA is known for producing college-bound athletes by cultivating a culture of teamwork, discipline, and character. Our visual and performing arts program provides the training and expertise for students to produce award-winning art and perform on a world-class stage. Vermont Academy students, however, are not narrowly defined as just an athlete or an artist or an engineer. We nurture artist-athletes, engineer-poets, and students who defy easy labels. This is a place where excellence looks different for everyone— and that’s not only accepted, it’s celebrated.

And, of course, there’s the land itself. It grounds us, invites adventure, and inspires connected, meaningful and healthy living. Our campus is full of the kind of beauty that doesn’t just surround you— it awakens you. I look forward to experiencing the rhythm of the seasons with you: to stand in awe of fall’s brilliance; to celebrate the first snowfall; and to tap our sugar maples and boil the sap, as we emerge together from winter’s stillness into the sweetness of spring. These shared experiences—rooted in nature and the turning of the year—will make life here unforgettable and transformative. This is a place where you will come alive.

As we near our 150th birthday, we root ourselves in our rich history while celebrating our entrepreneurial spirit. Being a school that lives and models the values it expects from its students, our reach now extends far beyond the bucolic setting of the Saxtons River campus. We strategically launched our Vermont Academy Mount Snow (VAMS) campus in West Dover, VT to support our gravity-fueled, snow-bound athletes; we partnered with Liceo Europa to open a global campus in Madrid, Spain; and, our LaLiga Grassroots program allows the most committed soccer players to have an elite training opportunity year-round. These strategic initiatives are just some of the ways that Vermont Academy honors its past while preparing for its future.

This is such an exciting time to join the Vermont Academy family. Become part of something remarkable. Come join me in living The Vermont Academy Way. We cannot wait to welcome you.

Warmly,

Mike Peller
Head of School