Education in the Â鶹Íø
Â鶹Íø’s K-6 children reside in one of two school districts. Those in the Southwest Vermont Union Elementary School District () attend Â鶹Íø Elementary School (). The remainder of Â鶹Íø’s K-6 students reside in what is known as Â鶹Íø District One (SD1) and those students are in the North Bennington Graded School District (NBGSD). District One includes Paran Acres, Harvest Hills and neighboring areas. (See NBGSD Map). Note: the 2nd group of 3-digits on tax bills indicate the district: those with 180 are in the Â鶹Íø School District; those with 254 are in the NBGSD.
The North Bennington Graded School District (NBGSD) provides choice by budgeting for and paying for the cost/tuition for North Bennington and SD1 K-6 students to attend approved elementary schools.
As a bit of history, in 2013, after successful votes by voters of North Bennington and Â鶹Íø SD1 (forming North Bennington Graded School District), the North Bennington Graded School closed and community leaders and VSNB’s’s board of directors formed the Village School of North Bennington. VSNB is fully accredited by the Association of Independent Schools in New England. This reorganization allowed the District to provide school choice. Policies that govern who is a resident student (Residency Affidavit and Verification of Residency policy) and how tuition payments (Tuition Payment Policy) are managed may be accessed on the .
The majority of those families living in SD1 choose to send their children to , an independent school which provides a full range of support services and special education services for in-district students who are determined to be eligible for these services. (.) VSNB also offers a pre-K program, distinguished with a 4-star rating with STARS, Vermont’s quality recognition system for preschool.
Students in both districts graduate to (MAUMS) for grades 7-8. MAUMS feeds into (MAUHS) for grades 9-12. MAUMS and MAUHS are governed by a board made of representatives elected from Bennington, North Bennington, Pownal, Â鶹Íø, and Woodford by the votes of all voters from those towns. Â鶹Íø SD 1 voters vote for all school matters at the North Bennington train station.
Area students are also served by the providing technical and vocational training to high school students and adults, whose board is elected from and by voters of all participating towns in Bennington County.
The (SVSU) includes five school districts: Southwest Vermont Union Elementary SD, North Bennington SD, and Mount Anthony Union School District (which includes Mount Anthony Union Middle School and Mount Anthony Union High School), Arlington School District, and Sandgate School District. SVSU provides administration and special education services to its member districts. SVSU board members are chosen by the district boards, not directly voted on by district voters.
In addition to VSNB, there are several private schools in the area, including, in North Bennington, serving ages 5-14; in Bennington, serving grades K-8; in Bennington, serving pre-K through high school; and (Sacred Heart) in Bennington, serving pre-K through eighth grade.
