Lyndonville, VT – The Riverside School began its 40th year of operation on September 8th by welcoming 106 students in Pre-K – 8th grade from 14 towns and villages including: Barnet, Burke, Danville, East Haven, Glover, Kirby, Guildhall, Lyndon, McIndoe Falls, Newark, Ryegate, St. Johnsbury, Peacham, and Westmore. “The challenges we are facing from the pandemic are introducing new opportunities for us as a school,” said Head of School, Roy Starling. “Many of us are invigorated by the chance to grow our outdoor education program with additional room in our new block schedule for daily electives like mindfulness, STEM, and coding. Because of our small class sizes, we’ve also been able to create multi-grade pods that encourage co-teaching and student leadership.”

Communications to parents continued throughout the summer as the leadership team worked to develop plans to meet the state guidelines. Modifications due to the pandemic include increased outdoor teaching space, installation of handwashing and hand sanitizing stations, upgrades to the air handling system, writing a schedule that accommodates pod groupings, and re-envisioning how spaces are used. In addition, Starling worked with Riverside’s Board of Trustees to host a pop-up COVID testing site on campus, purchased a set of rapid-result COVID tests should they be needed during the year, purchased tents, and hired additional staff to ensure a safe and comprehensive program for the year.“I presented the plan for the opening of school to faculty and staff during in- service and they all responded by rolling up their sleeves and making this a truly collaborative effort to support our students and families,” said Starling. 

Assistant Head of School Nelia Rath sees the connection to one of Riverside’s core values. “We are both celebrating and depending on our supportive community this year. We are grateful to the families who volunteered to help with campus improvements and understand the need to be flexible as we begin the year under these new parameters. We are also relying heavily on each other to follow state guidelines even away from school, to communicate openly, and to respect the policies we must implement this year.”Two faculty members of Riverside have accepted new opportunities for the new school year.  After building Riverside’s Pre-K program to the highest rating by the State of Vermont, Heidi Andrews will be teaching 1st grade. She has been an early childhood (Pre-K-3rd grade) educator for 18 years. She taught Pre-K for 14 years and led her own preschool business in Danville for 7 years. In 2015, she moved her Pre-K program to Riverside and started The Riverside School Pre-K Program.

Carmenza Montague, Riverside’s current K-5 Spanish teacher, will take over Spanish instruction to middle school students as well. Montague has been at Riverside for three years and was recently honored as a National Geographic Educator for her project with students to track the journey of Hispanic immigrants to the State of Vermont.The school is also pleased to welcome three new members to their faculty. Kristen Langlais will serve as the new Elementary Music Teacher. She graduated summa cum laude from the University of Connecticut with a BS in Biology and a concentration in Conservation Biology. She also received a MS in Natural Resources from the University of New Hampshire. She has taught elementary through high school science and math in several local schools including Riverside (2001-2003), Burke Mountain Academy, Thaddeus Stevens, St. Johnsbury Academy, and Lyndon Town. In addition, she is a licensed Kindermusik® teacher. She is a co-founder of East Burke School and Farm, Field, and Forest, a non-profit nature education organization based in East Burke, where she currently leads nature programs and summer camps.Jamie Robinson is the new Preschool Director. She has taught kindergarten and 1st grade for nine years at the St. Johnsbury School, St. Albans City School, and Barton Academy and Graded School. She holds a BS in Liberal Studies and Early Childhood Education from NVU-Lyndon and a M.Ed. from Southern New Hampshire University.Caroline Thompson will join as a middle school Math Teacher. As an educator for over 15 years, she has been active in regional STEM programs, led her own middle school team in writing and implementing interdisciplinary units, and served as an advisor for the White Mountains Chapter of the National Junior Honor Society. She was a finalist for the New Hampshire Teacher of the Year in 2012 and the recipient of the Amelia B. Morse Award for Excellence in Teaching in 2015. She has a BA from Johnson State College and a M.Ed. in Curriculum and Instruction from Franklin Pierce University. Plans are underway to host several 40th Anniversary celebrations throughout the school year. For more information on The Riverside School, visit www.theriversideschool.org