The Lamoille Ledger
Updates from the Superintendent - January 2026
Important Dates and Resources
January 19th - NO SCHOOL (MLK Day)
February 6th - NO SCHOOL (Teacher Professional Development)
February 23rd to March 3rd - NO SCHOOL (Winter Break)
Monthly Update
Dear Lamoille South Community,
Happy New Year! As we head into 2026, I can't believe how quickly this school year is passing by. Our classrooms are buzzing, and we are seeing the direct impact of our recent investments in math, literacy, and mental health supports.
Recently, we presented our student climate data and there were several key takeaways that I wanted to share with our community:
- Safety: At least 94% of students in every LSSU school feel physically safe in the school or safe from outside threats.
- Belonging: Between 96% and 100% of students across the schools report that they have a friend at school.
- Support: Between 87% and 94% of students agree that there is an adult in school they can talk to.
- Engagement: Participation ranges from 88% to 99% of students reporting that they are involved in extracurricular activities.
Our academic progress is also noteworthy. Recent results on the STAR reading and math assessments show the following:
- 82.5% of our students met or exceeded the benchmark for literacy proficiency.
- 77.4% of our students met or exceeded the benchmark for math proficiency.
Stowe Middle School was also recently ranked as the #2 middle school in Vermont by U.S. News and World Reports. This is a tremendous achievement that showcases the great work that is happening across Lamoille South. Unfortunately, Stowe High School and Peoples Academy do not have current rankings due to state data reporting protocols that suppress our academic scores. We have asked several times over the years for this data to be released, along with all academic and spending data for each district in the state.
As we monitor the latest legislative session in Montpelier, we emphasize to lawmakers that Lamoille South is providing a high quality education at a cost significantly below the statewide average for spending. In a recent analysis, EMUU is ranked 89th and Stowe is ranked 80th for spending out of the 108 district spending totals that were available based on Agency of Education data. We will continue to advocate that our districts spend significantly less than the state average while performing significantly above in all academic areas. There is always room to grow and areas for improvement. However, we refuse to let the hard work of our students, educators, and families be discounted for political gains.
Please take a minute to review the important information below.
Sincerely,
Ryan Heraty
Superintendent
Lamoille South Supervisory Union
ryan.heraty@lamoillesouth.org
802-888-4541
Budget Season
We are happy to share that our two district boards have approved budgets for Town Meeting Day. We have presented comprehensive information to the boards while we navigate another year of budget pressures that are a product of rising property values, increased fixed costs (e.g., health insurance), and changes in our student demographics which have reduced the percentage of students that qualify as economically disadvantaged. While it is good news that our population of students has decreasing poverty rates, this has a significant impact on the tax rate. The majority of our families responded to the call to submit household income forms, and we were able to mitigate a devastating blow to our budget process. A sincere thank you to everyone that supported those efforts!
Both budgets present a fiscally responsible approach that recognizes the tax burden our families have experienced over the past few years. Due to budgetary pressures, we have made reductions in central office administration and several support positions across both districts. We have strategically made these cuts to sustain our current programs while ensuring that we have taken important steps to mitigate the property tax impact.
In Stowe, we are proposing an increase to our overall expenditures of 3.3% and a 2.6% increase to our education spending. In EMUU, we are proposing an expenditure increase of 4.6% and a 3.1% increase in our education spending. These increases are substantially below most districts throughout the state and in the budget presentations, you can note where we fall in statewide rankings.
I encourage anyone in the community to reach out with questions pertaining to the budget and we will be holding budget information sessions during the February school board meetings.
You can click below to review each budget presentation.
Goal Update: Mid-year Progress Reports
By clicking below, you can see an overview of each school's progress in academic and social/emotional growth based on mid-year data collection. This level of data analysis is possible due to the use of a new tool called Branching Minds that has been implemented across the supervisory union.
Artificial Intelligence in the Classroom
Recently, we were interviewed by NBC 5 on our schools approach to artificial intelligence. As an organization we have taken a proactive approach to AI. Last year, a team of educators met to review the impact of these emerging technologies on our classrooms and align our approach with our instructional vision for teaching and learning.
Several students were interviewed on this topic and their perspective was consistent with our school districts' philosophy. Students spoke of AI being a helpful tool for more immediate feedback or for creating practice problems to master new math concepts. They also spoke about the risk associated with using a tool to replace critical thinking and creativity. Our schools have a responsibility to ensure that technology does not rob our students' experience or remove critical thinking moments while also preparing students for a world in which AI is being used in nearly every industry.
Below: Students were interviewed by NBC anchor Lauren Granada. The story will be airing soon.
