Community Newsletter

Dear St. Johnsbury School District Families and Community,

There is something special about the beginning of a new school year. After months of planning and preparation, our hallways are once again filled with students learning, laughing, asking questions, building relationships, and discovering new opportunities.

We have had a great start to the 2026–2027 school year, and I am grateful to our teachers, support staff, administrators, families, and community partners who worked throughout the summer and during these opening weeks to make that possible.

As we settle into the year, we are also looking ahead. This fall is an important time for the St. Johnsbury School District as we begin shaping our next strategic plan and thinking together about the future we want for our students and our community.

Our work continues to be grounded in a simple belief: every student should have the opportunity to learn, grow, succeed, and belong. Whether we are strengthening academics, supporting student wellness, or expanding opportunities beyond the classroom, our focus remains on creating the best possible experience for our children. We warmly invite our families and community to be an active part of that work.

Throughout this newsletter, you will find updates on our progress since summer, a look at where we are headed this fall, and ways you can get involved. Thank you for your continued support and dedication to our students.

Sincerely,

Karen Conroy
Superintendent
St. Johnsbury School District

We were truly honored to be featured in the Northern Forest Center’s latest video on Wood Heating for Large Buildings!

The video does an amazing job capturing our facilities and telling the story of the St. Johnsbury School’s sustainability efforts. It serves as a fantastic resource to help our community better understand our ongoing energy planning, the investments we have already made in sustainable infrastructure, and our continued commitment to environmental stewardship moving forward.

Click here to watch the full video shared at the Vermont Forest Industry Summit: Watch on YouTube

🔗 Read more here

Catamount Community Hours (CatCH), the afterschool program at St. Johnsbury School, has secured a grant from the J. Warren & Lois McClure Foundation to support a 10-week Mobile STEM Lab program during the upcoming winter session.

The initiative is made possible through a $2,500 Mini-Grant awarded by the J. Warren & Lois

McClure Foundation, a supporting organization of the Vermont Community Foundation,

alongside a contribution from White Mountain Science, Inc. (WMSI) to cover the remaining

balance.

🔗 Read the full story here

Catamount Community Hours (CatCH), the afterschool program at St. Johnsbury School, has been awarded a $4,000 Artists in Schools Grant from the Vermont Arts Council. The funding will support an 11-week artist residency introducing 5th through 8th-grade students to Kamishibai, a traditional Japanese "paper theater" art form.

🔗 Read the full story here

St. Johnsbury School District has officially been recognized by the Vermont Department of Health’s Asthma Program as a Gold Level Asthma Friendly School for the 2025–2026 school year.

The voluntary Asthma Friendly School Recognition Program celebrates Vermont schools that take proactive steps to create healthy, safe environments for students and staff. Reaching the Gold Level designation indicates that the district has implemented and enforced comprehensive, top-tier asthma management policies and best practices.

🔗 Read the full story here

The St. Johnsbury School District officially launched the new school year on Wednesday, August 19, bringing staff together for an energetic all-staff in-service. New Principal Tim Mulligan set an inspiring tone for the upcoming year by introducing the district’s 2026–2027 theme: "One Pack, One Purpose."

Superintendent Karen Conroy followed with a heartfelt address emphasizing the district's core

commitment to fostering a deep sense of belonging for every student, family, and staff member

across the St. Johnsbury School District. The afternoon session featured an engaging keynote

presentation by speaker Dallin Cooper focused on strengthening communication and building a

culture of collaboration.

🔗 Read the full story here

This summer, St. Johnsbury School District welcomed 43 middle school and 90 elementary school students for 24 full days of hands-on learning, creative exploration, and community building in the district’s Catch Fire summer program. Running daily from 8:30 a.m. to 3:00 p.m., the summer program, supported by a combination of local funding and federal and state grants, provided local youth with a vibrant, supportive environment to learn, grow, and explore.

The season culminated on August 7 with a festive "FINAL FRIDAY" and Seasonal Showcase,

drawing an enthusiastic crowd of more than 200 students, family members, and community

friends. A standout moment of the showcase featured middle school students from the cooking

project, who served homemade culinary treats directly from their custom, student-built DIY food

truck.

🔗 Read the full story here

The St. Johnsbury School District has been awarded a $20,000 competitive grant for Fiscal Year 2027 (July 1, 2026 – June 30, 2027) from the Northeast Vermont Prevention Consortium, a partnership between Northeastern Vermont Regional Hospital, Umbrella, and the Lamoille Family Center. The funding will support the expansion of VermontHER, a specialized mentorship and resiliency enrichment program for local middle school girls at the St. Johnsbury School.

🔗 Read the full story here

St. Johnsbury School District has been awarded a $35,000 competitive McKinney-Vento Homeless Education grant for Fiscal Year 2027 by the Vermont Agency of Education. The grant funding will directly address the complex challenges faced by local students experiencing housing instability across the district. The award comes at a critical time for the district. While 3.5% of students in the district experienced homelessness last year, the cost to provide required transportation, emergency care, and dedicated support for these families continues to rise.

🔗 Read the full story here

St. Johnsbury School has been selected to receive a $3,500 Garden Grant from the Whole Foods Market Foundation, made possible through generous matching funding from Newman’s Own Foundation.

Selected from over 800 applications across the United States and Canada, St. Johnsbury School will use the grant to expand its edible garden, providing hands-on learning experiences for its approximately 600 PreK–8 students. The award directly supports the school's Farm to School initiatives, bringing agriculture, nutrition, and environmental science out of the classroom and into the outdoors.

🔗 Read the full story here

The local Summer Meals Program is continuing its mission to nourish area youth this season by serving approximately 300 grab-and-go meals daily, emphasizing high-quality, locally sourced ingredients to support growing kids.

Despite changes to community routines this summer, including the closure of the Kiwanis pool

in St. Johnsbury, VT, the program remains a vital nutritional bridge for families. To help offset

venue changes and reach more children, the program successfully expanded its footprint this

year by adding the Cobleigh Public Library in Lyndonville as a new meal site. Every meal

provided features fresh, peak-season produce sourced directly from local agricultural partners,

ensuring children receive wholesome, nutrient-dense foods every day.

🔗 Read the full story here

We are excited to welcome a distinguished group of educators and administrators dedicated to fostering student success, community partnerships, and academic excellence.

Please join us in welcoming our new team members:

• Tim Mulligan – Principal

• Jenn Lawcewicz – Assistant Director of Student Support

• Jennifer Phillips – Grade 3 Teacher

• Johnnie Blankinship – Special Educator

• Tara Prue – School Nurse

• Heidi Hammer – Special Educator

• Alex Alexander – Special Educator

• Carrie Aldrich – Special Educator

• Katherine Cowan - Mental Health Clinician

Strategic Planning is officially underway for our next multi-year plan! Visit the Strategic Plan page on our district website for updates and upcoming opportunities to get involved. Have questions, comments, or feedback? Please reach out anytime through our Connect With Us Form.

Are you or someone you know a St. Johnsbury School alumni? We want to hear from you! Whether you walked our halls five years ago or fifty, your story matters. Help us celebrate the legacy of St. Johnsbury School by sharing how your time here shaped who you are today. Fill out our short Alumni Spotlight Form to tell us where life has taken you—and don’t forget to upload a photo! Your story may be featured on our website or social media as we honor the incredible paths our graduates have taken.

Have a shoutout to share? We want to hear it! If a St. Johnsbury School District staff member has made a difference in your day—or your child's—take a moment to let them know! Use our quick and easy form to share a kudo, kind word, or thank you. Your message will be passed directly to the staff member to brighten their day. There’s no wrong time to say “You’re appreciated!”

Help us keep your tuition payments processing smoothly! To avoid any disruptions, please take a moment to submit your Request for Public Tuition Dollars Form (Voucher Form) via our Parent Portal:

• Already have an account? Log into the St. Johnsbury Parent Portal to complete the voucher form.

• Need an account? Fill out the Parent Portal Request Form to get started.

We appreciate your quick attention to this step. If you run into any issues or have questions along the way, Linda Hartwell in our District Office is happy to help at (802) 745-2800.

Help us provide the best education possible for your children. Filling out this form only takes a few minutes. It will help your community, your school and your property taxes. The information you give helps your school access federal and state education dollars. This funding supports reading, math, science, arts, PE, afterschool and other vital programming. The privacy of your household financial information is protected by law. Your information collected through this electronic form will come securely to the Agency of Education's (AOE) data team who will send it again securely back to your child's school.

Complete the Household Income Form here.

If your child received Summer EBT (S-EBT) benefits this year, please remember to use them soon! Unused funds will expire and be returned to the federal government on Saturday, October 10, 2026. Once expired, these funds cannot be recovered.

Need Assistance? To request a replacement card or check your balance and expiration date, call 1-888-354-0012 (Press Option 7).

Need this information in another language? Email AOE.LanguageAccess@vermont.gov.

The Vermont Rural Education Collaborative (VREC) supports school communities across the state in their mission to LEARN, SHARE, and THRIVE together.

📎 Read the latest edition of The Echo, VREC’s quarterly newsletter here to see what’s happening in rural education across Vermont.

We’re proud to collaborate with Vermont Community Schools and the University of Vermont!

Through our partnership with Vermont Community Schools and UVM, we are working together to strengthen school-community partnerships, expand student opportunities, and support the whole child.

📎 Read the latest Vermont Community Schools newsletter here to see how this collaboration is making a difference across our state.