Education being Consolidated off of the Lyndon Campus

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Created on Friday, 17 November 2023 22:19

Written by Sean Cavanaugh

LYNDON - Vermont State University has been going through changes with layoffs, buyouts, discontinuing of programs, and consolidation in the past month one big proposed change is the Education Department being consolidated off the Lyndon campus.

Teaching teachers has been the foundation of the college for decades. Lyndon was established as a “normal school” in 1911 to teach teachers. Then the school created the Lyndon Training Course, and the first two-year classes of teachers graduated in 1923. In 1927, Rita Bole became principal of the school. In 1944, the state allowed Lyndon to grant four-year degrees so long as it remained a teacher training institution.

 "There's a real history here of education being a thing that lyndon has been about we have put amazing educators into the community over the years I think it removes a piece of historical identity for lyndon," Chair of Lyndon Education Department Michaela Stone said.

A teaching storage has hit schools in Vermont and the Northeast Kingdom Is no stranger to the need for teachers, having faced many shortages leading into this academic year.  So teachers not being trained at Lyndon has an impact on districts.  

"I am very very concerned about the education department leaving the lyndon campus because we have such significant staff challenges that continue and having an education department nearby where we have candidates we can work with and where we have faculty we can work with gives us the option to recruit," KESD superintendent Sean McMannon said.

There is still some uncertainty for the future of the department at lyndon and faculty are still hoping there is room for more discussion about the effects of these decisions.

"I hope that there is still room for dialog about the changes that have been proposed because those decisions were made without input from faculty umm had I been able to be in the room with somebody who is making those decisions I would have been able to make some argument that I think would have changed that outcome," Stone said.

Stone is hopeful that as the University moves forward with those changes there will be more information and clarity on what The future of training future teachers looks like for the Northeast Kingdom.