Education in the Town of Shaftsbury
Shaftsbury’s K-6 children reside in one of two school districts. Those in the Southwest Vermont Union Elementary School District (SVUESD) attend Shaftsbury Elementary School (SES). The remainder of Shaftsbury’s K-6 students reside in what is known as Shaftsbury 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 Shaftsbury 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 Shaftsbury 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 SVSU website / North Bennington Graded School Documents and Forms.
The majority of those families living in SD1 choose to send their children to The Village School of North Bennington, 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. (Click here for more admission details.) 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 Mount Anthony Union Middle School (MAUMS) for grades 7-8. MAUMS feeds into Mount Anthony Union High School (MAUHS) for grades 9-12. MAUMS and MAUHS are governed by a board made of representatives elected from Bennington, North Bennington, Pownal, Shaftsbury, and Woodford by the votes of all voters from those towns. Shaftsbury SD 1 voters vote for all school matters at the North Bennington train station.
Area students are also served by the Southwest Tech 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 Southwest Vermont Supervisory Union (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, Southshire Community School in North Bennington, serving ages 5-14; Hiland Hall School in Bennington, serving grades K-8; Grace Christian School in Bennington, serving pre-K through high school; and The School of Sacred Heart St. Francis de Sales (Sacred Heart) in Bennington, serving pre-K through eighth grade.
