Croydon Village School re-opened its doors on September 1 for its first day of school following a month of intensive renovations to Little Red. Kicking off the school year with 2 preschoolers and 10 kindergarteners, our teachers integrated the apple season into science, math, and language lessons that were both educational and tasty. Students conducted experiments, discussed words, and used math to make applesauce.
The remainder of our students, spanning grades 1-12, are attending the schools of their parents’ choice. This is the first year since approving Kearsarge as an anchor school and our default school district for Croydon students. Students are now attending 13 different public and private schools.
Just before opening our doors, the School Board invited members of the community to come and tour the renovations to Little Red. The turnout was amazing! People filtered through steadily from 11am until 2pm touring the building and enjoying the sunny weather. The kids enjoyed the playground, a dunk tank, and the Fire Department’s engine. Beth Bierwirth kept everybody well fed at the grill, and a gelato food truck kept everybody refreshed.
The list of renovations was long: repointed brickwork, replaced the roof, refurbished the belfry, replaced the portico, painted all the trim, replaced the finished floor, upgraded ADA compliance, installed new life safety system, added air conditioning, replaced the hot water heater, removed old cabinetry and shelving, and repainted the entire interior. Additionally, we paved and striped the entire driveway, a major upgrade!
A special thank-you goes to all our contractors: Pro-Point Restoration, Christian Nestler of High Flow Plumbing, Clint Dupere of Oracle Electric, Shawn Douglass Painting, Briar Patch Landscaping, Queen City Roofing, Quality Insulation, Vermont Life Safety, LaValleys, and Twin State Paving. Last but not least, Chris Gaherty deserves special praise for all the amazing carpentry work and for helping keep things coordinated and running smoothly.
A special thank-you also goes to our dedicated Croydon Village School staff, Mary-Beth Scanlon and Taylor McPherson. They worked around the clock to move out, move back in, and set up in time for the start of the school year. We are all very excited to watch as Mary-Beth and Taylor complete their first year of operation as an Early Childhood Education Program (including preschool!).
After renovations, Amie and Callie Freak were generous enough to donate two apple trees to go near the playground, and Kristi McKeon donated two haskap shrubs. Between the apples and haskaps, there should be fruit at the start and end of the school year. The School Board also plans to upgrade the playground equipment using a $50k donation from the Jack & Dorothy Byrne Foundation.
Speaking of money, the renovations were paid for using a bond approved by the town at the 2025 District Meeting. The Land and Community Heritage Investment Program (LCHIP) contributed up to $128k, which reduced the size of the bond needed and offsets the amount paid by taxpayers.
Thank you to all those who continue to support Little Red and the education of Croydon’s youth. If you didn’t make it to the Open House, feel free to check out some of the photos of the renovations below!
