“We always conceive of our students as bold divers, going down and seeking. We believe in them as ones who believe in somewhere, who will go with full heart and faith into the difficult thing. Our dream is to see them break the surface and emerge having done that difficult thing, bringing up meaning where otherwise there would be little; exploring and mapping landscapes of experience, inner questions, and personal texts; opening up to a community of different minds; and defining value where otherwise there would be none.”
--Tal Birdsey, Co-founder and Head Teacher of the North Branch School
--Tal Birdsey, Co-founder and Head Teacher of the North Branch School
School Faculty/Staff
The faculty is comprised of a full-time lead teacher (arts, social studies, and language arts) , and both science and math teachers. Additionally all three work together to conduct outdoor education, art projects and sporting adventures and competitions. Numerous friends, teachers and parents come into the school to tutor, assist and help out. A diverse assemblage of community members is invited into the school to teach or speak about other topics. Current teachers are:
Tal Birdsey (B.A. Middlebury College, M.A. Breadloaf School of English; 27 years of experience) is the head teacher, co-founder, and director of the school. He teaches writing, literature, social studies, art, student government, and ethics and serves as the school counselor, soccer coach, and newsletter and literary magazine editor. He's been State of Vermont licensed and certified and has taught previously at the Paideia School in Atlanta, Georgia, and abroad in Taiwan. He has published poetry in journals around the country and is a working visual artist. In 2008, he published a book about the founding and first year of North Branch School, entitled A Room for Learning: The Making of a School in Vermont (St. Martin's Press). He has a second book forthcoming from Green Writers Press (February 2020), Hearts of the Mountain, about a year in the life of teaching and learning at the North Branch School. He has been teaching middle school since 1989.
The faculty is comprised of a full-time lead teacher (arts, social studies, and language arts) , and both science and math teachers. Additionally all three work together to conduct outdoor education, art projects and sporting adventures and competitions. Numerous friends, teachers and parents come into the school to tutor, assist and help out. A diverse assemblage of community members is invited into the school to teach or speak about other topics. Current teachers are:
Tal Birdsey (B.A. Middlebury College, M.A. Breadloaf School of English; 27 years of experience) is the head teacher, co-founder, and director of the school. He teaches writing, literature, social studies, art, student government, and ethics and serves as the school counselor, soccer coach, and newsletter and literary magazine editor. He's been State of Vermont licensed and certified and has taught previously at the Paideia School in Atlanta, Georgia, and abroad in Taiwan. He has published poetry in journals around the country and is a working visual artist. In 2008, he published a book about the founding and first year of North Branch School, entitled A Room for Learning: The Making of a School in Vermont (St. Martin's Press). He has a second book forthcoming from Green Writers Press (February 2020), Hearts of the Mountain, about a year in the life of teaching and learning at the North Branch School. He has been teaching middle school since 1989.
Steve Holmes --(B.A. Colgate University, Mathematics )
This is Steve's first year teaching at North Branch School, having come to us after teaching middle school math at both Otter Valley and Mill River. For 25 years prior to teaching, Steve ran a software development company and worked in computer tech. He is very interested in teaching mathematics using 'real world' examples from his earlier endeavors. Steve has coached many youth sports in the area, including ice hockey, boys and girls lacrosse, basketball, soccer, and, if there is sufficient interest, he has promised to coach the NBS MathCounts team. In his free time he writes children's books and hopes to publish Emmaline and the Fluffles in the near future.
This is Steve's first year teaching at North Branch School, having come to us after teaching middle school math at both Otter Valley and Mill River. For 25 years prior to teaching, Steve ran a software development company and worked in computer tech. He is very interested in teaching mathematics using 'real world' examples from his earlier endeavors. Steve has coached many youth sports in the area, including ice hockey, boys and girls lacrosse, basketball, soccer, and, if there is sufficient interest, he has promised to coach the NBS MathCounts team. In his free time he writes children's books and hopes to publish Emmaline and the Fluffles in the near future.
Rose McVay (B.S. University of Pittsburgh, Materials Science Engineering, 15 years of experience) Rose began teaching at North Branch in 2004, having been enrolled in graduate level physics, adolescent psychology, and educational coursework. Since then, she has taught math for thirteen years, created an after school ceramics program, coached the NBS MathCounts team, designed a stained-glass curriculum, designed sets for the school plays, taught drawing, sculpture and painting, and founded the NBS Wiffleball League. She has completed coursework at Vermont Mathematics Initiative and Vermont Energy Education Program, taught ceramics at Middlebury Studio School, worked with a local retirement community and as a WomenSafe volunteer. Rose is the Associate Head of School and she currently teaches physical, earth and space, and life sciences.
Mia Allen (left, co-founder and mother of alums Sophie '04, Walker '06 and Lydia '10) Chairs the NBS Board of Directors and oversees longterm strategic initiatives of the school.
Donna Rutherford (right, mother of alums Nick '04 and Devlin '06) provides administrative support to the students, families, faculty, board and staff of the school. In addition, she cheerfully offers unending supplies of #2 pencils to all.
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Joanna Doria works in the office at NBS as administrative support to the teachers, students, board and families of the school while working closely with long-time administrator Donna Rutherford. Joanna also oversees the many fundraising events of the school which help to support financial tuition assistance for families. |
School Governance
The North Branch School is led by a Board of Trustees, each of whom sits on at least two active committees. As a community school we value and welcome the input of both those within the school as well as those in the greater community.
Board of Trustees (2018)
Mia Allen (Ripton), Michael Seligmann (Ripton), Cindy Seligmann (Ripton), Donna Rutherford (Bristol), Kim Callahan (New Haven), Meg Wyatt (Lincoln), Carl Crawford (Ferrisburg), Jon Howell (Lincoln)
