A Visit to Bradford Elementary School
If knowledge is power, then Bradford Elementary School (BES) in Bradford, VT, is a community power plant. In a year where conversations with educators often center on uncertainty—from budget constraints to policy shifts—BES offers a different story: one of joy, engagement, and the steady power of a community dedicated to its students.
I recently visited BES to check in with Principal Edith Fogarty (UVEI ‘24 PIP graduate) and her team. Within the front office, behind the classroom doors, and in the hallways, I witnessed a community where learning isn’t just for the students—it’s the daily business for everyone.
The People Behind the Power
So, what does leading and learning actually look like at BES? It doesn’t take too much effort to see a team of experts who know their building and community inside and out.
A warm welcome from the front office typically starts any visit to BES, where I was greeted by Family & Community Coordinator Darlene Sanborn, who makes it her mission to get to know as many members of the Bradford community as possible. Darlene is joined by Administrative Assistant Sara Welch, who wields her knowledge and expertise of all things BES-related.
Critical thinking in the classroom is the norm at BES, not an exception. In Jenny Albright’s 6th-grade room, students engage in deep dialogue across subjects, supported by literacy interventionist Judy Slack, who sits right among them to help apply critical analysis to their discussions.
A culture of growth is yet another norm and guides much of the work of the BES team. School counselor Robin Amber talks enthusiastically about the course she’s taking that connects the science of reading to the role of student content knowledge that begets more knowledge, and also wants to hear about what other teachers are learning. Nearby, 5th-grade teacher Jess Loeffler and math interventionist Amy Hayward can be found huddled over a table analyzing student data, constantly adjusting their teaching to improve outcomes. Fourth-grade teacher Wanda Vaughan (Literacy’25 and MEd’26) is eager to move her action research forward as she seeks to explore how vocabulary instruction can support comprehension.
A deep working knowledge of the school building itself is required for all of the amazing teaching and learning to occur, and nobody knows the building better than Fred Tougas, Building Operations Supervisor. Fred not only knows the building inside and out, but also each staff member and student.
Leadership That Inspires and Empowers
With so much happening all at once, how does it all come together? The answer: effective leadership, and this is where Edith, BES’s leader and a recent alum of UVEI’s Principal Intern Program, really shines. Amidst school challenges, including budgetary pressures and the uncertainty of possible consolidation with other smaller schools, the work being done by the school community is something to celebrate. Edith shares, for example, that the data indicate steady and continued growth and achievement of BES’s students over the past few years.
This all makes sense when I consider what I witnessed during my visit. Collectively, the school functions with a clear purpose and focused direction, a high level of adult collaboration, a sense of mutual accountability, and knowing that learning is the business of the day…for both students and adults alike. When I ask Edith how she accomplishes this with BES, her response was simple and straightforward:
I want to make sure that the adults in the building know that they have permission to do what they know how to do best: support our students.
The school’s motto reflects everything I witnessed—A Community of Learners Empowered Through Experience—and “learners” clearly includes the students and the adults with whom they work. At Bradford Elementary, it’s clear that when educators are empowered to lead, students are the ones who truly shine.
Adam Norwood is a faculty coach in UVEI’s Principal Intern Program and, not entirely coincidentally, was the principal at Bradford Elementary School in the past.
