There’s no need to wait. The Taconic and Green School Board voted last November to merge the K-5 elementary students from The Dorset School, Currier Memorial School, and Sunderland Elementary into one location for the 2026-27 school year. While the new program opens its doors at Dorset in the Fall, students, parents, and staff are already taking steps to build a vibrant community of learning.
“Our teachers started to brainstorm plans for the merger almost immediately after the decision to consolidate was finalized,” says Bennington-Rutland Supervisory Union Superintendent Randi Lowe. “Parent groups at all three schools are starting to network and activities are underway to bring the families and kids together. The plan is to hit the ground running long before the start of the next school year.”
A winter brainstorming session of the Dorset Parent Volunteers (DPV) identified an early opportunity to start building a new community. “We were already planning a Saturday Movie Night for Dorset families at the end of January,” says Bri LeClerc, President of the DPV. “As we started work on the event we asked, why not invite the kids and parents from Currier and Sunderland to join us?”
Some 200 gathered at the Dorset Playhouse on a freezing night recently for a special viewing of “Zootopia” with lots of popcorn and concessions. Families from all three schools, with many of the kids dressed in pajamas, joined in the fun.
The schools and parent groups are now busy creating more and more get-togethers in the months to come.
In February, for example, two afternoons have been set aside for sledding parties on the hill near the athletic field at Burr and Burton Academy. On Friday, February 6th, students in grades K-2 hit the slope with grades 3-5 set to convene on Friday the 13th.
For the first excursion, a guidance counselor at Currier encouraged her students to come back with one new friend’s name. On the bus ride home, the kids were asked if they had met their assignment and everyone gave a thumbs up. When queried to find out if anyone had two names, more than half the students gave two thumbs up.
“This is exactly what we had in mind when we started this process,” says Currier Principal Carolyn Parillo, who will be the Principal at the merged school in Dorset in the Fall. “Bringing these three schools together opens new doors and creates wonderful learning and relationship opportunities for our kids. We can’t wait to get started."
And there are signs that excitement held up for the students, as well. As the first sledding party came to an end, one youngster called out to another, “See you next year!”
(Photo above: K-2 students from Currier, Sunderland and The Dorset School gather at Burr and Burton Academy for a winter sledding party.)
Hot chocolate keeps spirits high at the K-2 sledding party at BBA.
This February two afternoons have been set aside for sledding parties on the hill near the athletic field at Burr and Burton Academy for students and staff from Currier Memorial, Sunderland Elementary, and The Dorset School.