The Sharon Academy

"The mission of The Sharon Academy is to nurture intelligent, independent, and creative thinking in a small school community, awakening students to their immense potential and the difference they can make in the world." 

Highlighting TSA's Core Values

• Small Classes: Our classes are small and intimate: 8-18 students in each class.
• Vibrant Relationships: Relationships between students and staff go beyond the typical school hierarchy. Teachers come to know the whole student, inside and outside the classroom; they are not only educators, they are friends, confidants, and mentors as well. Each student is also assigned an advisor who is responsible for monitoring a student’s academic, social, and emotional wellbeing throughout the school year. They also engage the parents and students in dialog through at least two conferences a year.
• Parent Involvement: Parents are an integral part of our community – from shuffling students to and from school or games in a carpool, to volunteering at Parent Work Days, assisting in the office, designing school publications, helping at sporting events, organizing the annual Gala, and chaperoning our students across the country and world – TSA parents are essential to our continual success.
• Empowered Learners: Between weekly “Annuncios”, democratic “All School Meetings”, and the encouraging nature of our environment, students are empowered in the decision making process at TSA.
• Community Service: In order to give back to our community and to foster the value of hardwork and service, all students are required to complete 40 hours of community service every year as a graduation requirement.
• Safe Environment: TSA strives to be a physically, socially and emotionally safe environment for all students. Developing respect, compassion and cooperation is an important focus of every school day.
• Mixed Groupings: The middle school structures its program and schedule so that the forty students interact as a whole community. Class groupings are reshuffled every six weeks and whole school projects are common. The high school's curriculum also seeks to mix students across grade levels. 9^th and 10^th grade students are mixed together in their literature and social studies classes, 11^th and 12^th are combined as well, and no classes, other than mathematics, are ability-based. The annual musical in the high school and circus in the middle school are also great formats for community building.
• Group Work: Students are frequently asked to collaborate in classrooms. All school meetings are held weekly and group projects are the norm at both the high school and middle school. 

• Exhibitions: High School Students are required to complete and present two Research Exhibitions that contain a written, visual and oral component. The Exhibition process provides a forum for students to exhibit the strength of their research, writing, and presenting capabilities and helps equip them for undergraduate work and future employment.
• Student Leadership: At TSA we believe that all students have the ability to make a difference in the world around them. That is why part of our mission is to "awaken students to their immense potential and the difference they can make in the world." How do we do that? One way is to empower our students to take leadership roles and find their voice in our community. At TSA, students are encouraged to do everything from teaching their own elective class, to organizing school trips, leading extracurricular activities, serving as captains on sport teams, and spearheading almost all aspects of the all-school musical. In the middle school, the combined 7^th -8^th grade structure fosters a leadership role for the eighth grade students. At the end of the 7^th grade year, students begin thinking of themselves as being next in line to take a leadership position in the school. Work at Hulbert Outdoor Center at the end of the 7^th grade year prepares students for this role and Connections class reinforces and supports the notion of eighth graders as the role models. Specific examples of Student Leadership at TSA
• Unique Curriculum: Curriculum at The Sharon Academy focuses on quality over quantity, seeking to encourage further interest and exploration in specific areas. The middle school program operates on a two year cycle in which 7th and 8th graders are grouped together in multi-age classrooms, taught with an integrated curriculum both across and within disciplines. Language Arts, Science, Social Studies, and Art collectively explore the central themes of each year, and the curriculum is further integrated with each discipline to look at the theme from a variety of perspectives. This same model is incorporated in the curriculum between the 9^th and 10^th grade literature and social studies courses, and while the 11^th and 12^th grade literature and history curriculum remain separate to encourage further expertise within the specific subject, the curriculum between disciplines is complementary.

• All School Musical: Each academic year, for two weeks, The Sharon Academy high school transforms into its own theater production company in order to produce and perform an all school musical! Students often take the lead in most aspects of the show: the choreography, chorus, band, sets, lighting, costumes, and sound are often all led by students.
• All School Circus: Each year, for two weeks a visiting performance artist works with the middle school to produce and perform an all school circus! The regular school schedule is altered, and everyone commits their time and energy to learning stunts, writing scripts, acting, singing, arranging music, advertising, designing props and creating side show games to entertain the over 300 people who come to this event every year.
• Art Program: TSA believes artistic expression should be a daily practice. In the middle school, students attend art class for two hours every week, and art is integrated into the core curriculum. At the high school, students have a wide variety of art options available to them; offering instruction in oil painting, architecture, cartooning, textiles, photography, quilting, sculpture, silk painting (to mention but a few) every student at TSA is bound to find a venue for self-expression.
• Innovation in Energy: Our senior science class spends every year exploring a specific topic concerning energy in Vermont. These annual topics are always explored in depth and result in a significant project that will eventually serve as a catalyst for community discussion and action toward energy efficiency. In the past, seniors have presented their findings in front of the Vermont Legislature and have made their information available for the local community.
• Thursday Night Cafe: Every other month, TSA hosts an all school performance night to feature any student, teacher, or parent who wants to perform. Acts might include playing a piece on the violin, acting out a silly skit, reciting a poem, or tap dancing. The stage is open, the food is good, and the community is completely supportive. 

• Team oriented sports: Offering six varsity sports, two junior varsity sports and three sports at the middle school level, The Sharon Academy has a competitive athletic program that focuses on team work and the dynamic between fun and hard work. With great coaches and fabulous facilities, including a tournament size gym, TSA encourages physical health and sportsmanship within the entire student body. All students are encouraged to play regardless of previous experience.
• Study Abroad: TSA sponsors the study abroad program: Vermont Intercultural Semesters, sending students to Ladakh, India for a semester. Students have also traveled to Canada, the United Kingdom, Italy, Spain, France, Costa Rica, the Dominican Republic, and Belize on school trips.
• Environmental Action: The Sharon Academy seeks to be a leader in sustainability and environmental awareness. While our curriculum often incorporates these values, our students have also taken leadership roles toward environmental action outside of the classroom. Every year at the middle school, students choose one practice to modify at the school in order to reduce their environmental impact. Examples from past years include: eliminating all solid waste at 8^th grade graduation celebrations and dances, eliminating the use of all disposable cups and disposable eating utensils during the school day, composting all food waste and keeping the thermostat turned down.