Local trans community and allies rally against book ban

Individually and in small groups they filed into the Middlebury Union High School Library on Monday evening, preparing to bare their souls to an Addison Central School District board that could, in the near future, field a request by two Middlebury parents to ban seven books used at Mary Hogan Elementary to broaden kindergarteners’ understanding of gender-identity themes.

Leading off the front page in today’s Addison Independent is a blaring headline with two stories about two parents who have asked the Mary Hogan Elementary School to ban five books that teach gender issues to kindergarten students.

As owner of an independent bookstore in Henderson, Nev., and someone raised in Middlebury, I read with interest the article about some parents who want to “ban” certain books from being presented to kindergarten age students.

I recently heard that there is a small group of parents asking for certain types of books to be banned from the Mary Hogan School, and that the issue will be put before the school board soon.

Two Mary Hogan Elementary School parents are challenging gender-related books that are being used to educate kindergarten students at the Middlebury school.

Middlebury’s Mary Hogan Elementary School is getting creative with its staffing to mitigate the impacts of a major, ongoing shortage of paraeducators.

In fair Verona we know too well the desperate tragedy that befalls “two households both alike in dignity” — ah, yes, good ol’ “Romeo and Juliet.” But what does that play look like when you transport it to the classroom of fourth- and fifth-graders?

A program run through the Middlebury College Center for Community Engagement is helping local elementary students add another key skill to their toolkit — cooking.

Led by instructor Nick Cantrick, the high school students constructed a lean-to and outdoor kitchen for the preschool playground.

On behalf of the entire staff at Mary Hogan, I would like to express our deep appreciation to MESA for all they do on behalf of the Mary Hogan Community.

Mary Hogan Elementary School teachers have asked the Addison Central School District board for more resources — and to preserve a key, student-discipline position that’s slated to be cut this summer — in response to a growing number of student behavior is … (read more)

Elias Urang delivered a master class in social justice and the democratic process at Monday’s Addison Central School District board meeting. And he’s only 9 years old.

A recent spate of teacher illnesses and a persistent lack of substitute educators and paraprofessionals has prompted Mary Hogan Elementary School to ask the Addison Central School District central office and the community at large to help solve its workfo … (read more)

As we think back to the challenges and successes of the past few years, MESA has been in our corner every step of the way.

As she approaches her 69th birthday, Shoreham’s Diane Bolduc has seen and done a lot — most of it associated with farming and her passion for seeing young children thrive in the classroom, something she’s done for decades as a paraeducator at Middlebury’s … (read more)