Wendy Baker

This story was updated on Thursday, November 30.

MIDDLEBURY — The Addison Central School District will have a new superintendent beginning July 1, 2024: Wendy Baker.

She is currently an independent grant writer and business owner who has a wealth of experience leading school and educational institutions in Vermont, New York and New Hampshire.

Baker spent the first 20 years of her career serving Vermont public schools, including a stint as a tutor within the Chittenden County Correctional Center, as a humanities teacher, a school improvement specialist within the Vermont Department of Education, a middle school principal (at People’s Academy in Morrisville), and as superintendent of the Orange East Supervisory Union in Bradford, Vt.

Most recently (in 2022 through March 2023), Baker was director of development at the Meadowmount School of Music in Westport, N.Y., and was vice president of institutional advancement at Clinton Community College in Plattsburgh, N.Y. (2020-2022).

She and her husband, Rich, own the Corner Store Bookshop in Plattsburgh.

Currently a Plattsburgh, N.Y., resident, Baker was one of three finalists for the ACSD superintendency, vacated this past June by Peter Burrows, who left after a decade-long stint to lead the Milton, Mass., public schools. Tim Williams is serving out this academic year as interim ACSD superintendent. He was hired after the board’s initial search this past spring failed to yield a permanent replacement whom the board could endorse.

The appointment of Baker — whose credentials include a Doctor of Education in Educational Leadership and Public Policy from UVM, and graduate degrees from Dartmouth College and the Harvard Institute for Educational Leadership — was the ACSD board’s final action at the end of an about 3.5-hour meeting on Monday that included lengthy discussions about the district’s fiscal year 2025 budget (see related story) and a new strategic plan.

Baker told the Independent on Tuesday that the opportunity to serve in this type of position doesn’t come along often, and she is humbled by the board’s selection to hire her. 

“This is both an exciting and critical time for the district,” Baker said. “The newly drafted strategic plan provides timely and important guidance, focusing our collective attention on the success of each ACSD student. I look forward to moving this work forward, and I’m delighted at the invitation to join the district’s talented team.  

“In the coming months, I hope to have many opportunities to engage with ACSD’s schools, partners, teachers and staff, students, families, and leaders as the schedule of transition activities unfolds.”

The Independent will conduct a more comprehensive interview with Baker after she gets settled in next year.

Barb Wilson, chair of the ACSD board, called Baker “a multigenerational Vermonter with 30 years of demonstrated success supporting students, teachers, schools and leaders to achieve at high levels.”

The ACSD board issued the following statement following its unanimous endorsement of Baker to lead the preK-12 district, which serves children in Bridport, Cornwall, Middlebury, Ripton, Salisbury, Shoreham and Weybridge:

“The ACSD board is thrilled to welcome Dr. Baker to the district and is looking forward to bringing her skills and experience to the benefit of ACSD students and educators.”

Judy Sclair-Stein from McPherson & Jacobson helped the ACSD board evaluate 15 applicants from across the country for the district’s top administrative job. Evaluators determined six of the 15 hopefuls deserved further scrutiny. After one of those six dropped out for personal reasons, officials narrowed the remaining five down to three, each of whom submitted to a full day, onsite visit/interview, held on Nov. 13, 14 and 15.

The board chose to conduct a closed search process, deviating from what had been a long history of open searches for its top administrative officials. Baker’s identity wasn’t disclosed until she’d agreed to take the job, and her two competitors haven’t — and won’t be — publicly identified.

District stakeholders were invited to question the three finalists during their onsite visits, providing they maintained strict confidentiality.

“The board would like to thank the more than 45 individuals who took time out of their busy schedules to participate in three days of stakeholder meetings,” the board statement reads. “These groups included parents, community leaders, school administrators, teachers, support staff and students. Their feedback on each of the three finalists was essential in helping the board select the best candidate for ACSD.”

Wilson, during a brief Tuesday morning phone interview, said she was impressed with the quality of all three finalists.

“Any of them could have done the job,” she said. “They all had the credentials.”

But Baker, according to Wilson, stood out for exuding an air of approachability.

Wilson said she could imagine Baker communicating equally well with any ACSD constituents.

“She has a welcoming, relaxed demeanor about her,” Wilson said.

The board also appreciated Baker’s demonstrated commitment to equity in education, a priority outlined in a new ACSD strategic plan that will come up for approval in December.

“(Baker’s) passion is deeply rooted in social justice and equity,” reads the ACSD’s press release on Baker’s hiring. “Alongside her full-time roles, she has sought to gain perspective across cultural contexts as a consultant with more than 50 diverse organizations across the United States, in Liverpool, England, and in Johannesburg, South Africa. Since 2013, she has developed and taught graduate coursework and advised doctoral research in equitable teaching and leadership practices, socially just public policy, and positive organizational development.”

Baker will have no shortage of tasks to keep her busy when she takes the ACSD’s reins next summer. It’s a to-do list that will include keeping the district fully staffed during a challenging hiring market and helping the board prioritize a lengthy list of deferred maintenance repairs and upgrades to ACSD school buildings — a multi-million investment that will require a bond vote.

Reporter John Flowers is at [email protected].