RIPTON — A successful reconciliation effort between Ripton parents and their local educators will allow the community’s elementary school to continue as a K-5 learning hub — at least for now.

Only last week (Sept. 16), the Addison Central School District board discussed the prospect of transferring of the school’s two kindergartners and three first-graders to more populated schools outside of town. But the board decided to postpone its decision until this past Monday, Sept. 23, to see if a controversial K-1-2 multi-age class at Ripton Elementary School (RES) could be saved through diplomacy.

The class had drawn criticism from some parents concerned about how such a wide age-range of students could get their individual educational needs met. Pushback from some of the parents culminated in the resignations on Sept. 16 of K-1-2 teacher Melissa Giroux and RES Principal Megan Cheresnick.

But Ripton parents and community members — fearing that removing two grades from a school with only 39 total students would bring RES closer to shuttering for lack of enrollment — met with school officials last week to repair frayed relationships and preserve the K-1-2 class.

Wendy Baker, superintendent of the ACSD, reported at Monday’s district board meeting that the Ripton talks were successful. She confirmed that Giroux has withdrawn her resignation and will continue to teach the K-1-2 class.

“There’s been nothing short of a heroic effort on the part of the Ripton community and RES staff to find ways to come together to put to rest the issues that brought the circumstances before you, when we really had reached an unworkable point,” said Baker, who was at the center of the reconciliation talks.

“We will continue to monitor the situation to make sure it continues as everyone expects,” she added.

While Giroux has decided to remain with RES, Cheresnick has not. Baker said ACSD central office will provide administrative support pending the hiring of a new, half-time-equivalent principal for the Ripton school.

Ripton residents can breathe a collective sigh of relief now that their K-5 school will remain intact for another academic year. But RES’s long-term viability remains tenuous, based on short-term enrollment forecasts. Baker noted that barring an influx of children, RES is looking at around 28 students next fall.

“I was able to meet with some Ripton community members (last week) who understand that we’ve got to do some thinking outside of the box here, as to how to move forward,” Baker said. “I’m interested to know the work that the Ripton community has done in terms of thinking about ways we could bring the school forward, perhaps differently, as we move forward.”

Monday’s ACSD board meeting drew several Ripton residents who spoke in support of their school. One of them, Millard Cox, urged board members to place a two-year moratorium on closing any ACSD schools or transferring grades from one district school to another.

Cox lamented the fact that RES’s enrollment challenges have gone beyond declining enrollment. The school lost its PreK program around seven years ago. And in 2021, Middlebury Union Middle School absorbed all of ACSD’s sixth-grade population as part of the district’s transition to an International Baccalaureate curriculum. And now, grades K and 1 are hanging in the balance.

“To me, over time, I feel like the school is being emptied out,” Cox said. “It gives me anxiety, because I’m thinking that if the emptying out continues, it will be a way to close our school.”

Ripton resident Michele Fay agreed with Cox’s moratorium suggestion, saying such a grace period could give small towns more time to make their small schools more viable.

“Small schools need time and space to ensure that their children can continue to learn and grow in their own communities, with the support of those community members who value their local schools so greatly,” she said.

Sierra Thornton, who teaches physical education at RES and two other ACSD schools, said she’s been impressed with the caring atmosphere she’s witnessed at the Ripton School. She and other RES stakeholders said it’s been interesting to see the dynamics of the K-1-2 class, where younger children have been looking up to the second-graders, and the older kids have been taking responsibility for their younger peers.

“Ripton emulates a feeling of home and comfort,” she said.

John Flowers is at [email protected].