IZZY GOGARTY

MIDDLEBURY — Middlebury Union Middle School’s popular and accomplished Wellness educator has resigned from her post, citing the Addison Central School District officials’ denial of her request for four days of professional leave to attend a national health/physical education conference in Baltimore next April 1-5, at which she was slated to be a significant contributor.

Isabel “Izzy” Gogarty, who also serves on the Middlebury selectboard, gave notice on Oct. 29. The ACSD board formally accepted her decision at its Monday, Nov. 11, meeting.

“A national organization selected me to present my research and keynote at a regional session,” she stated in her resignation letter. “I provided the district with eight months notice and ensured the availability of my teaching assistant and colleagues’ availability for my classes on those (conference) days. It is disappointing that it is in this circumstance that I leave the district.”

Gogarty acknowledged the district’s denial of her leave request wasn’t “personal.”

District Superintendent Wendy Baker served notice back on Aug. 27 that the ACSD would need to continue a strict policy on professional leave requests that had been instituted by her predecessor, Tim Williams. The reason: ACSD, along with other school districts statewide, is dealing with an extreme shortage of substitute teachers. As a result, the ACSD central office, in collaboration with building principals, created new guidelines “to determine priority for and the equitable distribution of professional leave approval, should a request take place while school is in session,” according to Baker’s Aug. 27 memo.

Guideline four on the list: “Requests to attend national, regional or statewide networking or professional development events may be approved pending other demands for substitutes.”

Baker, in an email exchange, elaborated on the difficult denial of Gogarty’s request.

“Our limited substitute roster does not allow us to approve professional development leave requests at the rate we would like, particularly those that involve multiple days. Professionals across ACSD are outstanding educators and many provide leadership within their fields. ACSD is in our second year of approving professional leave requests cautiously, and we look forward to lifting professional leave restrictions for all ACSD employees as soon as conditions allow.”

That’s provided little solace for Gogarty, who had hoped to share the success of MUMS’s wellness curriculum with a national audience.

While she said she realizes the denial “was a district-wide decision, rooted in a shortage of substitute teachers,” she was disappointed to see the ACSD apply “a blanket policy across all schools, which unfortunately did not allow for flexibility or a case-by-case consideration of the specific situation in the middle school, specifically my classroom.”

She added she believes the policy “does not fully consider the individual needs and abilities of schools or the potential for equitable solutions in unique cases like mine.”

As the ACSD recruits a new Wellness educator, Gogarty is readying for her new job as part of the Vermont Chamber of Commerce Programming Team. There, she’ll reunite with a familiar face — former Better Middlebury Partnership Director Karen Duguay, who currently serves as the Chamber’s senior director of programming. Gogarty said she and Duguay will plan/lead a variety of Chamber events, including the Vermont Manufacturing Summit, the Vermont Economic Conference, Industry and Tourism Economy Day at the Statehouse, and various professional development and social events for Vermont businesses.

“I will also lead the implementation of the Vermont edition of the National Civics Bee, guiding its development and execution to inspire young Vermonters to engage in civics and contribute to their communities,” Gogarty said. “This initiative will foster civic literacy, skills and participation, empowering students across the state to become informed and active citizens.”

Gogarty will continue to support statewide health and physical education initiatives as president of SHAPE Vermont. She’ll work with the Agency of Education, leading elementary health education teams and supporting the implementation of the updated National Health Education Standards, set to roll out in Fall 2025.

Perhaps most important to her shire town constituents, Gogarty will remain on the Middlebury selectboard, coach middle school field hockey, and still run her weekly collaborative lunch group between MUMS students, the Addison Central Teens center, and Ilsley Library Teen Librarian Kathryn Laliberte.

She believes her Chamber work will make her a more effective selectboard member.

“(It) will provide valuable insights that I can apply directly to my role on the selectboard, helping me advocate for policies that foster local economic growth and sustainability. Voters can expect to see me on the ballot again in March as I have loved my time on the selectboard, leading with curiosity and sharing what I learn with young people and families in the community.”

ACSD board members on Monday lamented Gogarty’s impending MUMS exit. Her last classroom day at the school is Nov. 22.

“I’ve heard a lot of parents voicing their dismay about Izzy’s resignation,” board member Tricia Allen said. “It’s really a blow to the middle school. It’s going to be tough.”

Reporter John Flowers is at [email protected].