TA News

The Thetford Academy Board of Trustees plays an important governance leadership role by setting policy, providing strategic direction, and ensuring accountability to the Academy’s mission. The group is made up of up to 21 community volunteers who bring a variety of areas of professional expertise and TA stakeholder representation to the table.

The newest cohort of trustees, who started their terms in July 2025, include Peter Jenkinson of Post Mills, VT; and two student representatives, Sam Parkman ’26, of Chelsea, VT and Madeline Piecuch ’28, of Thetford, VT.

• Peter Jenkinson: Peter and his family live in Post Mills, Vermont. With a toddler at home, Peter looks forward to having a Panther at TA in the future. Peter is an educator by trade and has led programs at Dartmouth College’s Dickey Center for International Understanding for over eight years. Peter serves on the Board’s Management Committee, which oversees governance matters, including policy development and trustee recruitment.
• Sam Parkman: Sam joined the TA Board in his senior year as one of the inaugural student trustees. Sam is an active student leader, a three-season athlete, and a strong academic student. Sam is from Chelsea, VT and is in the good company of a number of siblings and cousins who are currently at TA or who have graduated in recent years from his extended Hayward/Parkman family.
• Madeline Piecuch: Maddie is a sophomore and, like Sam, is leading the way as a student trustee during the program’s pilot year. As a Thetford resident, Maddie has attended TA since her 7th grade year, and has accomplished a lot thus far in her first four years at the school. She is a three-season runner, she competes on the school’s debate team, is a member of the ODW club, and is an outstanding student. Outside of school, Maddie also raises and rides horses.

The TA Board updated its bylaws last year to incorporate membership of student representatives, nominated and selected by the school’s student council. This has been an important pilot year and learning experience, and the Board is grateful to have Sam and Maddie lead the way.

Chair Ashley Woo will wrap up her 4-year term (serving in the past two years in the leadership role) in June 2026. The Board recently approved Chris Leitao as the next chair, and he will take on that role July 1. Francine A’ness, Erin Boyd, and Paul Mutone will continue in their officer positions of vice chair, clerk, and treasurer for the coming year.

• Chris Leitao, Chair-Elect: Chris is a resident of Post Mills, VT, the father of two children in the Thetford Schools (TES and TA), and a project engineer with Turner Construction Company. When Chris and his family relocated to Vermont in 2019, they intentionally chose Thetford, in part, because of the schools. Chris is an active community volunteer, having served on the board of his children’s preschool in the past and currently also serving on the Treasure Island Committee, in addition to being on the TA Board.

Visit the TA website, thetfordacademy.org/about-ta/board-of-trustees, to view the complete list of trustees, learn more about the role of the TA Board, and access meeting agendas and other governance-related documents. The Board is busy recruiting its next cohort of trustees; community members interested in learning more can fill out this form.