TA News

As we launch the new school year, we are also proudly rolling out a new mission statement for Thetford Academy. The new mission statement, adopted by the TA Board of Trustees in April 2026, was developed during the first phase of our current strategic planning process.

New Mission Statement: Thetford Academy is an independent school with a public purpose. Our mission is to inspire every student to realize their unique potential in an inclusive learning community grounded in academic excellence, innovation, and civic engagement. 

Task Force Process & Community Input

The Board convened a strategic planning task force last fall, which has been meeting monthly and aims to present a fully developed strategic plan later this year. The task force focused their early efforts on a close review of the old mission statement, which was adopted in 2013 as part of the 2013-2018 strategic plan. Last winter they engaged school groups and community members through in-person discussions and an online survey to get to the heart of what we loved and wanted to retain from the old mission statement and to invite new language and insight to best capture the essence of Thetford Academy and our aspirations for the school’s future. 

The mission statement survey was widely publicized on local listservs, home basketball games, at Town Meeting, and through student advisory classes. In addition to sending out the survey link to stakeholders, the task force created flyers with a QR code to maximize participation. With 108 responses, there was robust input for the group. (Responses were analyzed using old-fashioned data crunching methods, as well as with the support of Gemini AI as a tool.)

Next Steps with Strategic Plan

The new mission laid the foundation for the next phase of planning. Now the task force needs to establish the main pillars of the plan and identify goals and action steps within each of the pillars. Input for this stage has included reviewing student and parent annual survey responses from the past three years, engaging the board of trustees at their August retreat, looking back at the goals list from the last accreditation cycle, and assessing the 2020-25 strategic plan for items to carryover. The group will engage the community again this fall to share drafts of the plan before bringing it to the board for adoption. 

Task Force Members

The task force is chaired by current trustee Darin Knaus and includes twelve members, many of whom wear multiple ‘TA hats’. Some of the many stakeholder categories represented by the group include: alumni; current, former, or future TA parent; current or former trustee; student; community member; and employee.

• Sarah Adams, Class of 2001, P 29, former trustee, resident of Strafford
• Carrie Brennan, Head of School, P 26; resident of Thetford
• Molly Dugan-Sullivan, School Counselor, Class of 2001, P 29, 32 resident of Bradford
• Denise Froehlich, P13, 15, former trustee and Thetford School Board member, resident of Thetford
• Marty Jacobs, Trustee, P14, 15, 16,  former Thetford School Board member, resident of Thetford
• Darin Knaus, Trustee, P 24, resident of Lyme
• Siobhan Lopez, Dean of Students, P 11, 13, 16, resident of Strafford
• Ted MacVeagh, P 13, 20, former trustee, former soccer coach, resident of Thetford
• Patty McIlvaine, Director of Advancement, P 24, resident of South Royalton
• Tippi Oshoniyi, Counseling Coordinator, P 26, 28, 31, resident of Thetford
• Madeline Piecuch, Trustee, Class of 2028, resident of Thetford
• Charlotte Rutledge, Thetford Elementary School parent, resident of Thetford
  

To access the current strategic plan (2020-25) and learn more about governance at Thetford Academy, visit the Board of Trustees page on our website: thetfordacademy.org/about-ta/board-of-trustees.