Each fall the University of Vermont’s College of Education and the Vermont Agency of Education team up to honor and celebrate outstanding educators throughout the state who have been nominated by their schools and supervisory unions. Congratulations to Jeff Seabaugh, Thetford Academy’s pick for the 2026 Vermont Outstanding Educator Award!
Jeff came to teaching as a second career after nearly three decades in the New York City theater profession – a career that spanned the industry’s roles, from acting to directing, playwriting to managing, and everything in between. In 2016 he earned a masters in educational theater from the City College of New York and jumped into middle school teaching, gaining early career experience at schools in Manhattan, the Bronx, and Dobbs Ferry, NY. The pandemic brought Jeff and his family to Vermont and that’s how he found his way to Thetford Academy in the fall of 2022.
Jeff’s teaching assignments span Thetford Academy’s middle school and high school levels, teaching introductory drama and chorus to 7th and 8th graders as well as high school courses, including Fall Play, Musical Theater, One Act Play, and Chorus. He adapts skillfully to the range of ages and embraces students from the beginning to advanced levels of the performing arts.
The throughline in all of his teaching is the cohesive and creative learning community he creates in his classes. In this atmosphere of trust and support, students are willing to take the risks they need to explore and perfect their craft. As one student shared, “Mr. Seabaugh creates an amazing environment. It really feels like he wants everyone to be the best versions of themselves and his teaching reflects that.”
Jeff has been able to build on a deep tradition of performing arts at TA that goes back generations and was turbocharged with the addition of the Martha Jane Rich Theater in 2010. Spring musical productions during his tenure have delighted sold-out audiences, with crowd favorites like Grease (2025) and Mamma Mia (2024). This past spring, Jeff and his students floored the community with a professional-level production of Cabaret that many adults claimed was the best high school theatrical performance they had ever seen. In 2025, the drama program performed a moving one-act version of Rue which won the annual Vermont One Act competition and was showcased at the New England festival. And in June 2026, three TA students qualified to participate in the International Thespian Festival in Bloomington, IN.
Head of School Carrie Brennan remarked in her nomination: “Time and again parents come up to me after a performance with a mix of tears and smiles to share gratitude and amazement at the impact Jeff has had on their child. Did their student achieve a new level as a performing artist? Absolutely. But most importantly, their student grew immeasurably in other ways as well – gaining new levels of confidence, commitment, and sense of community.”
Jeff will be recognized at the 46th annual Outstanding Educator Awards celebration on November 4 at the University of Vermont. Congratulations, Jeff, and thank you for your awesome work with students – in the classroom and on the stage – and as a positive presence all around campus!
