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We serve Vermonters in grades 6 12 who have struggled in typical school settings.Our students have complex needs due to: Emotional DisturbanceLearning DisabilitiesAutism Spectrum DisorderTraumatic Brain InjuryOther Health ImpairmentsOur belief is that time spent in our environment can address some of these difficulties through a student-centered experience focusing on both educational learning and life skills.Through partnerships with school districts, we expand on and enhance the educational opportunities available to students.
We offer students hope for a positive middle school and high school experience and a brighter future.We support students who have not found success in typical classroom settings.
They struggle to fit in socially and academically, have difficulties managing the day-to-day demands of the school day, and often require more support than is available to them.Many of our students have tried a variety of adaptive or alternative programs with limited success.
We are equipped to serve students with learning disabilities, emotional disturbances, Autism Spectrum Disorder, or who have traumatic brain injuries or other combinations of cognitive or behavioral issues.
The Mill School is an Vermont Agency of Education
Approvedindependent school serving middle school andhigh
school students inWinooski, VT.We offer a personalized
education program in a small setting.We are relentlessly
optimistic and help our students build a positive future for
themselves.We prepare students for a future after
school.We recognize and appreciate the difference in each
student and work to develop a plan based on the student's strengths
and interests.Preparing learners for life...no matter
what.
A community of individuals committed to supporting students to
become the people they hope to beWe focus on building
relationships with students and families. Weplace an emphasis
on buildingrelationships first so that we can have the hard
conversations whenwe need to,andtohelp
young people learn resilience and how to maintain effort when
things get hard.We are patient. We focus on the long-term. This
gives us lots of flexibility to develop student specific approaches
andto adjustas needed.We believe that behavior is
everybody's business. All staff are prepared to deliver positive
behavior supports content area teachers, special education
teachers, and clinical staff - and we all help students who
demonstrate behavioral difficulties. We do not have behavior
interventionists or individuals whose sole job is to address
behaviors.We apply an approach we havedescribed
as"structured flexibility".The school
isorganizedaroundaframework for approaching
students who struggle(all of our young
people)thatincludepredictable routines of
interaction, the development of routines to manage changes in
routines,andthe integrated and conversational use
ofself-regulatory scripts. Weuse thisframework
tomake necessary adjustments tomeet the individual
needs of each student.We are a warm and welcoming place that
embraces humor with everyone. We are serious about
ourwork,but wedo nottake ourselves too
seriously. This means we have fun each day. We laugh with students.
We help young people learn healthy humor and fun.We believe our job
is to help young people to learn how to
begoodpeople,so we focus on social cognition,
understanding and developing positive relationships, and
self-advocacy. In addition,we help young people to learn key
skills necessary to be successful in work settings including
showing up on time, following yourbosses'directions, getting
along with your work peers, and working when
youdon'tfeel like working.We have one rule:
"nonagreculus". Translated fromLatinthis
means "Do not be an asshole."It isour only rule. The
young people get it. Their families get it.Youdo
notneed a lot of other rules.We combine rigorous academics in
a classroom setting with experiential learning in the community and
we have fun doing it.In addition to didactic classroom
activities, our students ski and bike and skateboard to gain an
applied understanding the laws of physics, they kayak and hike and
clear brush to understand biology and earth science, they help out
at Ronald McDonald House and the local animal shelter to learn
empathy.We have flexible pathways to earning credit. Our program is
proficiency-based so we can be creative about methods of
demonstrating mastery of the content needed to earn a diploma and
we work with the student's home district to help convert
proficiencies to credits when needed.We do not suspend
students.We do not put our hands on young people. When
something gets broken whether it is a door, a glass,a
dish,awall,or the relationship with another
person the student who caused the break will repair it. Our
approach is restorative and positive.We feed our students. A lot.
We have clothes when they, or a family member needs them, and a
washer a dryer so they can wash their own clothes. We have a shower
as well.Many of our students struggle with drug use and addiction.
We approach these difficulties using a progressive harm reduction
approach. This means we work to help them identify the roots of
their useand to figure out how to overcome the impulse to
use.We spend hourstraining our staff in a variety of
domains that are often not associated with school. Specific, and
ongoing, trainings include trauma-informed supports, understanding
mental health, helpingstudents to learn self-control,
creating learned optimism by avoiding learned helplessness, poverty
and its effects on education, and Bayesian analysis and education
program development and a host of other topics.
Source: Verified school update
Frequently Asked Questions
When is the application deadline for Mill School (the)?
The application deadline for Mill School (the) is rolling (applications are reviewed as they are received year-round).
Discover how middle鈥慽ncome families are affording private school tuition in 2026 with scholarships, budgeting, financial planning, and emerging support strategies.
The average private school tuition in Chittenden County, VT is $17,659 for elementary schools and $30,013 for high schools (read more about average private school tuition across the country).
