Building renovations, new staff make for exciting start at Vermilion Country School

TOWER- Vermilion Country School was all set to welcome their students on Sept. 5, with new staff and a newly renovated school building. Gone are the high ceilings and open nature of the former manufacturing facility, replaced by new separated classrooms, a lowered ceiling, and all new LED lighting and new windows that allow students and staff to finally see outside.
A new heating and cooling system is coming later this fall.
While the updated facility is the most noticeable change this year, new staff at the school could ultimately have the biggest impact on the students’ educational experience.
The school has hired two new teachers, in math and special ed, plus two new full-time licensed student support staff, including social worker Muriel Deegan and student success counselor Jackie Riding.
Sam O’Brien, who started working part-time at the school last winter, is now working full-time as the school director and science teacher. His background includes teaching visual arts, math, and science, as well as outdoor and experiential education. He has taught at charter schools and has worked with homeless youth as well. He spent eight years teaching at Great River School, a charter school in St. Paul before becoming the school’s director for another eight years. O’Brien recently moved to Ely with his two teens, both of whom attend VCS, and a younger child, who started in the fifth grade at Tower-Soudan Elementary this week. He recently became a board member at Northern Lakes Arts Association, where he has taken on the treasurer role, and also volunteers as a coach for the mountain bike club at Hidden Valley as well as for the TS Elementary soccer program.
“School should help young people be excited about their adult life,” he said.
Orientation
The first two weeks at VCS will focus on building teamwork and group work skills. One big goal, said O’Brien, is for all the kids to learn each other by name and to learn how to support each other.
“We are creating a strong support system for our kids,” he said, “so they know they belong. Academic achievement is shown to go up when everyone knows each other’s names.”
Orientation week activities will include a trip to Voyageurs National Park to go canoeing in Voyageur canoes, community service projects, hands-on construction projects at the school, as well as plenty of active time outdoors.
New staff and
programming
O’Brien has written several successful grant applications to increase staffing at VCS this year.
The student success counselor Jackie Riding will be focusing on supporting individual students, helping them make plans for after graduation, and working to help students gain college credit for work while still in high school, as well as gaining other experience needed to be successful after leaving VCS.
Riding has worked part-time in the ADAPT program at VCS the last two years and she is happy to be at this school full-time this year.
Special education social worker Muriel Deegan will be supporting the families of the school’s American Indian students, co-teaching an Ojibwe culture class, supporting students who wish to study Ojibwe, as well as working as the school social worker.
A third new position, not yet hired, is the result of a successful Stronger Connections Grant. This funding will be used to offer Indigenous education to all students for the next three years. The grant funds a full-time position, as well as field trips and other resources. Plans for this year include taking students out to harvest and process wild rice, maple sugaring, making moccasins, and teaching 1854 history in the upper-level social studies class. The school will be bringing in instructors, many from Bois Forte, to teach electives and seminars. As part of a world languages class, Ojibwe will be offered as a for-credit class.
Muriel Deegan, who most recently worked as a social worker at Tower-Soudan Elementary, is excited to be working at VCS. She will be working with special education paraprofessional Michelle Maki teaching the Ojibwe Culture elective. In her social worker role she will be a supportive liaison between students, homes, family services, protective services, and the school. She will also provide counseling and work with students and families on social/emotional topics.
New math teacher Amy Hendrickson is no stranger to charter schools. She helped found the East Range Academy of Arts and Technology in Eveleth back in 2006, where she worked as both a teacher and director. This will be her 28th year teaching.
“I really like the approach of this school,” she said.
She said O’Brien and his leadership style is a great fit for VCS. “This is not a traditional school,” she said. “You need someone not leading by a traditional model.”
Special education teacher Marjorie Wood has come out of retirement to take on a full-time role. Many students will be familiar with her as she was a substitute teacher last year.
“Our team is here to serve our students,” she said. “I really like having the kids know that when they are here, it is a safe place and we are here to help.”
Wood had a grandson enrolled at VCS previously and was a member of the school board.
But with the new learning spaces and new director “it feels like we are walking into a whole new era, starting on the ground floor and creating what we want this school to become.”
“I feel like I’ve been preparing for this position all my life,” she said. Wood’s teaching experience was previously at the college level, and she also worked in high tech, with Honeywell.
“My generation of adults might get the world to stop thinking of retirement,” she said. “We are still useful. What better thing to do than contribute to our young people.”
She and her late husband Michael raised four of her grandchildren, and she has plenty of real world experience on the parent side of special education.
“I know how to be an advocate,” she said.
Language arts/music/art teacher Karin Schmidt is back, as well as social studies teacher and school chef Chris Glazer. Paraprofessionals Michelle Maki and Amy Heglund are back, and the school is now looking for one additional full-time special education paraprofessionals (high school diplomas required, and background check).
The school provides high quality breakfast and lunch free for all students. Transportation is provided from Tower/Soudan/Lake Vermilion, Ely, Embarrass/Babbitt, Quad Cities, with a new transportation option for students from Nett Lake and Cook through Big Woods Transportation. The school still has a few remaining openings for new students, especially in the seventh and eighth grades, with more limited openings in grades 9-12. See www.vermilioncountry.org or email info@vermilioncountry.org for an enrollment packet or school visit information.