Union 32 High School

U 32 High School known most officially as Union High School District No. 32 is in East Montpelier, Vermont, United States. It is the regional high school for the towns of Berlin, Calais, Middlesex, East Montpelier, and Worcester, all in central Vermont. It encompasses grades seven through twelve in a combined junior and senior high school. The school opened in September 1971 with a strong liberal orientation, using open classrooms, student directed schedules and several of the concepts of Vermont philosopher-educator John Dewey, notably learning by doing. During this period students of neighboring schools either enviously or derisively referred to U-32 as "Zoo 32", although it is not referred to that much anymore.

Over time, the school has migrated more to the mainstream of public education. This was aided when U-32 underwent a $13 million dollar renovation in 2002 to bring it up to fire codes and replace open, wall-less classrooms with more traditional ones. The school also follows a non-traditional philosophy where teachers and staff are referred to by given first name rather than by surname.

The official mascot of the school is the Raider. Keith Gerritt replaced Dorothy (Dot) Blake as Principal in the fall of 2006. U-32 is known now for its extensive art and music departments, its accomplished drama club, Stage 32, its outstanding sports programs, and its improved facility. It has about 200 middle schoolers and 650 high schoolers.

Notable graduates

*Frank Miller, comic-book writer and artist

External links

* [http://u32.org/ U32 School Website]