For more than 12 years, the Mt. Abraham Unified School District’s Expanded Learning Program has provided care for children from Preschool through 12th grade, offering various workshops as well as engaging, educational programming in the form of after-school care and camps during school vacations and summer.
The Expanded Learning Program (ELP) was originally intended to offer extracurricular workshops to elementary school students. The Mt. Abraham Unified School District, currently composed of schools in the towns of Bristol, Starksboro, New Haven and Monkton, has traditionally had lower academic performance than other schools in Vermont.
Additionally, many students in the Mt. Abraham Unified School District face complex challenges, according to Mandy Chesley-Park, the Co-Director of ELP. Depending on the school, 40-70% of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch. A significant portion of the students qualify for housing and food assistance. Nearly 30% of incoming kindergartners have lacked access to high-quality early education opportunities. ELP was strategically organized to combat the challenges that rural communities, particularly rural schools, face, shared by Chesley-Park.
Over the years, ELP has continued to expand to better meet the increased demand for childcare and extracurricular activities. Now, the afterschool programs alone serve approximately 350 students per day, while ELP’s summer camp serves approximately 175 students per day for six weeks. During programming, ELP offers more than fifty enrichment workshops, including an Iron Chef team, visits from Circus Smirkus, Tae Kwon Do classes, and introductions to languages such as Spanish and French. ELP also presents several musicals a year for older students. In 2025, ELP opened their first high school program.
“For the first time, we were able to offer high school students real opportunities like internships, robotics and [a] ski and snowboard club, and that is something we have wanted for a long time,” Chesley-Park said.
She also explained that ELP is supported by a staff of more than 80, some of whom are students at the college. For students interested in education, community engagement or conflict transformation, ELP complements well.
Sam Merriam ’26 began working for ELP at Bristol Elementary in the fall of 2025. He now works between three and four afternoons a week, primarily with kids in second through sixth grade.
“I get paid to play soccer, organize craft challenges, build Legos and plan activities that a group of kids will find exciting, engaging, and boost their excitement in learning. Doing things that I enjoy while helping them work through challenges and bad days is really rewarding,” Merriam said in an interview with The Campus.
Jackson Mckersie ’26 also works at ELP. He says his job has provided him with many learning opportunities.
“It has been an educational experience in the way that it has taught me how to better handle conflicts and people,” Mckersie said. “Being around the kids and families has opened my eyes to the local community beyond the students and faculty I normally encounter at Middlebury College. I have a newfound respect for the people who live here their whole lives and their experiences.”
Because Mt. Abraham Unified School District is relatively small, there is also a strong community built around the schools. Through the program, college students can engage with the local community in a meaningful way.
“I think there’s a certain onus, in a very positive way, to work together and help each other out,” Merriam added.
Chesley-Park agreed, telling The Campus that one of ELP's goals is to engage with the local community as much as possible to enhance programming.
“ELP is really built through the community. It is not something we run on our own. We partner with a wide range of local organizations, from libraries and farms to the recreation department, arts organizations, and even the police and fire departments. Each of those partnerships brings something different for kids, whether that is access to outdoor spaces, creative work, mentorship or real world experiences,” Chesley-Park shared.
Program staff help uphold the community connections through their everyday work with local children. Eleanor Harrison ’26 has worked with ELP for nearly two years, allowing her to build deep relationships with the children in her classrooms.
“I’ve found that several kids make incredible progress developmentally and behaviorally when there’s consistent support from adults like us in their lives. As a staff member, I feel like I have the opportunity to engage with these kids and build real bonds with them separate from the regular school day and from their home lives, and it’s been very fulfilling to experience.”
At the end of the day, ELP hopes to give back to the community that offers so much support to the program.
“What matters to me is that none of this is one direction. These are ongoing relationships. Students might be learning on a farm one day, working with artists the next or getting support through relationships that extend beyond the school day. At the same time, we are trying to build something that gives back, something that actually reflects and supports the community it comes from,” Chesley-Park said.
Anna Doucet ‘26 (she/her) is a Staff Writer.
Anna is from Bristol, Vermont. At Middlebury, Anna studies Psychology, French, and Global Health. She is on the board of the Sunday Night Environmental Group, volunteers for Language in Motion, and is a research assistant in the Psychology Department. Off campus, Anna works as an educator at the Expanded Learning Program at Bristol Elementary.
