FHUHS Administration

Fair Haven Union High School has earned the distinction of being one of the finest high schools in Vermont. While standardized test scores, state championships and individual honors do not give the full measure of a school’s success, by all indications Fair Haven Union High School has had an excellent year. Most classes integrate technology for higher student learning with the result that upon graduation, our students are equipped to excel in most environments. Our latest New England Common Assessment Program testing results placed FHUHS at the top of all Division II schools. Our student scores with reading, writing, mathematics and science enabled FHUHS to meet the latest (and most difficult) standards of Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) as indentified under No Child Left Behind; only four out of the sixty-one high schools can claim such status.

Our extracurricular programs also continue to excel. This fall the Slaters won the DII state football championship. We are also the defending DII golf champions and look forward to returning to Barre Auditorium to once again compete for the state title in boys basketball. Our girl’s track and field team finally had their four year reign as state champions broken but both teams will be competing for a state title this winter. Our band students earned Lake Placid Regional first positions, as well as all-New England and all-state honors. We have one of the largest Scholars’ Bowl team which has successfully competed against Vermont and New Hampshire schools.

Fair Haven Union High School maintains a superb array of course offerings while still making sure all students receive the individual attention they deserve. FHUHS has a five-year graduation rate of 90% with 70% continuing on to higher educational institutions. Our overall SAT and ACT scores are higher than the national average. Along with the many Vermont colleges that accept our graduates, the past year has seen Cornell, WestPoint, Georgia, Oklahoma State and dozens of other colleges/universities offer scholarships. Advanced Placement courses are offered in all departments while still having electives that include (but not limited to) welding, wood, CAD, ceramics, foods, accounting, personal finance, fashion and design, piano, guitar and horticulture.

The key ingredient for our success has been our faculty and staff. The faculty/staff continue to demonstrate their professionalism and dedication for developing world-class students. They work regularly before, during and after school (at least once a week formally) to improve student learning. Faculty analyze a variety of data to validate, correct and/or improve student performance. A source of tremendous pride has been the open desire of the faculty/staff to see twenty-first century skills front and center in a positive student-centered climate. This fall students organized and ran several assemblies and continue to show a meaningful student voice in nearly all aspects of their education. I am proud to say that we at Fair Haven Union High School have improved our ‘product’ while reducing costs. I am also excited in the manner in which we not only view learning but our means to improve such.

Connecting our responsibility to our taxpayers with our driving mission of educational excellence is also of primary importance. With that in mind, we rearranged our resources making the appropriate cuts while improving our learning environment. Last year our proposed budget was down 3.97%; this year we will be proposing a slight increase of 0.4%.

I look forward to working with the faculty, staff, community, and most importantly the students, as we continue to strive for excellence with everything we do at Fair Haven Union High School. I continue to be highly appreciative of the vast support of our greater community and welcome ongoing input and assistance with our school.

Sincerely,
Brett C. Blanchard, Principal