Programs with Purpose

Art and Music Opportunities

The Prosper Valley School Trust believes that the arts are essential to a well-rounded education. Music, drama, and creative expression spark confidence, build collaboration skills, and connect students with their community. By supporting programs and resources beyond the school budget, the Trust ensures that every student has access to meaningful artistic opportunities.

Recent support has included:

Launching The Prosper Valley Players drama club, where students rehearsed after school and performed together for six weeks.
Providing band instrument scholarships so scores of students could participate in the TPVS School Band.
Funding long-term instrument rentals, ensuring new instruments become permanent resources for TPVS.
Covering repair and maintenance of school instruments so they remain accessible for all students.
Hosting puppeteers from the No Strings Marionette Company through an Artist in Residence program — students in every grade created puppets and performed at a community Winter Concert.

Leadership Training

The Prosper Valley School Trust believes that strong leadership grows from curiosity, teamwork, and shared experiences. By funding opportunities that build confidence and community, the Trust helps students step into new roles and prepare for future challenges.

Recent support has included:

Sending students to Camp Hulbert in Fairlee, VT, where they developed leadership, teamwork, and outdoor skills through ropes courses, natural history exploration, and personal challenges.
Partnering with ArtisTree for Dreaming: A Speak Chorus — performed at the ArtisTree Grange Theatre and later at the Vermont State House in Montpelier — inspired by Brown Girl Dreaming, a Vermont Humanities book read by all 5th and 6th graders.
Supporting the 6th grade “Step-Up” tradition with a community hike to WUHSMS and providing breakfast for students and families to celebrate this important milestone.

Engagement in Nature

The Prosper Valley School Trust supports opportunities that bring science and the natural world to life for our students. By funding hands-on exploration, fieldwork, and outdoor learning, we help students connect with their environment, apply classroom knowledge, and develop a lasting respect for the world around them.

Recent support has included:

Funding student participation in the Vermont Institute of Natural Science (VINS) Symposium, where students conducted research, designed solutions to local problems, and presented their findings at a regional showcase.
Supporting Nature’s Classroom programs that immerse students in science, natural history, and outdoor discovery.
Organizing field trips into the Ottauquechee to study ecosystems first-hand.
Maintaining and enhancing the outdoor classroom, including upgrades to the bridge for safer access.
Supporting the school observatory as a hub for scientific exploration.

The Trust helps turn great ideas by the teachers into real experiences for the students. At this intersection of creativity, curiosity, and learning, children get to explore music and art, connect with the natural world, and build leadership skills that last well beyond the classroom. These programs aren’t extras — they’re the moments that spark joy, confidence, and lifelong passions.

Over the years, the Trust has also stepped in to meet teacher needs as they arise. Beyond enriching programs in the arts, nature, leadership, and community, the Trust helped fund a new kitchen, recess equipment, math software, and computer hardware. By staying responsive, the Trust ensures TPVS students and teachers have the tools and resources they need to thrive