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Profile: LYNN COTA

Franklin Northeast Supervisory Union superintendent Lynn Cota doesn鈥檛 merely lead her school community, she鈥檚 an integral part of it.

Cota grew up in Montgomery, one of the district鈥檚 six small towns in the northwestern corner of Vermont. She raised her four children in the community, and several grandchildren now reside there. For all but six months of her three-decade career, Cota has worked in Franklin Northeast鈥檚 schools. In 2017, she became leader of the 1,900-student operation.

鈥淚t鈥檚 really personal to me that we do the hard work to prepare our kids to be successful,鈥� Cota says.

That work has been especially challenging in the pandemic鈥檚 aftermath, as many students struggle with mental health challenges, she says. After transitioning back to in-person learning, the already-scarce community resources that schools had relied on to run alternative programs for those needing extra support had either shut down or scaled back.

In 2021, Cota spearheaded the creation of two in-house programs for high-needs students to address learning problems. One serves kids with emotional disturbances and other mental health issues, while the other is designed for those with autism and developmental delays. Serving students in their home communities has made it easier to bring them back into the general education system once they鈥檝e developed skills to succeed, the superintendent says, and the programs are significantly more cost-effective than out-of-district placements.

To ensure they can attract qualified staff to work in the specialized programs, Franklin Northeast offers a salary bump. That strategic measure, on top of launching alternative programs, demonstrates Cota鈥檚 commitment to ensure every student can reach her or his full potential, says Michele Irish, the district鈥檚 director of advancement of educational equity.

Cota takes special pride in her organization鈥檚 Portrait of a Learner initiative, a years-long effort to design new graduation requirements. In 2019, with the help of a facilitator, students interviewed employers, higher education administrators, legislators and community leaders to generate seven characteristics defining future success: information savvy, emotionally intelligent, trustworthy, financially literate, creative thinker, independent decision maker and contributor.

The Portrait of a Learner work remains special to Cota because it鈥檚 designed to ensure 鈥渆very student who leaves [Franklin Northeast] can demonstrate that they鈥檙e proficient in the skills that they need to be future-ready,鈥� whether heading to college, the workforce or a military career. This year鈥檚 freshman class is the first required to meet all Portrait of a Learner criteria to graduate.

Kelli Dean, principal of Richford Elementary School, says the superintendent鈥檚 vision is impressive given the many pressing demands and the day-to-day unpredictability of overseeing nine schools. 鈥淪he鈥檚 continually trying to maintain a balance of living in the present and taking care of the current work while also thinking about future work,鈥� Dean says.

The imaginative way Cota kicks off each year鈥檚 district staff meeting illustrates her priorities. The superintendent points to an empty chair at the front of the room and ask educators to consider a child sitting in it. The chair reminds everyone listening, Dean says, of the weighty responsibility staff members have to perform the best they can to meet the needs of the student they are envisioning 鈥� and every other student.

鈥淣o matter what they鈥檙e coming to us with, every student deserves the best of what we have to offer,鈥� Dean says. 鈥淚 think she truly sees herself as the leader of making that difference.鈥�

Alison Novak is an education reporter for Seven Days in Burlington, Vt.