Old Stone House awarded $376,000 to expand educational services

BROWNINGTON — The Old Stone House Museum & Historic Village was awarded $376,000 in Congressionally Directed Funding.

These funds will allow the museum to hire additional educational staff to offer in-school and afterschool programs year-round as part of its new “Home of Choices Studies” program.

“These funds are truly a game-changer for us, at a time when we have already been growing as an institution,” Molly Veysey, the museum executive director said. “We can finally begin offering schools throughout the Northeast Kingdom and Northern Vermont unique opportunities to learn their own community’s history through a hands-on, engaging program that will take place both at school and on our beautiful campus.”

The “Home of Choice Studies” program derives its name from African American Alexander Lucius Twilight who declared the village of Brownington to be “the home of my choice.”

The funds will be used to support existing on-site educational programs at the museum while also enabling the hiring of an in-school education director.

The person in this new position will develop a menu of workshops offered to schools and manage a staff of Americorps members who will deliver programming in afterschool and in-school enrichment formats.

Funds will also support archival and collections work aimed at developing curricula for the “Home of Choice Studies” program.

The curricula will also offer a menu of learning opportunities from which teachers, administrators, and families can choose.

“The entire museum community is committed to a vibrant and rich educational program,” Carmen Jackson, museum board of trustees president, said. “We believe this new program will positively engage students throughout Northern Vermont.”