MVSU Board Unanimously Confirms Amanda Rank as Permanent Principal of Reading Elementary School
With the full Mountain Views Supervisory Union (MVSU) Board of Directors voting in confirmation, Amanda L Rank earned a permanent position as the Principal of the Reading Elementary School, Reading Vermont, at Monday night’s regular monthly Board meeting. The position pairs the duties of Principal with those of Special Educator/Interventionist at the school, making it a “combination position” that uniquely emphasizes the core performance strengths Rank brought to the school district as both RES’ current acting Principal/Special Educator and as a candidate for the permanent position.
Amanda Rank, shown here with the RES Mascot, was appointed the school’s new permanent principal by unanimous MVSU Board vote Monday.
Reading Elementary School (RES) is a public, Pre-Kindergarten- through-Grade-4 elementary school located at the heart of the town of Reading, Vermont, a community known for its strong commitment to education and cultural enrichment.
RES is a small school with a low student-to-teacher ratio, where every student receives individual attention to support their learning and social-emotional growth. Its campus includes an Outdoor Classroom with access to acres of forest, meadows, and public hiking trails. RES’ curriculum focuses on sustainability and outdoor education and includes instruction from the Vermont Institutes of Natural Science. Students go outside to learn from the community around them as much as possible, embracing and exploring nature.
“I’m honored to officially step into the role of Principal at Reading Elementary. Serving as Interim Principal this year has meant so much to me and has deepened my appreciation for our students, staff, and families,” said Rank. “I’m truly grateful for the trust the District and community have placed in me. Reading Elementary is a special place, and I’m excited to keep nurturing the sense of community that makes it so unique while supporting every student as they grow and thrive here.”
Rank brings extensive experience that spans the past 13 years and demonstrates both leadership and teaching excellence. Besides serving as RES’ Interim Principal for the 2025-26 school year, she served as both a Student Support Services Coordinator (2022-25) and Equity and Educational Support Team Coordinator (2021-22) for the Windsor Central Supervisory Union. During this time, she also received high marks for her work as an Elementary Special Educator for Windsor Central.
Notably, Rank also served in a variety of capacities for the Red Cloud Indian School at Pine Ridge, South Dakota. Beginning in August 2013, she served as a Volunteer Kindergarten Teacher as part of the AmeriCorps Program until May 2015. Subsequently (between 2015 and 2019), she also served as a Special Education K-8 teacher for the Batesland Elementary School in the Oglala Lakota County School District; as an Elementary Intervention Teacher at the Red Cloud Indian School for the same district; and as a Principal Intern at the University of South Dakota, Red Cloud Indian School, where she collaborated with elementary school staff to create culturally responsive, innovative, differentiated, and engaging lesson plans.
“From the moment we initiated our job search, we knew that our combination leadership role at RES represented a unique and exciting opportunity for a leader who desires and embraces the challenges associated with leading an environmentally focused school and a skilled staff to excellence for our students,” said Sherry Sousa, MVSU Superintendent. “Amanda’s talents and skill sets -- not to mention her outstanding performance at RES for this current school year -- prove that she is a hands-on, team-oriented leader who has demonstrated her ability to welcome the breadth of daily responsibilities inherent to her now-permanent position.”
Sousa emphasized that MVSU’s vision for RES’ future is grounded in the District’s Portrait of a Graduate Strategic Plan and seeks to foster and promote personalized learning through the concepts of Universal Design for Learning; expand place-based, outdoor, and environmental education opportunities; and continue to provide exceptional programs in the arts.
In a combined statement, Reading’s two MVSU School Board Representatives, Gina McAllister and Anna Sessa, said, “Even before this evening’s vote, we were already convinced that Amanda Rank is the most successful RES Principal in a decade, and we benefit right up to this day from her ability to act as both principal and Special Education/Interventionist. This produces a cost-effective and creative solution while also keeping a principal on campus full-time,” they said. “Moreover, many Reading families continue to appreciate the amazing connections Principal Rank has made within our community.”
About Mountain Views Supervisor Union (MVSU): Located in Central Vermont’s Green Mountains, Mountain Views Supervisory Union serves students from Barnard, Bridgewater, Killington, Pittsfield, Plymouth, Pomfret, Reading, Woodstock, and other neighboring school-choice communities. For more information, please visit the MVSU Website.
Contact:
Gina McAllister
Chair: MVSU Communications Committee
gina.mcallister@mtnviews.org