Diversity Fund Established at The Grammar School

Eagle Times Staff
PUTNEY, VT — The Grammar School has announced the creation of The Otis Fund. The fund is designed to enhance student diversity at the school’s pre-K through eighth-grade campus in Putney.

Named for 2018 graduate Otis Jacobson and initially funded by a $50,000 donation from his parents, Candace Damon and David Jacobson, the scholarship is intended to support students from the black, indigenous and people of color communities attending the school.

According to David Jacobson, the donation is part of “an ongoing drive to increase diversity in the student body” in the small, independent day school. Situated on a sprawling campus, The Grammar School encourages outdoor education, a strength that helped the school weather the Covid pandemic in unique and long-lasting ways.

Damon and Jacobson adopted their son from Kazakhstan in 2005, hence their interest in diversity and cultural exchange.

“Otis has always had a diverse group of friends and classmates and has benefitted from interacting with different cultures,” Jacobson said.

The Otis Fund is just one effort on the part of TGS to maintain this cross-cultural interaction with students from many different backgrounds.

“My time at The Grammar School built an excellent foundation for a well-grounded perspective,” Otis said.

Now a college student studying fashion design in France, Otis said that his French language instruction at the school was integral to his broader education. At TGS, he “secured lifelong familial friendships and skills I never would have otherwise.”

Head of School Nick Perry said The Otis Fund is a welcome addition to the school’s continued efforts in recruiting a diverse student body.

“The Grammar School has always welcomed students and families from different ethnic, socio-economic, and cultural backgrounds,” Perry said. “Now, with the Otis Fund, it is possible for us to extend to more families who would not otherwise be able to make it work financially.”