When Sterling College graduated its last student in May, its trustees faced a hard question. With the school closing for good, what happens to the campus?
This week, they got closer to an answer.
The former school and Headwaters Community Trust, an organization that provides affordable housing and land in the Northeast Kingdom, signed a sale purchase agreement. The two sides have not finalized the expected transition, but all that remains are standard due diligence practices for real estate transactions, according to Linda Ramsdell, the board president of Headwaters Community Trust.
“Sterling College is unique in their offering, and has a very special place in the world,” said Allison Hooper, chair of the Sterling College Board of Trustees. “And so this transition to Headwaters helps to perpetuate an opportunity to reinvigorate all of that ethos.”
Hooper declined to provide a sale price until the transaction is finalized.
Sterling, a small college that focused on environmental education and hands-on work experience, announced in November 2025 that it would close the school and held its last class in May. That left the board of trustees to find a new owner for the school’s roughly 165 acres and 26 buildings.
“Every year we had difficult times, and we managed to get through,” Hooper said. “And several years ago we considered closing, but we downsized the college, significantly downsized the budget and the curriculum, so we kept going, but the enrollment just was so low, it wasn’t a sustainable business model.”
Sterling is the latest of seven small colleges that have shut down across Vermont in recent years, including the College of St. Joseph, Green Mountain College, Goddard College and Southern Vermont College. When a college closes in a rural area, it can be difficult to replace the economic revenue and reuse the real estate.
Vermont communities have mobilized to repurpose the former campuses. Southern Vermont College was temporarily obtained by Southwestern Vermont Health Care for COVID-19 testing and vaccination during the pandemic, and plans are now in the works to convert the campus into a luxury resort. In another instance, Green Mountain College may soon be repurposed for religious education.
By purchasing the former Sterling campus, Ramsdell said, Headwaters Community Trust can ensure it continues to meet the needs of the Craftsbury community.
Craftsbury Saplings, a local preschool, plans to remodel one of the campus dormitories and move their center onto campus. According to a Sterling College press release, the move would allow the center to welcome almost twice as many children as it currently does, as well as offer infant care.
The campus is ripe with opportunities for affordable housing projects and educational uses, both as a collaboration with the public school system and as a place for Sterling’s faculty to continue to teach through a different format than a traditional college, Ramsdell added.
The Sterling Institute, established by Sterling faculty and staff, hopes to provide an avenue for the faculty to continue educating on Sterling’s campus. It’s a non-credit educational program designed to continue the college’s legacy in hands-on learning and environmental stewardship after the closure. Hooper said she hopes this organization can continue to grow under the campus’ new ownership.
“It’s a competitive market for those activities,” Hooper said. “So I’m hopeful that the Sterling Institute will give itself enough of a runway to be able to realize their dream.”
Ramsdell said she’s eager to finish the acquisition process and start involving the community.
“A lot of people care deeply about this place,” Ramsdell said in the press release. “Our job now is to ensure the community has a voice in what comes next.”
