Vermont Superintendent of the Year / Frederick H. Tuttle Service Award

The Vermont Superintendents Association (VSA) is pleased to announce that the Frederick H. Tuttle Superintendent of the Year Nomination Process for 2026 will open on Monday December 1st, 2025.

The Superintendent of the Year Nomination may be made by any person in the Vermont Education Community such as superintendents, principals, central office staff, teachers, school board members, and community members, etc.

The nomination period will close on Friday March 13, 2026, at which time the VSA President will appoint a selection committee comprising superintendents and former superintendents from across Vermont including two former superintendents of the year. This committee will review all nomination materials and make the final selection.

The nomination process emphasizes demonstrated service and accomplishment in the areas of leadership for learning; communications; professionalism; leading for equity; resource management and service to the school district/supervisory union; region; state and the Vermont Superintendents Association. Vermont’s Superintendent of the Year becomes the nominee for AASA’s – The School Superintendents Association – National Superintendent of the Year.

The recipient of the Frederick H. Tuttle Superintendent of the Year is announced and recognized at VSA’s Annual Spring Conference and participates in various leadership activities and events throughout the year.

Any questions should be directed to Kristi Tate at the Vermont Superintendents Association – ktate@vtvsa.org

Please scroll down for more information about Fred Tuttle and previous Superintendent of the Year recipients.

Previous Tuttle Award Recipients:

About Fred Tuttle:

Frederick H. Tuttle began his education career in 1959, when, as a recent graduate of Middlebury College, he taught language arts at Lyman C. Hunt Junior High School. After four years as a teacher, he became the school’s assistant principal and later served the same role at Burlington High School. In 1970, Mr. Tuttle became the Assistant Superintendent for the South Burlington School District. He was appointed Superintendent one year later, a position he held for more than 20 years. Mr. Tuttle died after a heroic battle with cancer on June 7, 1992. The City of South Burlington renamed its middle school the Frederick H. Tuttle Middle School in his honor.

Fred Tuttle was a quiet scholar of English literature and a respected and exemplary administrator. In a job that involves finance and bureaucracy, Tuttle cared most about people. He treated everyone with whom he interacted with respect, interest, and attention. Tuttle helped recruit high-quality, experienced teachers and principals who shared his respect for children. Under his leadership, the South Burlington School District gained national and state recognition for educational quality. Mr. Tuttle remained committed to teaching and exemplified excellent leadership. He was a gentle person and an extraordinary gentleman who rarely gave orders and frequently offered his assistance to others.

Mr. Tuttle devoted large amounts of his time to his professional associations and was an active member in the Vermont Superintendents Association, where he served as a Trustee and Secretary. He was also active in the Champlain Valley Superintendents Association, the American Association of School Administrators, and Phi Delta Kappa. Mr. Tuttle served as on the Board of Trustees of the Medical Center of Vermont. Throughout Tuttle’s 33 years as an educator, he was known as an individual who embodied the best of what public education provides to children and to the community. Frederick H. Tuttle earned the respect and admiration of all who knew him.