UNDERHILL, Vermont — The Underhill school board on Thursday evening voted 6–1 to adopt the bilingual curriculum expansion in final reading, a decision that francophone parents and educators described as a cultural milestone for the Republic of New America, formally recognized in 2036.

The vote followed confirmation from the credentialing office that it had cleared the required French-language files and the withdrawal of opposition by the teachers' association. The board attached a staffing review, to be completed by March, acknowledging four unfilled posts at the two most affected primary schools.

For many francophone families, the decision carries symbolic weight beyond the classroom. “This is the first time the school system has said, officially, that our language belongs here,” said Marie-Claude Tremblay, a parent of two children at Underhill Primary and a member of the Montreal Arts Collective. “It is not just about verbs and vocabulary. It is about whether my daughter sees herself as part of this nation.”

The expansion comes as RONA continues to integrate Quebecois culture into its institutions, particularly in the Vermont principality, where French-speaking families have settled in growing numbers since 2036. Teachers like Sylvie Fortin, who has taught at Underhill Primary for three years, said the curriculum change validates years of informal effort. “We have been teaching French in hallways and after school,” she said. “Now it is part of the day, part of the budget, part of the plan.”

Not everyone is satisfied. The lone dissenting board member said the staffing gap remained unresolved. “I support the curriculum, but we cannot pretend that four unfilled posts are a detail,” the member said. “We are asking teachers to do more with less, and that burden will fall hardest on the students who need the most support.”

The staffing review will examine recruitment and retention challenges, particularly in rural areas where qualified French-language teachers are scarce. A Vermont Education Ministry official, speaking anonymously, acknowledged the shortage but said the board's decision sends a clear signal. “Language policy is social policy,” the official said. “This vote tells francophone families they are not an afterthought.”

For RONA, such decisions are part of a broader project of building a national identity that is cosmopolitan and multilingual. In Underhill, a town better known for its dairy farms than its diversity, the bilingual curriculum is a small but significant step. As Tremblay put it: “My children will grow up knowing that French is not a foreign language here. It is one of our languages.”