For girls growing up in 18th and 19th-century Vermont, school was more than a place to learn the basics of reading, writing, and arithmetic. Plain and fancy needlework was an essential element of the curriculum, and all girls embroidered at least one sampler as part of their education—many embroidered two or more. Dr. Lynne Anderson will describe the Vermont Sampler Initiative’s efforts to locate, photograph, and document these schoolgirl samplers so they can be included in the nationally recognized Sampler Archive, an online database of American samplers and related girlhood embroideries. In addition, she will share some of the project’s important findings and conclusions, using the samplers as evidence. Of particular interest will be her focus on the variety of educational experiences and options available to Vermont’s early daughters, the diversity in needlework samplers that emerged under the instruction of Vermont’s female teachers, the impact of religion and community values on sampler format, and content, and how schoolgirl samplers from Vermont both reflect and participate in the larger New England experience.