ACSD Newsletter ~ Winter 2023
Dr. Wendy Baker has been hired as the next Superintendent of ACSD, beginning July 1, 2024! ACSD Board Chair, Barbara Wilson, shared that Dr. Baker was selected "from an extremely strong pool of candidates from across the country" while praising staff, student, and community engagement and feedback as instrumental in the process. Find Chair Wilson's full message with more about Dr. Baker's background in your email from November 28th or on our Interim Superintendent page.
Dr. Baker officially joins us as Superintendent on July 1, 2024, however, she has already begun to visit schools and connect with students, staff, and community members. She began her day with Shoreham Elementary School, where our 1st graders gave her a tour of their model town. She then visited Cornwall, MUMS, and Bridport. You can see photos below and on our social media pages and learn about her upcoming visits (tentative schedule: January 23, February 13, March 12 and April 2) on the ACSD Interim Superintendent page.
Welcome Dr. Baker!
At Bridport, Dr. Baker met students, staff, and community at the annual Spaghetti Dinner and Basket Raffle.
1. Listening Circles: Dr. Rebecca Eunmi Haslam has begun meeting with BIPOC students at MUMS and MUHS in small groups and 1:1. This winter she will also begin meeting with ACSD's BIPOC staff and in the spring this work will extend to elementary students.
The Listening Circles project is a confidential study, led by Dr. Haslam in collaboration with ACSD about racial and other bias-based harm at school. The study includes interviews, focus group discussions, and other engagement tools, like questionnaires. This project will result in a report and recommendations for the ACSD administration.
If you know a student who is curious but hasn't yet met with Rebecca, or if you are a staff member who wants to meet with Rebecca, it's not too late! Rebecca will next visit MUMS on 1/3 and MUHS on 1/9. Students can connect with their counselor if they are interested in meeting with Rebecca or reach out to Rebecca directly at rebecca@seedtheway.com with any questions about the Listening Circles Project.
2. BIPOC Affinity Spaces. MUHS has hired a BIPOC Affinity Space coordinator for MUHS. We are still hiring for the position at MUMS and encourage and invite community members to apply and share the listing. This is a part-time, stipend position that supports our BIPOC students in providing an inclusive space, facilitating one hour affinity space weekly lunch meetings during the school year and meeting with faculty advisors regularly to plan and address concerns.
3. Anti-Bias Leadership. Our ACSD Principals and Administrators continue their monthly meetings on anti-bias leadership to increase awareness about the impact of implicit bias on the experience of staff and students.
MUHS 10th graders learned about offerings and opportunities at the Hannaford Career Center this week!
Bridport preschoolers aren't afraid of a little mud! They suited up to explore their new playground landscape.
What happens on in-service days?
Families often wonder what our teachers and staff do during in-service days. The answer: So many things! In-service is a time for teachers and staff to meet at the building, grade, or district level to envision, learn, and connect. This year, in addition to ongoing curriculum coordination and role-specific professional development, our elementary teachers have worked with the All Learners Network to explore ways to make math approachable and fun for all students; our PreK-8th grade staff continue their Responsive Classroom Training to strengthen our classroom communities and support social emotional needs; we have begun a literacy needs assessment at the secondary level to identify next steps in literacy instruction; and our MUMS and MUHS staff are engaged in ongoing professional development around understanding and responding to racial bias in our schools.
We invite everyone to view our professional development schedules which are posted the week of each in-service day and remain available on our Teaching and Learning pages under "Professional Development Agendas".
Thank you Student Teachers!
This month, several of our schools said goodbye and thank you to student teachers from Middlebury College and Castleton. Student teachers join our classrooms each year and are instrumental in helping our students build connections while they deepen their own teaching practice!
ACSD Board Passes the 2024-2029 Strategic Plan
On December 11th, the ACSD Board voted to approve the next Strategic Plan.
This plan is the culmination of work by two community stakeholder groups, the ACSD Advisory Committee and the ACSD Action Team, each comprised of a diverse group of students, staff, family, administrators, and community members. The ACSD Board also convened two Ad Hoc Board committees during the process, first to draft the goals, mission, and vision and then to finalize the plan. You can read more about the process and read the full plan on our Strategic Plan website.
Stay Connected!
We use our newsletter and social media to stay connected and give you a peek into our classrooms. For more regular connection and lots of photos, follow us: Insta: @acsdvtschools FB: @acsdvt
Middlebury VT 05753
Phone: 802-382-1274