Washington Central Story
WCUUSD Community Newsletter - October 13, 2023
Fall is here
This summer, nature was rough on our communities. Somehow, though, the Fall colors that popped out last week remind us that nature can also be amazing, especially where we live. I am grateful for the beauty all around us as we head into Fall.
This past Monday marked the fourth year that Vermont recognized Indigenous Peoples Day. If you weren't able to participate in some of the activities around the state, check out some of these ways to learn, acknowledge and celebrate our indigenous connections.
- Something to read: Check out this list of books (for all ages!) by Dr. Debbie Reece of the American Indians in Children's Literature organization
- Immerse yourself in Native Knowledge 360, with videos, websites, blogs and more
Before we know it, we will be speeding into winter and (it's true) the coming of winter weather! Next month we'll have an update and reminder about winter transportation practices. Until then...enjoy the vibrant colors around us, and all of our Fall activities.
- Meagan Roy, Superintendent
In this issue...
- Academic Achievement: Ability Challenge
- Humanity & Justice: What is an Equity Scholar in Residence?
- Safe & Healthy Schools: Flood Resources
- School Spotlight: October is School Library Month!
- Thank a principal this month!
- Strategic Planning Updates
- Upcoming Board meetings
Academic Achievement
Welcome to The Ability Challenge!
We're excited to share about a new project taking place at WCUUSD that will help support our students across the layers of support and in our three focus areas (safe and healthy schools, academic achievement and humanity and justice). As part of our ongoing work to strengthen our support for students, Washington Central Unified Union School District (WCUUSD) is partnering with The Ability Challenge (ABC) to conduct a comprehensive Special Education Programming Needs Assessment aligned to their THRIVE Framework for Quality Special Education. ABC is a Maryland-based nonprofit organization that partners with schools and districts to develop and support authentically inclusive school communities and teams that work together to meet the unique needs of all learners.
As a unified system moving forward from the impact of Covid while managing staffing shortages, it is an ideal time to analyze our system to discover procedures that continue to serve our students as well as those that no longer align with best practice. Our work with The Ability Challenge will support our shared understanding of special education practices, service-delivery and needs across our schools and help us to uncover and reflect on inclusive practices. Inclusive practices are a cornerstone of a strong multi-layered system of support that encourages a felt sense of belonging among all members of a community. We're excited to reflect on our system in order to strengthen our services for students.
Your voice and experience are an important component of the ABC Challenge. We look forward to doing this work with you, reflecting on the results and strengthening our school system together.
ABC will be conducting observations, interviews and surveys to gather insight on the experiences of our students, staff and families. If you are the parent of a student receiving Special Education services, we'd like to invite you to share your perspective by completing a brief (less than 10 min.) Parent/Family survey. The survey will be open through October 27 and can be accessed here: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/WCUUSDParentSurvey . Thank you in advance for your time and insight! We look forward to sharing the results of this assessment with our community.
Annual Title I Meeting
Berlin Elementary School, Doty Memorial School, and U-32 Middle and High School are eligible for Title I federal funding during the 2023-2024 school year. The purpose of Title I is “to provide all children significant opportunity to receive a fair, equitable, and high-quality education, and to close the achievement gaps” (Vermont Agency of Education). Title I funds supplement local funds, and schools are eligible based on poverty rates. The measure that we use in Washington Central is eligibility for free or reduced meals; this is one reason why we encourage families to complete the free or reduced meal application even when we provide universal meals.
In the past, we have provided opportunities for the community to learn about how we use Title I funds during each school's Open House. This year we will host a virtual Title I meeting. We will explain the purpose of the funds and how we use them in Washington Central, and we will welcome your questions and thoughts. The meeting will be facilitated by Jen Miller-Arsenault, Director of Curriculum, Instruction, and Assessment. It will take place on Tuesday, November 14 from 4:30-5:30 p.m. via Google Meet, and a recording will be posted on our website. If you would like to attend the virtual meeting, please complete this RSVP form no later than Monday, November 13 so that we can send you a meeting link.
Humanity & Justice
What is an Equity Scholar in Residence?
A core tenet of equity learning is that it needs to occur in all places, at all times (and “just in time”) - and it needs to be accessible and meaningful. One of the ways Washington Central fosters the deep learning required to advance equity work is through our Equity Scholar in Residence program. This term may be familiar to some of you, and you may even be fortunate enough to have engaged with this work; but for others, it is new. We want to tell you a bit about it, and how it fits into our broader humanity and justice work.
The Equity Scholar in Residence began organically in 2019 as a pilot program in U-32 and became a regular part of our district resources during the 21-22 school year. Shelley Vermilya, a teacher and consultant provided by the Institute for Liberatory Innovation, is our equity scholar. She has been working closely with our faculty, staff and school leaders to support equity opportunities and challenges in each of our unique school communities. Shelley serves as a thought partner, a professional developer, and someone who can work directly with our staff to integrate equity into their every day work. She also joins many of our student groups to support their efforts as well. Over the past several years the work has expanded to all six of our Washington Central schools. To learn more about the program, check out this overview.
Over the course of the school year, we’d like to share more about the work of the Equity Scholar and bring some of this learning to you. Shelley’s words will appear in our newsletter each month - sometimes sharing some exciting work, sometimes sharing some learning for you. We are grateful for the opportunity to make this part of our equity work.
Safe & Healthy Schools
Flood Resources
- General flood support: https://www.vermont.gov/flood
- Economic Services Benefits: https://dcf.vermont.gov/esd/applicants/benefits
- Parent Child Supports: https://dcf.vermont.gov/contacts/partners/pcc
- Substance Use Supports: https://vthelplink.org/
- Domestic and Sexual Violence Supports: https://www.vtnetwork.org/get-help/
- Vermont Emergency Eats: https://vtemergencyeats.org/find-a-meal
In addition, below is some information specific to resources available for mobile home residents who have been impacted.
School Spotlight!
Let Freedom READ
Librarians Meg Allison and Jill Abair remind us that
"Censorship is on the rise. Since 2020, the number of unique titles challenged has risen from 223 to 2,571 in 2022. Books in school libraries by Black, Indigenous, and people of color, books about race and racism, and books featuring LGBTQIA+ themes and characters are increasingly under attack. "
Want to learn more? Check out the Freedom to Read Statement from Unite Against Book Bans
Principal Appreciation Month!
Strategic Planning Updates
The Strategic Planning Steering Committee has been incredibly busy these past few weeks, hosting focus group input sessions across the district in order to gather important feedback about our draft Vision and Core Beliefs. In the month of September there have been focus groups in each of our towns, each of our schools, and in the coming weeks we will host student groups as well. Now is a good time to acknowledge the hard work of this group. I am so grateful for their dedication to defining what we want for our students at Washington Central. Thank you to:
Jeanie Phillips, Facilitator (Great Schools Partnership)
Yolanda Bansah
Kari Bradley
Arlyn Bruccoli
Steven Dellinger-Pate
Flor Diaz-Smith
Catherine Fair
Adrienne Magida
Bekah Mandell
Jennifer Miller-Arsenault
Julie Moore
James Nichols-Fleming
Uriah Proctor-Mattingly
Beth Stern
Chani Waterhouse
Erica Zimmerman
A common theme raised during our focus group sessions (and through our Thought Exchange) is a question about how the Strategic Planning Process intersects with the School Board’s work on the configuration of our schools. Strategic Planning is a process designed to guide all of our district work for the next several years; it serves as a guidepost for all of the decisions we make about education for students and reflects the communities' goals. Configuration is a discussion the Board is undertaking in order to understand how to use our buildings given our enrollment realities. As we have shared, we believe that any conversations about the future of our schools needs to be grounded in our beliefs and goals for our students - which is why the work of the Strategic Plan is so critical. The Board also wants to be thoughtful and deliberate about how it approaches the study of our current enrollment realities and the impacts these realities have on our ability to provide a robust educational program for all of our students.
Toward that end, the Board has asked its finance committee to spend time this Fall studying our future realities and reporting back to the full Board about school configuration options. The Board will then focus on engaging our community in this discussion in the second half of the school year. The Board is committed to grounding this study in the Strategic Planning work, and using what we’ve learned this year about community engagement in order to gather many perspectives about our district’s options moving forward. They will continue to provide updates throughout this process. For more information about the Board’s approach to configuration study, check out the Board discussion from their August 23rd meeting.
Coming Soon! New WCUUSD Website Launches November 10, 2023!
WCUUSD Board Meeting
A MESSAGE FROM OUR SCHOOL BOARD
Given the challenges of declining enrollment, expense inflation, the sunset of pandemic-related federal funding and other factors, budgeting for the 2024-25 school year promises to be especially challenging. As our school board prepares for this year’s process, we want to let you know the best ways to be informed and share your perspective. Here is an overview:
On October 18, we will host our annual school budget training. You are welcome to attend this and all school board meetings and meeting information can be found here: Meeting Resources / Board Meeting Resources (wcsu32.org)
We will host a Connecting our Vision to Budget Realities community meeting November 1. This will be an excellent opportunity to provide the board with early input on what you see as priorities for the coming year.
On November 15 the board will receive a first draft of next year’s budget and provide guidance on next steps.
We will host another forum on December 20 to further discuss our budget and take community feedback.
We expect to finalize the budget January 17 in order to prepare for a community vote by Town Meeting Day.
Please note that the budgeting process will coincide with the final stages of our strategic planning process which is designed to establish our priorities well beyond next year. As always, you are encouraged to contact any school board member to ask questions and share your thoughts. Our contact information is posted here: Board Members / Board Members (wcsu32.org). We look forward to hearing from you. Thank you for supporting our schools.
Wednesday, Oct 18, 2023, 06:15 PM
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Washington Central Unified Union School District
Website: https://www.wcsu32.org/
Location: 1130 Gallison Hill Road, Montpelier, VT, USA
Phone: (802) 229-0553
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/wcsu32