Hi, WCUUSD educators,

In recent weeks I've had the opportunity to observe a great elementary lesson about sentence structure and predicate expanders, join students as they learned about the recent trip to Nepal that some of our educators took as part of the growing cultural exchange between our district and Thanpal Valley School, and participate in high school student presentations about world authors.

Visiting classrooms is a joy! And classroom visits are an essential component of my practice as I work to support coherent curricular, instructional, and assessment practices across the district. I welcome your invitations. Please keep them coming!

As always, please reach out if you have any questions or concerns about the content of this newsletter or anything else related to curriculum, instruction, and/or assessment.

Warmly,

Jen

We were able to meet twice this month. Our major areas of focus were the K-6 writing rubrics, winter assessment data, and Clemmons Family Farm materials.

We used the newly revised K-6 Standard 6 Written Language rubrics to score student work examples from 1st, 4th, and 6th grade students from three of our elementary schools. We tested out the protocol that will be used during professional learning time soon to make sure that the protocol is clear and meaningful for the upcoming grade-alike meetings.

We spent some time analyzing district data from our winter assessments, including Acadience, the i-Ready reading diagnostic, and the i-Ready math diagnostic. We looked at the data in the aggregate and reflected on the implications for our work on Curriculum Council, our schools, and the district overall. This is an ongoing process.

We explored materials that Clemmons Family Farm made available to schools during Black History Month and considered possibilities for leveraging those and other resources from Clemmons Family Farm in the future. There may be an opportunity for teachers to pilot the resources in the future to help us further consider whether or not to implement a larger scale plan.

• Berlin: Celia Guggemos

• Calais: Jenna Howard

• Doty: Allison Fayle

• East Montpelier: Alicia Lyford, Hilary Paquet, Dave Willard

• Rumney: Veronica Fair

• U-32: Erin Galligan-Baldwin, Elizabeth Marks, Amy Molina, Brittany Perry

• WCUUSD: Ellen Dorsey, Jen Miller-Arsenault

The Education Quality Committee will now be meeting on the second Thursday of each month beginning at 5:00 p.m. Our next meeting is Thursday, April 10 from 5:00-6:00 p.m. at Central Office.

We will be diving into our fall and winter assessment data with a focus on Acadience K-6 Reading, the i-Ready reading diagnostic, and the i-Ready math diagnostic. We will focus on both performance and growth and will look at both our aggregate and disaggregated data. We will continue our examination of the fall and winter data at the EQC meeting in May.

Below are a few slides that highlight our Winter 2025 data. You can find the full slideshow here.

Despite multiple requests, only 9 people across the district completed the survey. Thank you to those 9 people! The survey is now closed. Shelley Vermilya, our humanity and justice scholar-in-residence, is using the survey results to figure out some next steps in each of our buildings. In the meantime some great things are happening, including the creation of a student-led mini food shelf and a staff sewing circle.

Below is a summary of the survey results.

Curriculum and instruction are vital components of a comprehensive assessment system. And, a key action step in our district's strategic plan is: WCUUSD will design and implement social-emotional learning standards, instruction, and assessments that foster emotional well-being and mental health. To those ends, this past summer we cross checked our transferable skills with the Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning (CASEL) framework and this winter we implemented a universal screener for social and emotional learning, the DESSA, K-6. All of this work is aligned with the Responsive Classroom approach, an approach to which we have been committed in Washington Central for many, many years.

I am thrilled to inform you that our district has been selected as a host site for Responsive Classroom courses this summer. Below is the email that I sent to teachers earlier this month. The most important thing is that folks who are interested complete this very brief Google form at their earliest convenience so that I can support our district's next steps.

Hi, all--

I am pleased to inform you that Washington Central has been selected to host Responsive Classroom courses this summer.

Pending enrollment numbers, we will offer both the core and advanced courses at both the elementary and middle school levels. This is an incredible opportunity!

The courses will take place at U-32 from 8:30 a.m.-3:30 p.m. on August 12, 13, and 14.

As a host site, we get a significant registration discount. Elementary educators can take the course for $430. Middle school educators can take the course for $800. Normally, the courses cost $859-$885 per person. There is an option to take the course for graduate credit for an additional fee. Educators will need to use their tuition reimbursement funds to pay for the course.

Descriptions of each course can be found here.

Information about graduate credit options, including additional work requirements and fees, can be found here.

Please note: The elementary school courses are suitable for educators of Grades PreK-6. The middle school courses are suitable for educators of Grades 5-8. While we have offered and promoted Responsive Classroom courses for elementary educators for many years, expanding the offering to middle school teachers is new for us. The Responsive Classroom approach strengthens and complements what we are already doing related to social-emotional learning, positive behavior interventions and supports, and restorative practices and is relevant for all PreK-8 educators.

I am working closely with the Center for Responsive Schools to coordinate the registration and apply the discount codes.

For now, if you are interested in participating, please complete this very brief Google form at your earliest convenience so that I can figure out the appropriate next steps.

And, as always, please reach out if you have any questions or concerns.

Thank you,

Jen

We are about to administer the VTCAP. All proctors must complete the required training and sign the verification form prior to administering the VTCAP. Principals carved out time during faculty meetings this month for proctor training.

You can find all updated materials on the WCUUSD VT Comprehensive Assessment Program section of the CIA website including the Spring 2025 version of the Test Administrator's Manual and our district's training document.

This month's resource is one of my favorites in terms of jargon-free explanations of UDL. Katie likens UDL to throwing a successful dinner party. Check out this video (3:21) to learn more.

UDL resources shared so far:

• CAST's updated UDL guidelines
• Katie Novak's monthly newsletter
• Lesson planning template
• UDL Personalized Learning Profile
• The Science and Research Behind the UDL Framework
• Video about implementing UDL in a manageable way (2:31)
• WCUUSD unit design template

The VT AOE has updated its template for Continuous Improvement Planning. This year each school must submit a Continuous Improvement Plan (CIP) using the new template and instructions provided by the AOE, and schools that have K-3 students will be required to include a reading goal related to Act 139.

Principals will be sharing draft CIP goals with faculty and staff in April for feedback. Then we will share the drafts with the community in early May, make revisions, and present the CIPs to the school board for approval in mid-May. Stay tuned for more information about your school's CIP next month.