Thanks for reading,

Jen

Curriculum Council met on December 9. Our major topics included the K-6 writing survey, next steps with functional skills work, and the Local Comprehensive Assessment Plan.

The K-6 writing survey is ready for participation. Elementary principals are carving out time for classroom teachers, literacy interventionists, special educators, and themselves to complete it in the weeks to come. We will start analyzing the results at our next meeting in January and will use the results to inform our next steps regarding curriculum, instruction, assessment, and professional learning in a way that builds on our strengths and addresses our areas for growth.

We have adjusted the winter assessment windows for i-Ready K-8 and Acadience K-6 to better align with intervention cycles. The assessment window is now January 6-January 31, opening and closing a week earlier than originally scheduled.

Teachers in Grades K-10 who administer and/or use i-Ready in any capacity will participate in training with Curriculum Associates on Wednesday, February 12 at U-32. The schedule and areas of focus were informed by the results of the i-Ready professional learning survey that was administered this fall. More details are included in the December district curriculum newsletter.

A lot of wonderful work related to functional skills, including social emotional learning and executive functioning, happened during Curriculum Camp this past summer. We are making a plan to move the work forward in a way that increases consistency and coordination across all schools, including the administration of a social emotional learning universal screener. We look forward to sharing more details in the months to come.

• Berlin: Celia Guggemos

• Calais: Jenna Howard

• Doty: Allison Fayle

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

• Rumney: Veronica Eldred

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

• WCUUSD: Ellen Dorsey, Jen Miller-Arsenault

The EQC does not meet in January. We will focus on Physical Education and Health at our meeting on February 5. I will share the presentation with you in the January newsletter.

Per teacher request and to better align with our intervention cycles, we have adjusted the K-6 Acadience Reading and the K-8 i-Ready reading and math diagnostic winter windows. The new window is January 6-January 31, 2025.

The changes are reflected in our Local Comprehensive Assessment Plan and the LCAP and Intervention Cycle Calendar. Haven't yet subscribed to the calendar? Click here.

The K-6 writing survey is ready for teacher and principal participation.

We've asked principals to carve out 30 minutes so that classroom teachers, literacy interventionists, and special educators can complete the survey. Your honest and thoughtful feedback is greatly appreciated and will help us figure out our next steps in terms of curriculum, instruction, assessment, and professional learning. We recognize that we have both areas of tremendous strength and areas for growth. We can't wait to see the results and make a plan to leverage our strengths and address our areas for growth.

Curriculum Associates will join us on Wednesday, February 12 to support our ongoing implementation of i-Ready Classroom Mathematics and the i-Ready math and reading diagnostics.

Here is the training schedule:

• 8:15-10:15 Grades K-3, Pacing
• 10:30-11:30 Principals, Instructional Leadership
• 12:00-2:00 Grades 4-6, Pacing
• 2:15-3:15 Grades 7-10, Leveraging i-Ready Data
• 2:15-3:15 Grades 4-6 (Optional), Analyzing i-Ready Data
• 3:30-4:30 Grades K-3 (Optional), Analyzing i-Ready Data

All sessions will take place at U-32. Please arrive in time to check in at the main office and get settled for a prompt start, and please reach out to me or your principal if you have any questions or concerns.

I highly recommend subscribing to Katie Novak's monthly newsletter. Each month it is full of ideas and resources (it's where I've found most of the resources I've shared below).

This month as part of the promotion for her new book, Universal Design for Learning in Mathematics Instruction K-5, co-written with Ashley Marlow from Vermont's All Learners Network, she shared the problem below and explained: "Designed as a classroom opener, the question isn't about finding a right answer. Instead, it's meant to spark conversation, break down barriers, and create a space where every student feels ready to jump into the math lesson, open and engaged." What do you think?

UDL resources shared so far:

• CAST's updated UDL guidelines
• Lesson planning template
• UDL Personalized Learning Profile
• The Science and Research Behind the UDL Framework

Plans are underway for our inservice day on January 21. The district's Humanity and Justice Coalition is taking the lead with planning the morning session. We will gather together at U-32 and focus on issues of economic justice. We will watch Just Getting By, a film about food and housing insecurity in Vermont, engage in a Q and A session with filmmaker Bess O'Brien, and engage in small group discussions about the film and its relevance to our students.

In the afternoon teachers will have a professional work day and paraeducators will continue to engage in training. More details will be forthcoming next month. Stay tuned!

Now is the time to sign up for this spring's course on racial and intersectional justice!

The course is designed to directly support our district's ability to implement Vermont's new Education Quality Standards. Entitled Schools and Pedagogy to Thrive: Embracing Education Quality Standards, the course will explore the IRIS Framework for Ethnic Studies and will result in units of study and lesson plans that will be shared across our district.

The course will be taught by Shelley Vermilya, our equity scholar-in-residence. It will take place on Thursday afternoons from 4:15-6:15 via Google Meet beginning on January 30 and in person one Saturday morning each month from 9:00-12:00 at U-32 beginning on January 25.

For more details, please see the syllabus.

Sign up here!

All are welcome to enroll in this course.

Please reach out to Shelley at svermilya@u32.org or me if you have any questions or concerns about the course.