How about some school pools? A second story on an elementary building? A few weeks ago I wrote about visiting Stephanie Hockenberry’s 2nd-grade class. They were writing persuasive essays and some promised to write them for me. This week, I received two letters from these very students; one from Abraham and one from Mason, who made some very compelling arguments about building a pool at their school and constructing a second story on their school so that students could have more space. I appreciate their hard work in formulating their arguments and will be writing letters of my own back to them.
Another student visitor came to see their artwork hung in the conference room at Central Offices. Gertrude Chamberlin 4th grader Julian and I talked about the inspiration for his art, his love of Legos, and building 3D models. He may even bring in a figurine to place next to his mixed-media painting.
I look forward to meeting more students that come to see their art!
The ZEMS are under construction! In addition to obtaining the final building permits from the city, we are beginning to remove the old trailers that are currently in place at Orchard and Rick Marcotte to make room for construction site preparation, and a proposal for classroom furniture is being finalized. Take a look at the progress that is being made in these pictures. I will keep you updated as more develops, but allow me to say thank you again for passing our bond so we can give our students this much-needed space!
The second Donuts and Discussion will take place tomorrow, Friday, May 19th. As a reminder, this is an opportunity to come chat with me and some members of the board. Feel free to stop in at 577 Dorset Street any time between 9 and 10 am. Coffee and donuts will be provided. This will be the last of this event for the school year, but it will return in the fall, on September 15th, and continue throughout the school year on the third Friday of each month.
This morning, I accepted a $250 check from the South Burlington Rotary that will be used by the Student Justice Union (SJU) and Students Organizing Against Racism (SOAR) for their planning and visioning process. Thank you to the Rotary Club for helping these student organizations fulfill their missions.
On a daily basis, the Transportation Department will update a new website using this link: Daily Transportation Dashboard. This new feature will allow parents and guardians to view the daily status of all bus routes in the system, along with supporting commentary as appropriate. A Green status will indicate that the bus route is expected to run on schedule (within a short buffer for normal traffic conditions); a Yellow status will indicate that there is a scheduled delay (typically caused by the need to combine multiple or split routes); a Red status will indicate that the route is canceled for the day and that alternative transportation will need to be arranged. Any Yellow or Red status will be accompanied by explanatory text.
Several students from the high school traveled across the street to Central Offices to sit down with Alysia Backman and Michael Jabour to discuss the district’s mission and vision and ENDS policy and how they feel it aligns with their experience in South Burlington. Rama AL Namee, Ally Leduc, Yuyang Zhang, Alece Staley, Simone Nelson, Carter Higgins, and Brian Folks all shared great insights into student life, classes and grading structures, how students can learn about all the programs SBHS offers, and how teachers can hold students accountable. It is invaluable to hear directly from students and I can’t thank them enough for coming to offer their thoughts.
Know of a student for a future spotlight? Please share their information on this form!
This week, seniors in Public Issues and World Affairs saw Eric Holder speak at the Flynn. Mr. Holder, the Attorney General during the Obama administration, spoke about his first book, Our Unfinished March: The Violent Past and Imperiled Future of the Vote-A History, a Crisis, a Plan, which chronicles the history of the vote in America. Sophomore Auishma Pradhan participated as a panelist, asking challenging, thoughtful questions. Patrick Leduc, Vice President at Vermont Student Assistance Corp, who organized the event, said that Mr. Holder expressed that the students on the panel and in the audience were a uniquely impressive group. Holder consistently promotes Vermont as an example of how to expand Voting rights and he will now be promoting VSAC’s youth and education systems as well. Thanks to these SB students for being so engaged!
The district is now on LinkedIn! Please follow us here for updates on jobs, district news, and more!
Director of Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, Anti-Racism, and Social Emotional Learning
The final candidates attended community forums this week and the next steps will be final interviews with the executive team on May 22nd.The final candidate will then go to the school board for approval on May 24th.
Recordings of the interviews at the Community Forum are available here:
Summer School Teachers (up to 20 hours per week)
Bachelor’s Degree and valid Teaching License (or eligible for licensure) with appropriate endorsement.
Ability to plan and implement lessons based on school and district objectives and the needs and abilities of assigned students.
Ability to perform duties with awareness of all district requirements, applicable laws, and Board policies.
School Psychologist
Provides a full range of school psychological services to children ages 3-21, including screening and assessment, designing remedial educational programs, individual and group counseling with school staff and parents as appropriate
Functions as a member of the multidisciplinary team to determine the student’s eligibility for special services, appropriate programming, and on-going progress.
Facilitates integration with the other special education services, in and out of the District
K-8 Special Education Coordinator
In collaboration with school leadership, coordinates Special Education programming within a multi-tiered system of supports and ensures procedural adherence, regulatory and legal compliance.
Promotes student learning and personal growth and works with all members of community members to enhance learning opportunities.
Serves as a Special Education resource for compliance and with intervention models within an MTSS framework.
Bus Drivers & Bus Aides
Transports students over established routes and special trips
Full and part-time positions available
Regular driver’s license for Van Drivers. Commercial Drivers license (CDL) class B, Senior Vermont Operator's license with Vermont School Bus Endorsement needed for Bus Drivers. Training provided to qualifying candidates for special licensure. Substitute positions are also available.
Bus Aides assist in providing safe transportation of assigned students and facilitate good student conduct while in transit.
High School or GED required
Full job descriptions are available on School Spring. If you have questions on hiring processes or on employment, please contact Elissa Galvez, Employment Specialist, egalvez@sbschools.net (802) 652-7247.
- It’s time to clean out old batteries! Frederick H. Tuttle science teacher Amelia Lutz is collecting old batteries to dispose of them properly since they can cause all sorts of problems in the landfill. Please bag or box your batteries and send them to Tuttle between May 12 and the morning of May 19.
- Label boxes Attn: Amelia Lutz and either drop them off at the front office or have your student drop them off in classroom 234.
On Thursday, May 25th, 5th-grade parents are invited to an information night at the middle school at 6:30 PM. This is an evening for parents only and not for students at this time.
- Attention Class of 2027! Also on Thursday, May 25th, students can attend 8th Grade Step Up Night at SBHS from 7- 8 pm. It will be a fun evening of meeting fellow students, getting a tour of the high school, and learning about your upcoming high school experience
- May is Asian American Pacific Islander Heritage Month. The World Language Wolf Pack at Frederick H. Tuttle Middle School held an event celebrating South Indian culture and cuisine. Jaya Connors, World Language Teacher Fiona Connors’ mom, Jaya Connors shared stories from her childhood in the jungles of Kerala, India, her experience with culture shock when she moved to Canada, and much more! They also created South Indian art called kolams, tasted some savory potato-filled lentil crepes called masala dosas, and ended the event with rose lassis and sweets. Their next event will be:
- Friday, May 19 (3:30-4:30 pm in Room 261): China-the Land of Adventure with FHT student Aroha Wilde and “Gramma Kate” (Katherine LaPrad)
Register for 2023-2024
Registration for new and returning students for the 2023-2024 school year is open now. Sign up here or contact your child’s school for more information.
Summer School
We are in the process of hiring our Summer School Coordinators and teachers for summer school for grades K-8. Information about summer school registration will be coming shortly. Summer school will start on Monday, July 3rd and end on Thursday, August 3rd.
