Dear Parents and Community Members,

Welcome back to another exciting school year! Our first day was fantastic as we welcomed our students back on campus. I’d like to take a moment to share some important updates, outline our district goals, and highlight upcoming opportunities for engagement.

This Year’s Goals and Strategic Plan Update

We are excited to begin year three of our five-year strategic plan, which reflects our commitment to continuous improvement and excellence in education. This year, we will build upon the progress made in the first two years, with a strong emphasis on advancing our academic initiatives, enhancing student support services, and fostering community partnerships. Our strategic plan will guide these efforts to ensure that we continue to provide high-quality education and meet the evolving needs of our students and community.

Our primary goal this year is to enhance the educational experience for all our students by focusing on improving academic outcomes while also supporting their overall development. We are dedicated to fostering an environment where every student can thrive, follow their unique path, and grow into a respectful, caring, and lifelong learner who positively impacts the global community.

Construction Update

We are looking forward to the completion of our new federally funded learning spaces, which will offer our students wonderful new opportunities to explore and enjoy. However, due to the flooding that occurred in July, the construction that was originally planned to be completed by the beginning of school was delayed by a few weeks. While these spaces are not quite ready yet, I want to extend a big thank you to our staff and administration for their proactive approach in responding to this challenge. Their creative solutions ensure that our students will continue to have engaging learning opportunities while we await the completion of these new facilities. We will continue to keep you informed about the progress of these spaces and appreciate your patience and understanding.

Ramping Up Communications

To keep you better informed and engaged this year, we are enhancing our communication efforts. We will be providing regular updates and launching quarterly District newsletters to keep you up to date on important information and District events. I encourage you to stay connected through our District’s website and our newly created Facebook page, and I invite you to participate in Community Forums and surveys throughout the year. Our first Community Forum will be held on October 15th, 2024 at 6:00 pm in the St. Johnsbury School Auditorium. Please feel free to reach out with any questions, comments, or feedback at any time by email or through our Connect With Us form.

Thank you for your continued support and dedication to our school community. Here’s to a successful and enriching school year ahead!

Sincerely,

Karen E. Conroy

Superintendent

If your child attends high school, and you have not submitted a Request for Public Tuition Dollars form, it is now overdue. Tuition to your child’s school will not be paid until this form has been received and approved by the District Office.

Last year, we began this process electronically to make the process quicker and more efficient for our community. If you have not completed a Tuition Voucher form, please do so immediately.

To avoid any disruptions and ensure timely payment of tuition, please take the following actions:

• Complete the Request for Public Tuition Dollars Form: Click the Parent Portal to log into your St. Johnsbury School District parent portal to access and complete the voucher.
• Don’t Have an Account?: If you do not yet have a parent portal account, please fill out the Parent Portal Request form.

Your prompt attention to this matter is essential for smoothly processing tuition payments. If you have any questions or need assistance, please contact Linda Hartwell in our District Office at (802) 745-2800.

The St. Johnsbury School District wants to engage with the community about what it values most in its schools. Since not everyone can attend our Community Budget Forum on October 15th, we are reaching out to engage you with four quick questions. All input is valuable and will be reviewed by the St. Johnsbury School District Board and Administration. We appreciate you taking the time to share your thoughts with us.

We are pleased to announce that Teresa Gould has joined our team as the new Director of our afterschool and summer programming, effective September 9, 2024. Many of you may already be familiar with Teresa through her active participation in our community and her involvement with our school.

Teresa brings a wealth of experience in advocacy and program management to this role. Her impressive background includes serving as a Victim Advocate with the Caledonia County State’s Attorney’s Office, a Legal Advocate at Umbrella, and a Program Director at Northeast Kingdom Human Services. Teresa earned her Master’s Degree in Organizational Management Leadership in 2016.

We are confident that Teresa’s dynamic energy, extensive professional network, and profound expertise will be invaluable assets to our program and allow us to uphold the program's tradition of excellence. Please join us in extending a warm welcome to Teresa in her new role. Teresa can be contacted at Teresa.Gould@stjsd.org

We’re excited to share that our own Evan Jewell, a dedicated art teacher at St. Johnsbury School was featured in the Vermont Rural Education Collaborative, to showcase Evan’s profound passion for teaching and his commitment to showcasing student art.

Explore how Evan brings joy and inspiration to his students while teaching in rural Vermont, and learn about his innovative approach to integrating art with nature.

Discover more: Read the full article

Dear St. Johnsbury School District Families, Guardians, and Caregivers,

All students and members of our school communities deserve to feel safe, welcomed, and included. It is on all of us to work together to prevent firearm violence and to avoid the harm and tragedy that shootings of any kind can cause in the spaces in which we live, learn, work, and play.

Safe firearm storage is one of many preventative actions that can keep our school community safe. Safe firearm storage can help prevent firearms from getting into the hands of children and teens, who may use them to, intentionally or unintentionally, harm themselves or others. If you have firearms in your home or if your child spends time in a space where firearms are present, there are important steps that can be taken to keep firearms safe and secure.

Safe Firearm Storage: Actions to Take to Keep Our Communities Safe

Everyone, both firearm owners and non-owners, has a role to play in building awareness of safe, responsible firearm storage. Below are simple, highly effective practices that can help to reduce firearm-related incidents in our community and help protect our kids.

• Safely Store Firearms: Store firearms—always unloaded—in a tamper proof locked cabinet, box, safe, firearm vault, or storage case that children or other unauthorized adults cannot access.
• Safely Store Ammunition: Store ammunition in a separate, tamper-proof locked cabinet, safe, firearm vault, or storage case that children or other unauthorized adults cannot access.
• Secure Firearms: Use trigger locks or cable locks to prevent a firearm from firing. (More information can be found on the Safe Firearm Storage Fact Sheet, developed by the U.S. Department of Justice.)
• Trigger locks use a mechanism that clamps down around the trigger or trigger housing to prevent it from being pressed (Note: trigger locks should not be installed on loaded firearms).
• In a cable lock, a cable is threaded through the barrel or action of a firearm to prevent it from firing.

Safe Firearm Storage: Resources in Vermont

In Vermont, we have resources available to support safe storage of firearms and to assist when firearms need to be removed from a home.

The www.gunsafevt.org website[1] provides:

1) a link to the Vermont State Police’s web-based map of federal firearm licensees (FFLs) who offer safe, out-of-home, temporary storage for firearms;
2) a list of locations around the state where free gun cable locks are available; and
3) resources on state laws around safe gun storage and methods for safe gun storage.
Vermont law requires gun owners to safely store their firearms if a child or unauthorized adult is likely to gain access to them. For information about Vermont laws that provide options to restrict firearms access for individuals who pose a risk to themselves or others, please visit: www.gunsafevt.org

Additionally, Vermont law provides options to restrict firearms access for individuals who pose a risk to themselves or others. Relief From Abuse orders (RFAs) offer firearms removal and other protection where a household or family member has caused harm. Extreme Risk Protection Orders (ERPOs) allow state authorities or family/household members to obtain an order preventing an individual in crisis from buying, having or receiving firearms. More information about safe storage, RFAs and ERPOs is available at www.gunsafevt.org.

The St. Johnsbury School District remains committed to the safety of our students and school community. Thank you for being a partner in these efforts.

Sincerely,

Karen E. Conroy

Superintendent

[1] This website is a joint project of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Vermont, the UVM Medical Center, ATF, the Vermont State Police, the Vermont Attorney General’s Office, the Vermont Sheriffs’ Association, the Vermont Department of Fish and Wildlife, and Vermont’s Office of the Director of Violence Prevention.