Washington Central Connection
Some thoughts for the starting school year
School is back in session and the excitement of a new school year can be felt in all our buildings. During this first month, our teachers focus on building relationships and routines, because they form the bedrock of learning. Students who feel accepted and have a sense of belonging are more available for learning and consistent routines lessen the stress of knowing what is expected. I have enjoyed visiting classes and seeing our students engaging in learning, relationship building and skill development. We are so fortunate as a district to have such high quality educators taking care of our students' needs.
We also begin this school year with some difficult challenges. Our school board is engaged in a process of looking at our current configuration of schools and trying to determine what is the best configuration to meet all students' needs and provide the best education possible. We face many challenges as a district. Our enrollment has declined steadily over the past several years and will continue to decline for a few more. We face rising costs for all goods and services. Our state as a whole is wrestling with how to best fund our schools. We also face the same challenges as every business in the state in finding staff. I am constantly reminding myself to focus on the things I can control and to try and influence the things I can influence while remembering that many things are outside of my direct control. I hope our communities can support our board as they decide how to move forward in a way that supports the needs of our schools and communities.
Throughout the year in this monthly newsletter, we will be highlighting our work to meet the goals of our Strategic Plan. They are:
Build and nurture a culture of well-being and inclusivity.
Challenge, empower and engage each student through evidence-based instructional strategies and curriculum and varied educational opportunities.
Foster and commit to responsible leadership that engages the community and communicates transparently
In this edition, you will also find
- Teacher and Staff of the Year information
- Humanity & Justice Update
- Curriculum Instruction & Assessment Update
- What's Happening in our Buildings
- Community Announcements
Our work in PreK-12 education is so all children and staff can learn and thrive in school, as who they are and are becoming, and behave in ways that allow others to do the same.
This is the definition of equity that guides my work with the Washington Central Unified United School District. As your equity scholar in residence, I am curious to engage with every question and concern from teachers, administrators, special educators, librarians, board members, students and their caregivers, to think together as we make this commitment come true.
At the heart of the WCUUSD are these core beliefs and values:
Humanity, Justice, Community and Belonging
Well-Being
Transparent and Responsible Leadership
Rigorous Curriculum and Instruction
Community Engagement and Relationship
To make these ideas more than pie-in-the-sky words, we have built a strong foundation. You’ll see it in the district Strategic Plan with the Goals and Action Steps.* Community members helped design this plan with the realization that there is a lot to do for the health and well-being of our whole community. We steer our efforts by the district’s Humanity and Justice Commitment.* Please take a peek at these. Even if you have read the commitment statement, you may have another point of view this year.
Our district’s new staff considered the following questions after reading the commitment statement during their August in-service. By the way, the questions are those asked of our 7th graders as they examine the statement each fall:
Something that you think is important…
Something that you want or need some clarification about…
A question that it raises for you…
Implications and/or inspirations based on our questions…
The Humanity and Justice Coalition is working with the Board to craft policies for
Creating Learning Environments to Engage in Civil Discourse and an Education Philosophy.
Together with our Student Learning Outcomes, the new Educational Quality Standards, and our Core Beliefs these initiatives provide a strong foundation for the vital and exciting educational commitments we are dedicated to upholding.
We are a mighty wonderful school district with many challenges ahead. I offer these works-in-progress as we begin the good-hard thinking we’ll be doing.
Here’s to a new school year of kindness, joy, and courage for good learning and thinking!
Your equity scholar in residence,
Shelley
Lots of Links!
Strategic Plan with the Goals and Action Steps.
Humanity and Justice Commitment.
Each fall, in addition to warmly welcoming our students, building learning communities that support all students, and establishing instructional routines, we engage in fall screening assessments that provide baseline data about our students' current levels of performance. We are currently in the middle of our fall assessment window. While our teachers engage in formative assessment--also known as assessment for learning--every day, we also administer common assessments across our schools three times per year. These common assessments are focused on literacy and mathematics. We use the data in many ways. At the district and school levels, we analyze the data to look for trends and inform decisions about how we allocate resources such as staff, time, and professional learning. Teachers use the data to inform their classroom practices and to plan instruction that meets all of their students' needs. Across all levels we monitor both student performance and student growth, striving to ensure that all students meet our academic expectations and make significant growth. We report our results to the school board on a regular basis and include the results as part of our continuous improvement efforts.
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Community Announcements
- U-32 Cross Country Invitational Kids Races 9/28/24
- WCUUSD School Board Meeting 10/1/24 6:15 PM @ Calais Elementary ( In-Person/Virtual)
- Rumney Memorial Open House Breakfast 10/2/24 8:30 am
- East Montpelier Elementary Open House 10/2/24 4:30-6:30 pm
- WCUUSD School Board Meeting 10/16/24 6:15 PM @ U-32 ( In-Person/Virtual)
