The Lamoille Ledger
Superintendent's Weekly News 10-8-21
Important Dates / Resources
October 9th - Free event: Indigenous Peoples' Day Rocks (Stowe Vibrancy)
October 11th - No School (Indigenous Peoples' Day) Parent Conferences
October 19th - LSUU Board Meeting (Morristown Elementary 5:30PM)
October 29th - Early Release
Links:
Weekly Update
We're completing another great week of learning at LSUU. We hope by now you had a chance to register for a parent / caregiver conference next week. If not, please reference principal communications from this week with registration information or contact your school directly. It is our goal to meet with every family as we start this year on a strong foundation. If you are not getting weekly emails from your child's school, please make sure you are subscribed to the school updates by clicking HERE.
At this week's board meeting, we discussed COVID health and safety protocols, federal funding, and provided an update on our new district equity subcommittee. Surveillance testing was something we discussed quite a bit and I encourage you to read the update below as we navigate guidance from the state around this topic.
Thank you all for the work you are doing to keep our students in school. By keeping your children home when they exhibit symptoms, we are keeping our students in school full-time!
Have a wonderful weekend,
Ryan Heraty
Superintendent
Lamoille South Unified Union
802-888-4541
October is PRINCIPALS Month
COVID Surveillance Testing Update
The state has recently released a new testing plan with several testing options; the Test to Stay appears to have the most promise for keeping students safely in school. Other states, including Massachusetts, are implementing this program with great success. One key data point that was shared at the Vermont School Nurses webinar yesterday was that for every child that currently tests positive, 49 children are currently being required to quarantine. This is having a very detrimental impact on student learning in many schools throughout the state. Our goal is to ensure students stay safe, healthy, and in school. Test to Stay will potentially help with that mission.
Here is how the Test to Stay program works:
- If there is a positive case in a classroom, close contact families of unvaccinated students would be alerted and offered the option of quarantining for 7 days and receiving a negative PCR test result, quarantining for 14 days, or completing daily antigen testing for 7 days and staying in school (unless they display symptoms or test positive).
- If students exhibit any symptoms during the 7 days, they would be required to stay home until they received a negative PCR test or quarantine for 14 days.
- Students participating in Test to Stay would need to quarantine when they are not in school for the 7 days.
- Students that are vaccinated would still be notified and be able to come to school unless they displayed symptoms.
Here is an interesting article discussing Test to Stay.
Goal Update - Proficiency Based Learning 2.0
Here are some action steps that have happened recently connected to this goal:
- The district leadership team is meeting with each school's faculty to present our plan for revision.
- Curriculum council and steering committees are being established to ensure teachers are heavily involved in the process.
- We are partnering with Marzano and Associates, a national leader in this work, for training and professional support for our teachers and leadership teams.
- A community advisory council has been established to help provide feedback throughout this process from parents and community members.
- A transcript review occurred with high school counselors to determine if any immediate changes needed to be made to documents reviewed by college admissions officers while long-term adjustments are carefully considered by the curriculum council.
We are excited with the support we are getting from the community around this goal and we would like you to know educator, parent and student participation will be critical along the way. Opportunities for feedback will be shared as potential revisions are outlined over the coming months.
LSUU Early Education Programming - 5 STARS!
Providers may apply for STARS recognition in four areas:
- Staff qualifications and training;
- Interaction with and overall support of children, families, and communities;
- How thoroughly providers assess what they do and plan for improvements; and
- The strength of the program’s operating policies and business practices.
One-star programs are programs that have a full license based on the appropriate child care licensing regulations.
Two-star programs (1 - 4 points) are making a commitment to strengthen their practices. They may have made some progress in many areas or more progress in one or two areas.
Three-star programs (5 - 8 points) have made improvements and are working to reach specific goals. They have either made substantial progress in two or three areas or have made some improvements across all four areas.
Four-star programs (9 -11 points) are established programs that have met several standards of quality in all four areas. Many four-star programs are also nationally accredited.
Five-star programs (12-14 points) are outstanding in all four areas. Many five-star programs are also nationally accredited.
As you can see, this is quite the accomplishment and we are extremely proud of our Pre-K programs and educators!
Coat Drive
Winter is coming, so pick up your New to You coat or donate a coat for others. The Morrisville Rotary Coat drive provides free clean, used coats and ski pants.
Coat Donation:
Morrisville Meals on Wheels (21 Munson Avenue, M-F, 7-4)
Marble Realty (14 Stafford Avenue, Morrisville - by appointment or chance Mon, Fri, Sat mornings)
Pickup of Coats (Adult and youth items available):
Friday 10/15, 4-6
Saturday 10/16, 10-3
Sunday 10/17, noon-3
Holy Cross Catholic Church, 301 Brooklyn Street, Morrisville
Masks required
Lamoille South Unified Union
Email: ryan.heraty@lsuu.org
Website: www.lsuu.org
Location: 46 Copley Avenue, Morristown, VT, USA
Phone: 802-888-4541
Facebook: facebook.com/lsuuvt
Twitter: @lsuuvt