ACSD Newsletter February 2023

Many of our youngest students are learning to cross country ski thanks to Rikert Outdoor Center and our PE and classroom teachers and staff! [photo by Cyndi Palmer]

As we approach Town Meeting Day on March 7, 2023, it seems fitting to highlight all of the ways that students explore civic engagement, culture, and community in our schools. I also want to share some upcoming opportunities for you to engage in the future direction of the ACSD:

Town Meeting Day, the ACSD Annual Meeting & Budget Book

On March 7th, voters in each of our seven towns will have the opportunity to vote on several open ACSD board seats in Bridport, Cornwall, Middlebury, and Salisbury. Although candidates run for a seat from individual towns, it is important to remember that our board members represent all students in the ACSD, not just the students in the school of their particular residence. As members of the ACSD, you vote for every open seat in the district, not only for the seat(s) for your town.

• You can watch each of the candidate's interviews on MCTV here. Thanks to our two ACSD student board reps, Narges and Eddie, for hosting these interviews, to the Addison Independent for the questions, and to MCTV for producing the videos!
• You can read about the candidates and their positions in this week's Addison Independent. We encourage you to talk to any candidates who are running about your hopes, questions, and concerns and about their vision for how to serve all students within our district.

The ACSD Annual Meeting will be held on February 28, 2023 from 7-9pm at Middlebury Union High School, 73 Charles Ave in Middlebury VT. All are invited to attend. You can find the Annual FY 2024 Budget Book on the ACSD Website or view a hard copy at ACSD's Central Office at 49 Charles Ave, Middlebury VT.

Superintendent Hiring Process

With consultation from McPherson & Jacobson LLC, the ACSD Board has spent February seeking public engagement on the superintendent hiring process. If you haven't already joined a forum or filled out the survey, we hope you will do so.

• Find the survey links here, or
• Attend one of the final community forums on Monday February 27th at 4:00 at Mary Hogan or at 6:30 at Shoreham Elementary.

I hope you had a restful week off and our students and staff enjoy a great return to school!

With gratitude,
Peter Burrows, Superintendent

Students in Ms. Martin’s MYP (Middle Years Program) 4 class learned about how to impact the future of their towns! They were joined by I&S teacher, Ms. Slater, and Mr. Remsen who are both members of their local Town Planning Committees who answered questions and shared ideas about local planning including how to make improve affordable housing and our local economy while preserving our ecosystems and rural feel.

Students and teachers at MUMS enjoyed a Mardi Gras and Carnival celebration where they practiced their language skills and explored the cultures and diverse ways of living! French teacher, Denise Berube-Mayone, shared the highlight that “…students were exposed to music from Québec, Louisiana, France and Martinique, as well as learning about Mardi Gras & its masques, costumes & disguises. It was terrific to see students excited about presenting in another language!”

Our superintendent search continues. As Superintendent Burrows' note above shares, there are two remaining in-person forums on February 27th (4:00 at Mary Hogan School or 6:30pm at Shoreham Elementary School) and an ongoing online survey where you can share feedback in February. The in person and online forums and surveys ask the same 4 questions:

1. What makes our community a good place to live?

2. What makes this a good school district for students and staff?

3. What are the issues that a new superintendent needs to know about when he or she comes into the district?

3. What skills, qualities, and characteristics will the new superintendent need in order to be successful?

You can find direct links to the surveys here:

Survey in English: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/AddisonVTEnglish

Encuesta en español: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/AddisonSpanish

中文调查: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/AddisonChinese

Inquérito em Português: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/AddisonPortuguese

မြန်မာနိုင်ငံတွင် စစ်တမ်းကောက်ယူခြင်း: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/AddisonBurmese

The MUHS principal and Ripton principal searches are underway. We’ll share updates and opportunities to meet the candidates with those school communities as that process unfolds.

We keep an "ACSD Events" calendar, which you can find here and download to your personal calendar. It holds all school breaks, early release days, and other dates that are helpful to our ACSD community. Here are a couple of important upcoming dates:

• Tues. February 28 - ACSD Annual Meeting
• Fri. March 3 - No School Day, Teacher Inservice
• Weds. March 8 - Early Release Day
• Friday March 24 - No School Day, Teacher Inservice

You can find board meetings, agendas, and the zoom link to watch every board meeting on this webpage. The School Board's quarterly updates are sent to all ACSD community members by email, and can be found on the website here.

We use our newsletter and social media to stay connected and give you a peek into our classrooms. For more regular connection and lots of photos, follow us: Insta: @acsdvtschools FB: @acsdvt TW: @acsdvtschools

Remember to send a note in advance or call if your child will be late, absent, needs to leave early, or has a change in their after-school plans. Here are the numbers to every front office:

• Bridport Central School 802-758-2331 | 3442 VT Route 22A Bridport, VT 05734
• Cornwall Elementary School 802-462-2463 | 112 School Road Cornwall, VT 05753
• Mary Hogan School 802-388-4421 | 201 Mary Hogan Drive Middlebury, VT 05753
• Middlebury Union High School 802-382-1500 | 73 Charles Avenue Middlebury, VT 05753
• Middlebury Union Middle School 802-382-1600 | 48 Deerfield Lane Middlebury, VT 05753
• Ripton Elementary School 802-388-2208 | PO Box 155, 753 Lincoln Road Ripton, VT 05766
• Salisbury Community School 802-352-4291 | 286 Kelly Cross Road Salisbury, VT 05769
• Shoreham Elementary School 802-897-7181 | 130 School Road Shoreham, VT 05770
• Weybridge Elementary School 802-545-2113 | 210 Quaker Village Road Weybridge, VT 05753