Washington Central Story
WCUUSD Community Newsletter - March 8, 2024
The first newsletter after our winter break always comes at an interesting time. On one hand, our schools have been closed for a little over a week, and there are not many new things to share from out & about the district. On the other hand, though, the return from break comes after Town Meeting Day and our district's budget vote. This year's budget development season was one of the most complex in the recent past. Our own realities within the district (enrollment decreases, the loss of federal funds, and general inflationary pressures on our system) collided with a number of statewide pressures beyond our control and resulted in almost unprecedented increases in property taxes for our communities. We knew that despite the widespread support that our communities historically show our schools (for which we are immensely grateful), this year's challenges were significant.
As you are likely aware by now, our budget did not pass on Town Meeting Day, and therefore the Board and administration will be discussing revisions to the original proposed budget and a new date for voting. We know that there will be many questions about the specifics. As you can imagine, the Board needs time to determine what additional parameters they will provide the leadership team, and the leadership team will need time to present a revised proposal to the Board. The Board is committed to providing opportunities for community input as well. The Board and administration will communicate more broadly with our communities in the coming days. Please look to our website and social media channels for additional information as it becomes available.
There is still much to share with you! We hope you enjoy this month's newsletter. Read on for an update and important input opportunity for our Strategic Plan
- Meagan Roy, Superintendent
In this issue...
- Strategic Planning Input Opportunity
- Humanity & Justice Corner
- Academic Achievement - Annual Snapshot Notification
- An important notice about Eclipse Day - April 8th
- Save the Dates: U-32 Craft Fair and a Community Book Group
- Upcoming Board meeting information
Strategic Planning
Input Opportunity!
It has been nearly a full calendar year since the convening of Washington Central’s first Strategic Planning Steering Committee meeting, and just over 15 months since beginning our collaboration with the Great Schools Partnership to navigate this important process. We are in the final phases of the process, and we would like your input!
The Steering Committee has taken the Vision & Core Beliefs for the district (created over several months using the input gathered from community forums, school events, surveys and focus groups) and developed draft strategic Goals and Action Steps that will guide the work of the district for the next several years. You can see this draft below (and it is also included in the Thoughtexchange survey itself).
As you know by now, we have committed to gathering input at each step of the process, and so we would like your feedback on our Goals before they are presented to the Board in April.
Please click on the link below and share your thoughts!
Humanity & Justice Corner
Shelley Vermilya, equity scholar in residence
March may be Women’s History Month, including International Women’s Day (today!), and International Transgender Day of Visibility (3/31), but our Vermont reality is that March is Mud Season!
Have you found a way to explain this additional season to someone from another state? Once you’ve had your boot sucked off in a mushy patch, you know Spring is coming.
With this in mind, I am reminded of a short essay by Anand Giridharadas. “When I look down at
the ground of the present right now, I feel depressed. If I lift my head to the horizon, I see a
different picture.” When we think on a larger scale, nationally rather than the nature we find in our landscape, he says, “… what we are actually endeavoring to do right now, is to become a kind of society that has seldom, if ever, existed in history. Which is becoming a majority-minority, democratic superpower.”
This is perhaps one of my favorite reminders: “We are falling on our face because we are jumping very high right now. We are trying to do something that does not work in theory.”
This March, as we wrestle with budgets, politics, and mud, keep this in mind: that we are
jumping very high and doing something rarely possible. Let’s work together to make the
impossible possible.
The Vietnamese Zen Buddhist monk, Thich Nhat Hanh said, “No mud, no lotus.” We don’t have
lotus here in New England, so get ready for DAFFODILS!
Check out this article by Board member Natasha Eckart, sharing the work of U-32 students in February!
Academic Achievement
Each year the Vermont Agency of Education publishes their annual snapshot. The annual snapshot is a tool that provides data about how schools, school districts, and the state are doing based on measures that the state has decided are important. The annual snapshot analyzes performance in the following areas: Academic Proficiency, Personalization, Safe and Healthy Schools, High Quality Staffing, and Investment Priorities. Key measures include current performance, performance change from the previous year, current differences in performance between students who have been historically underserved and students who have been historically privileged, and the amount of change between these two groups compared to their performance the previous year. These last two measures are known as the equity index. The Vermont Agency of Education identifies schools that are in need of improvement based on the equity index. Further, the Vermont Agency of Education articulates expectations and resources for schools that are identified as eligible for equity supports. Last month the Vermont Agency of Education published its list of equity support schools and school districts based on 2022-2023 results. Washington Central UUSD was identified for Equity 1 supports based on differences in performance for the following student groups: Free and Reduced Lunch, Individualized Education Plan, and Historically Marginalized. At the school level, East Montpelier Elementary School was identified for Equity 1 supports for Historically Marginalized students and U-32 was identified for Equity 1 supports in the categories of Free and Reduced Lunch, Individualized Education Plan, and Historically Marginalized. Washington Central is committed to ensuring that all of our students succeed. We will continue to analyze our data, paying particular attention to how our students in various groups are doing and ensuring that we respond in ways that meet their needs.
You can find more information about the Vermont Agency of Education’s Equity Expectations and Supports here. And, you can find some informational videos about Vermont’s annual snapshot here.
Eclipse Day - April 8th
Half Day for Students!
Early in the school year our principals and their teams began to think about the upcoming solar eclipse on April 8th. Knowing the historic nature of this event and the fact that it falls on a school day, their early conversations with their staff and community partners had a goal of planning for students to view the eclipse at school.
Over the past several months, however, many of our neighboring school districts made the decision to hold a half day for students. This caused us to look closely at our situation to see whether we also needed to adjust our schedule. We agreed that three things were important to guide our decision: 1. Safety; 2. Ability to adjust transportation so students wouldn't be on busses during the "period of totality" and 3. Making sure we have enough staff to hold school.
We reached out to the Agency of Education's school safety coordinator, who let us know that there are no formal safety warnings or concerns other than the fact that we can expect our area to be very crowded that day! Our bus company also assured us that they could accommodate our scheduling needs. The third item, however, is a challenge for us. After the February break it became clear that so many staff have requested time away that we will not be able to safely open schools for the full day. Therefore, we have made the decision that Monday, April 8th will be a half day for students. School will be dismissed at the normal "half day" time - 11:30 for U-32 and 12:30 for elementary schools.
Check out these upcoming events!
Our new website launched this past December! Check it out when you get a chance, if you haven't already. If you notice anything that needs attention or have suggestions please use the “contact the webmaster” link.
WCUUSD Board Meeting - Budget Revote Discussion
Our next regular Board meeting will be an important one. It is here that the Board will discuss the budget that failed and determine what they will ask the administration to prepare in a revised budget. They will also determine the new budget vote date. If you would like to be part of this important conversation, please join us! Check out our website for more information and for the link to join virtually if you can't be there in person:
www.wcuusd.org/school-board/meeting-resources/board-meeting-resources
Wednesday, Mar 13, 2024, 06:15 PM
U-32 Middle & High School, Gallison Hill Road, Montpelier, VT, USA
Washington Central Unified Union School District
Website: https://www.wcuusd.org/
Location: 1130 Gallison Hill Road, Montpelier, VT, USA
Phone: (802) 229-0553
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/wcsu32