The Lamoille Ledger

November 4th - SSD Board Meeting - 5:30PM (SES)

November 11th - No School (Veterans Day)

November 21st - EMUU Board Meeting - 5:30PM (MES)

November 25th - 29th- No School (Thanksgiving Break)

LSSU Strategic Plan

LSSU Family Handbook (2024-25)

Annual Report

Healthy Lamoille Youth Resources

Prior Newsletters

District Website

District 2024-25 Calendar

Lamoille County - Find Help Page

Dear Lamoille South Community,

I hope you are embracing these warm temperatures as many children prepare for a night on the town. Please review the Halloween safety tips below. I have also included school safety slideshows that were presented to each school board. This is a very important topic and one that we take very seriously. Last Friday, I had an opportunity to present with a team at the Vermont Superintendents Association and School Board Associations' fall conference on the successful rollout of the phone-free policy. Many districts were curious how we were able to roll out the policy so smoothly. The key point we emphasized is that without the support of our families and educators this would have never been possible.

While phone-free applies mostly to our upper grades, there has also been exciting work happening at the elementary level. At Morristown Elementary, we have seen dramatic decreases in student discipline referrals and the successful implementation of a therapeutic program that is supporting some of our most vulnerable children. Teachers at MES have launched a year-long reset around culture and expectations, focusing on the Responsive Classroom Model. At Stowe Elementary, teachers have been participating in a literacy training called LETRS to strengthen overall reading and writing skills. If you are ever curious around what teachers are doing on all those half days, this is where a great deal of that energy is spent.

Please take a minute to review some of the important information below and as always, please reach out with any questions.

Regards,

Ryan Heraty

Superintendent

Lamoille South Supervisory Union

ryan.heraty@lamoillesouth.org

802-888-4541

This past month, our administrative team, along with Katina Idol from Lamoille County Mental Health, presented to the school board on the topic of school safety. Here are the slides from the EMUU and the Stowe presentations which were focused on the research-based ways to create safe school communities. As many children head out tonight for trick or treating, it is an important time to review traffic safety. Children are more likely to get hit by a car on Halloween so please encourage everyone to slow down and wear brightly colored outfits.

Last Friday, I was fortunate to join EMUU Board Member Richard Shanley, Parent Molly Gaines, and Principal Greenfield to present at the joint Vermont Superintendents / School Boards Association fall conference (see below). We were invited to share our work around creating a phone-free policy and the implementation of that policy. HERE are the slides that we presented at the conference and here are some of the quotes directly from teachers when asked: How is the Phone-Free Policy Going?

"In the high school, I see students speaking to each other. Our students negatively impacted by anxiety have been the most positively impacted. The world feels more predictable now that they know nobody has their phones. Three students come to mind (across both buildings) in particular who are now attending classes and engaging in learning when before they couldn't do so."

"This change has been overwhelmingly positive. The learning environment feels academically focused, and students are much more available, engaged, and connected."

"It has been fantastic! There are a little more phone calls from parents letting me know their students after school plans are but I really enjoy speaking with them! Students come in to use the school phone to make arrangements with parents. I even love seeing the high school students chatting in the lunchroom and outside courtyard!"

"Our school climate is significantly improved. In the first or second week of school, my TA all complained about the policy feeling unfair. However, the next week when we discussed school climate, every single one of them (without prompting) described the climate as being significantly improved. They all admitted (and acknowledged the irony) that the phone policy none of them liked seemed to be having an enormous impact on the positive climate."

Congratulations to the Stowe High girls and boys cross country teams that both won the state championship last weekend.

Ninth grade students at Peoples Academy presented their learning on climate change impacts to specific ecosystems.

An important component to our schools is giving back to the community. The Wheels for Warmth event is a wonderful way for students to earn their community service hours while also making a difference. Several of our students joined SHS teacher Heather Hoffman to participate in the event this year.

We are launching our second year of student advisory councils this month. This youth-adult partnership is a project in line with our Portrait of a Graduate that allows us to involve more student voice in how decisions are made in the district. This year, the councils will be focused on a goal in our strategic plan which is to design cumulative learning units at grades 4, 8, and 12 in both districts.

Below: Our advisory council presented their student climate data in the spring of 2024. Students that have been trained in leadership will have an opportunity to stay on the council along with other students that would like to join.