WCUUSD Curriculum Newsletter

Hi, WCUUSD educators--

I hope this month's newsletter finds you all rested and recharged after April break.

While it seems like the end of the school year is right around the corner, this last stretch is actually one of the longest and least interrupted learning blocks of the entire year.

As a first year teacher many, many years ago, I learned the hard way how valuable it is to lean into instructional routines as the end of the school year approaches. As the days get longer and warmer and the calendar fills with all sorts of special events, it can be challenging to sustain attention and focus. After ending my first year of teaching chaotically at best, I "failed forward" in subsequent years, ensuring that I supported my students to maintain our instructional routines so that we all finished strong together.

What will you do now to ensure that you and your students finish strong together?

Warmly,

Jen

Curriculum Council got to meet twice this month. We’ve spent the majority of our time making plans for the upcoming professional half day on May 13. In addition to the plans and the sign up form that our principals shared recently, we want to highlight a few points:

• Most of the work on May 13 is the culmination of work that was started this past summer by teachers during Curriculum Camp. The professional learning sessions have been designed collaboratively by teachers and administrators and are aligned to our district’s strategic plan.

• The plans for May 13 provide educators an opportunity to deepen their practice and apply their learning and were created using the universal design for learning principles.

• There is a lot of commonality between the areas of focus at our elementary schools and U-32.

• We are working very hard to ensure that our work is coherent and will be sustained and deepened next year.

Next month we will work on drafting our annual Local Comprehensive Assessment Plan (LCAP) feedback survey. Look for it in mid-May or early June.

• Berlin: Celia Guggemos, Melissa Maring

• Calais: Ainsley Burroughs, Jenna Howard, Jarrod Weiss

• Doty: Allison Fayle, Gillian Fuqua

• East Montpelier: Alicia Lyford, Hilary Paquet, Dave Willard

• Rumney: Veronica Fair, Karoline May

• U-32: Aanika DeVries, JB Hilferty, Jenn Ingersoll, Amy Molina, Brittany Perry, Becca Tatistcheff

• WCUUSD: Ellen Dorsey, Jen Miller-Arsenault

The Education Quality Committee focused on fall and winter district data. Specifically, we examined i-Ready Math, i-Ready Reading, and Acadience K-6 reading data. Here is a copy of the presentation.

At our next meeting on May 20 we will look at our disaggregated data, analyzing differences in performance among groups of students (gender, free and reduced lunch eligibility, race/ethnicity, and IEP eligibility). I will share the presentation with you in the next newsletter.

Earlier this month we learned about a student curriculum survey related to issues of equity, belonging, and relevance. We learned about the survey tool itself, the results, and how a high school student and a high school teacher worked together before, during, and after the survey to receive and respond to student feedback. It was an incredible example of partnership, and we are considering how we might continue to promote and develop this work.

We are still seeking student co-chairs. We hope to have one student who represents Grades 7-9 and another student who represents Grades 10-12. Student co-chairs will plan and facilitate monthly meetings with adult co-chairs. Hopefully we will have identified and appointed student co-chairs by the end of this school year.

Please note that the spring assessment window has been adjusted. The new window is May 18-June 5. The window starts and ends one week earlier than previously announced. The window was adjusted based on teacher and principal feedback. You can find the full LCAP here.

Vermont's Education Quality Standards require schools to develop and implement a Continuous Improvement Plan. We have been monitoring our progress on our 2025-2026 goals. Once the spring assessment window has closed, we will complete the monitoring for this year and determine next steps for next year. Data analysis will happen at the school level. Ultimately, the school board is responsible for approving the plans annually.

Here are the current CIP's:

• Berlin Elementary
• Calais Elementary
• Doty Memorial
• East Montpelier Elementary
• Rumney Memorial
• U-32 Middle and High
• Washington Central UUSD

As reported previously, we've been selected to host Responsive Classroom courses from August 11-13 at U-32 as long as we reach minimum participation requirements.

Below is the list of offerings:

• Responsive Classroom Course for Elementary Educators (PreK-5)
• Responsive Classroom Course for Secondary Educators (6-12)
• Responsive Classroom Discipline Course (K-12)
• Teaching Children to Care with MTSS (K-12)

So far very few people have registered. If you've been thinking about registering, please do so soon. In late July the Center for Responsive Schools will determine whether or not courses will run; however we will know for sure that a course will run sooner than that if at least 16 people sign up for it.

You can find more information about all four courses and a registration link here.

Just a few key reminders for licensed educators:

• Please make sure that your employment is up-to-date and accurate in your VLSE account.
• If you have a Level I or Level II license and you have any questions or concerns about your professional learning (PL) activities or your renewal application, reach out to your Local Standards Board (LSB) representative. Do not reach out directly to the Agency of Education.
• Our LSB maintains a website. You can find all of the information you need to successfully renew your license on this page. Please review it periodically, even if it is not your relicensure year.