ACSD September Family Newsletter!

Dear ACSD Community,

The first month of the school year has been filled with so much learning and celebration as we embark on what has felt more like a “normal” year. Welcoming families back into schools at open houses and community gatherings has helped to ground and connect us. I am reminded how impactful our relationships and connections are to making everything work both in our schools and in our community.

In the photos below, you'll see the routines and relationships that are built in the first few weeks of school that help students form connection and community. You will also read stories about the contributions our staff members make to our schools and beyond.

We know that family/school communication is crucial to students' success. We are working to make our communications clearer and more accessible, so that engagement with schools is as fluid as possible. Of note:

• Each school principal has a new Friday newsletter program which allows them to share more engaging updates, photos, and easy links. (Check your email folders or connect with your school if you aren't receiving these.)
• We share regular highlights from classrooms and activities on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter.
• Our ACSD District newsletters will arrive monthly in the school year. We welcome your feedback and your contributions (see the section below about how to celebrate a staff member!)

Thank you for visiting our schools, for volunteering, and for being a part of our community whose primary focus is the success of our students.

Peter Burrows, D.Ed.
ACSD Superintendent

The first few weeks of school are about building our classroom and our school communities. In the photos below, you'll see many of the ways our schools and classrooms support our students to prepare for learning and build relationships.

This year our elementary school staff are focused on building Responsive Classrooms, a student-centered, social and emotional learning approach to teaching and discipline. Responsive Classrooms is based in research and evidence-based practices designed to create safe, joyful, and engaging classrooms and school communities for students and teachers. The video below shares more about the practices of Responsive Classrooms:

Everyone in our community wants to ensure that our students have the social emotional tools to be successful in school and in life. This October we will use a new survey tool to help us answer questions about how our students are doing and how our schools and district can strengthen our universal instruction for all students. Your principals will share more information in their newsletters next week.

We are delighted to share that Michelle Steele, a language teacher at Middlebury Union High School, was awarded a Fulbright Distinguished Award in Teaching Research by the Fulbright Foreign Scholarship Board! Her research project is centered around decolonization in Morocco, and how US educators might learn from this process to de-colonize and de-center settler perspectives in their own curricula.

Mrs. Steele is particularly excited about the impact this fellowship will have on ACSD students. “Intercultural understanding is more important today than ever. As a language teacher, one of my principal goals is to bring the world and global perspectives to my classroom. This work will make me a more informed, more internationally-minded, and more passionate educator.” She added, “I believe that this project will support our International Baccalaureate mission of cultivating international mindedness to create a more just and peaceful world. In more concrete terms, this research will inform curricular changes.”

We recently received a note from a caregiver who was searching for a student's backpack. She went to MUHS after school hours and found Preston, one of our incredible MUHS custodians. She shared, "He helped me look for the backpack. He was so extremely polite and helpful. I hated interrupting him while he was working, but he assured me it was no big deal. He not only helped me look in the locker room and the locker, he also brought me to the office area to see if it possibly was turned in. As much as I appreciated that, what totally blew me out of the water is that he asked where I was parked and accompanied me to the exit closest to that area. He stood by the door while I crossed the darkened parking lot and arrived at my car. I can't begin to thank him enough for how respectful, kind, and helpful he was!! He not only does his job, but goes over and beyond what would be expected!!! As a grandmother, community member, and ACSD employee, I am so appreciative of what he did and feel very blessed and proud that we have individuals like Preston working for ACSD!"

We know that there are endless ways our staff care for our students and community. There are so many moments, like the one shared about Preston, that happen within our schools. These are the moments that bind our community together and we hope to highlight more of them.

Last year, we created a form so that colleagues, parents, students, and community members to highlight these moments. Please use this form ANYTIME you what to share kudos about someone at ACSD!

You can find updates to our COVID guidance from Nurse Kelly Landwehr, COVID Coordinator, by clicking the button above. Nurse Kelly also created the linked chart below to help answer:

• What happens if a student/staff person gets sick at school or home?
• When can a student/staff member return to school after they are sick or test positive for COVID 19?

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 broader ACSD community. Here are a couple of important dates for October:

• October 5th EARLY RELEASE DAY (Check your school newsletter for release times)
• October 14th - No School - Teacher Inservice

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

We currently have a shortage of substitutes. If you are interested in helping our schools and supporting our students, substitutes make a big difference! You can choose to sub on your schedule - a few times a year or 5 days a week - whatever works for you! If you're interested, email your building principal directly or start the application below!

Volunteering is also a great way to help our schools! We are working to simplify the volunteer process. For now, you can contact your building principal directly or get started by clicking on the link below:

We have amazing new and returning staff in our buildings this year! We also have several job opportunities in our buildings. Click on the button above to see all open positions. This month we are highlighting our Paraprofessional and Custodian openings. These two positions are crucial to our schools, and we have several unfilled positions throughout the district. Please spread the word to anyone who may be interested!