Hi, WCUUSD educators,

I'm going to keep this intro short and sweet. Three things:

1. The annual LCAP survey is due this Friday. See below for more information.
2. ALiS, VT's online licensing system, is going away soon! See below for some important information.
3. I hope this newsletter has been helpful this year. I welcome your feedback anytime.

Have a wonderful summer!

Warmly,
Jen

In lieu of talking points this month, Curriculum Council decided that we would send a reminder about Curriculum Camp sign ups and the annual LCAP survey.

Stay tuned early next school year for talking points from June 2025!

• Berlin: Celia Guggemos

• Calais: Jenna Howard

• Doty: Allison Fayle

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

• Rumney: Veronica Fair

• U-32: Erin Galligan-Baldwin, Elizabeth Marks, Amy Molina, Brittany Perry

• WCUUSD: Ellen Dorsey, Jen Miller-Arsenault

The Education Quality Committee met on June 12. They drafted a goal and work plan for the 2025-2026 school year and reviewed the Student Learning Outcome report that they will share with the full school board later this month. As a reminder, the Student Learning Outcomes that the EQC reviewed this year were Financial Literacy and Physical Education and Health.

During the 2025-2026 school year the EQC will review our district's literacy and math data throughout the year, including monitoring progress on our district and school Continuous Improvement Plans. The SLO's that are scheduled for review include Transferable Skills and Scientific Inquiry and Content.

The next EQC meeting is scheduled for September 11, 2025 from 5:00-6:30 p.m. at Central Office.

In preparation for Curriculum Camp and the implementation of the new Education Quality Standards, I have revised our WCUUSD Unit Design Template. Specifically, I cross checked the unit design template and the IRIS Framework for Ethnic Studies.

I found that the unit design template and the IRIS Framework are closely aligned. I made a few revisions to deepen their alignment, including:

• A section to identify key vocabulary words and definitions that are essential to the unit
• A section to consider what students might already know and believe about the topic in addition to any misconceptions they might have related to the unit of study
• A link to the VT IRIS Ethnic Studies Standards Framework
• An additional question in the Identity section: How will this unit support students to develop their identities and make connections to the identity, knowledge, histories, and experiences of Ethnic Studies Groups (Black, Indigenous, Asian Americans, Latines, and additional People of Color)?
• An additional question in the Criticality section: How will this unit help students to develop a systems literacy to understand and change the impact of racism and intersectional forms of oppression on Ethnic Studies Groups?
• Two additional questions in the Transformational Perspective section: How will this unit support students to value the cultural wealth of Ethnic Studies Groups and support community actualization at the local, state, and/or national levels? How will this unit support students to participate in uplifting the freedom, well-being, and joy of all peoples?

Just a reminder that teachers and administrators are invited to complete the annual LCAP feedback survey. Please do so by Friday, June 20 so that your responses are included in Curriculum Council's review on Monday, June 23. Thank you!

Loui Lord Nelson, author of Design and Deliver: Planning and Teaching Using Universal Design for Learning, has created two podcast series. The original series is entitled UDL in 15 Minutes and the newer series is entitled UDL Research in 15 Minutes. You can access them here.

UDL resources shared so far:

• CAST's updated UDL guidelines
• Katie Novak's monthly newsletter
• Lesson planning template
• Novak Education Teacher's Guide to UDL
• The Science and Research Behind the UDL Framework
• UDL Personalized Learning Profile
• Video about implementing UDL in a manageable way (2:31)
• Video likening UDL to planning a successful dinner party (3:21)
• WCUUSD unit design template

The AOE will use a new educator licensing system beginning in July. It is called Vermont Licensing System for Educators (VLSE). No more ALiS!

The last day for ALiS is July 1, and there will be a two-week or so period where no licensing information will be accessible while the AOE transitions to the new software.

Important: Educators should not enter any new PL Activities in ALiS for the remainder of the school year.

The AOE will offer virtual training for the new system later in July. More information will be forthcoming through the AOE Weekly Field Memo.

Members of our Local Standards Board will make sure to assist teachers with the transition in the beginning of the school year.

Speaking of our Local Standards Board... A huge shoutout to our teachers who serve on this important committee! They spend countless hours supporting their colleagues with the relicensing process. Thank you to Lynn Wagner (Berlin, co-chair), Lauralea Curavoo (Calais), Maureen McDermet (Doty), Claire Gallagher (East Montpelier), Diana Costello (Rumney), Brian Divelbliss (U-32), Erin Mooney (U-32), and Jason Woodard (U-32). We are so grateful for your hard work and support.