CVSD Update

Hello CVSD Families and Caregivers,

Welcome to spring! I have just a few items to share in the newsletter today. First, I will be delighted when mud season and winter eventually come to a close. Second, I look forward to the long summer days, which will allow me and my family to enjoy Vermont’s outdoors. Finally, we are excited to explore the state and New England once school lets out in June.

Last week, we held the first of many stakeholders’ meetings to state the strategic plan process. The Vermont Schools Boards Association representative who will be leading the strategic planning process over the next ten months met with the Central Office Leadership Team (COLT). Over the next month, the representative will meet with campus leaders and other stakeholders to describe the process moving forward. There will be many opportunities to provide feedback for the plan. In addition, we will need volunteers to serve on committees that will develop the ideas, metrics, and language of the plan itself. If you are interested in serving as a strategic plan committee volunteer, please watch out for the Google form within the next two weeks.

In recent weeks, I have attended selectboard meetings in CVSD towns to inform them of the strategic plan and the equity audit. While the strategic plan is still several months away, we are primed to begin our feedback opportunities for the equity audit. As a reminder, we are working with MASS Insight to develop a picture of our district and its commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion. If you follow the link above, on the timeline on slide #6 you will see that we are currently in the stakeholder engagement phase. MASS Insight will provide opportunities to participate in focus groups and a stakeholder survey. They will then utilize this information to help them better understand the data acquired from the district in the previous phase.

On March 14, our board and administrators held our annual Legislative Breakfast with representatives and senators who represent us within the Vermont legislature. It gave us an excellent opportunity to discuss universal meals, the weighting study, Act 173, mental health, career and technical education, rural broadband, and several other topics. It was wonderful to have the opportunity to share our hopes and concerns with the legislators and for them to provide us a window into the machinations of the law and rule-making processes. After reflecting on this year’s event, I am hopeful that next year we can return to hosting this breakfast in person.

I wanted to take a moment to strongly encourage several items as we enter the last portion of the school year.

• First, between COVID and other illnesses creeping back into our schools, it is critical that if your students are ill, even just beginning symptoms, you keep them home. Even if the illness is not COVID, there is a good chance that the illness may be transmissible to other students and adults.
• Second, if your student contracts COVID and their symptoms are no longer visible after Day 5, we highly recommend that you conduct at least one test at home or at school to verify that your student is no longer infectious.
• Additionally, it is recommended that your student wear a well-fitting mask upon returning after Day 5. If they are unable to do so, they should continue to isolate for the full 10 days. There is still a small chance that, after five days, a person can still spread the virus.
• If you need additional tests, we are able to provide them to you or we can test your student upon their return to school.

Any additional steps that we can take as individuals to ensure that we are able to keep one another safe will enable us to finish the school year with as much instructional time as possible.

Rene

Effective March 14, 2022, the Vermont Department of Health has updated its guidance for Vermonters who have tested positive for COVID-19 and those who have been in close contact with someone who has tested positive for COVID-19.

As of March 14, masks are no longer required in schools. CVSD schools remain mask-friendly. Many of our students and staff must continue to wear masks to protect themselves or loved ones who are at high-risk for severe disease from Covid-19. This is an opportunity for adults and students alike to model kindness, acceptance, and care for the people around them.

The Agency of Education no longer recommends that schools notify parents/caregivers about presumptive contacts. For now, CVSD will continue to notify families/caregivers about positive cases in a classroom or school community. This is to help families with their decision-making and conversations around masks.

The following was shared by VT’s Secretary of Education, Dan French.

“As of April 4, 2022, and as public health conditions in Vermont relative to COVID-19 continue to improve, the Staff Assurance Testing and Test at Home programs will be discontinued in Vermont schools. With the conclusion of these testing programs, staff and student households may be reminded that they can make an appointment at a State of Vermont testing site to obtain up to eight rapid antigen tests or one LAMP test per appointment for their use at home.

Per the Vermont Department of Health, school nurses should continue to conduct diagnostic testing in school using LAMP or antigen tests. Schools can also make take-home antigen tests available to students, staff and their households on an as-needed basis or at the clinical discretion of the school nurse.”

CVSD has a good supply of antigen tests in our schools. Please reach out to your school’s nurse to request them.

At the March CVSD School Board meeting, representatives from Amtrak and the Department of Transportation shared a presentation about the new Amtrak service that will travel through Charlotte and Shelburne on its way to Burlington. Service officially begins in July, however, they have started qualifying and testing runs already.

It is critical that we all work together to educate everyone about track safety, especially students and young drivers. Stay Off the Tracks provides more information about the increased need for safety.

Today, we rolled out a new feature on our website. This is a communication tool for faculty/staff, students, families, and community members.

Let’s Talk! makes it easy for you to engage with school and district leaders on the topics that matter most. Unlike an email, your inquiry is automatically routed to the person or team best suited to respond, ensuring you receive timely and accurate responses every time.

Have a question about health and safety or do you need information regarding employment opportunities? Those are just a few examples of topics you might choose.

Simply open the Let’s Talk! pop-out tab on our district's website or go directly to our Let’s Talk! landing page. Then select a topic to start a conversation.

Learn more about Let’s Talk and how it works in a few easy steps on this document. We will be rolling this out at the school level over the summer.

Students in CVSD schools, like all VT schools, participate in both the SBAC (Smarter Balanced Assessment) and the Vermont Science Assessment (VTSA). These assessments will be administered sometime between now and the end of the school year, depending on the school.

Students in grades 3-9 all participate in the SBAC in both reading and mathematics. Students in grades 5, 8, and 11 participate in the VTSA.

Here's information about SBAC.

Here's information about VTSA.

Additional updates and information will be coming from both the schools and your child's teacher/team as we get closer to this upcoming assessment period.

The district and schools will receive information about student performance on these assessments, and parents/caregivers will also receive a copy. It helps us inform student programming, curriculum programming, and district programming.

Please note: Some of our students have a preferred name that differs from their legal name. We have changed their name in some places, like their email address and other school systems, but cannot change it in the state's system for SBAC and VTSA. If this impacts your child, please let them know prior to testing so they are not caught unaware when getting ready for testing.

Look for this image on our district and school websites to get to our COVID page.

Resources to keep accessible:

• First Call - 488-7777: phone support, crisis intervention, assessment and referrals
• In Crisis: 1-800-SUICIDE (1-800-784-2433) (National Hopeline Network: USA)
• National Suicide Prevention Life line- 1-800-273-TALK (8255), call or chat online
• Crisis Text Line - text HOME to 741741 (24 hours a day, seven days a week)
• Outright Vermont - support for LGBTQ+ community
• UVM Breathe In Breath Out - How to deal with stress due to COVID-19
• Vermont 211 -Vermont database of resources and services
• Vermont Support Line (833) 888-2557) - peer support warmline open 247 - 365 for call or text
• COVID Counselors @ VT-211
• Teen Crisis Text Line - Crisis Text Line provides free emotional support and information to teens in any type of crisis, including feeling suicidal. You can text with a trained specialist 24 hours a day. Text “HOME” to 741741.
• Society for the Prevention of Teen Suicide - Website where you can find information to help yourself or a friend who may be having thoughts of suicide.
• Trevor Lifeline - 1-866- 488-7386 - provides suicide prevention and crisis intervention services to lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and questioning (LGBTQ) young people. It offers free, 24/7, confidential counseling. TrevorText—text START to 678-678; TrevorChat—instant messaging at TheTrevorProject.org/help. It also runs TrevorSpace, an affirming social networking site for LGBTQ youth at TrevorSpace.

Serving the communities of Charlotte, Hinesburg, Shelburne, St. George, and Williston.

Reach out using any of the methods below or visit our Let's Talk page.

Email: cvsdinformation@cvsdvt.org
Website: https://www.cvsdvt.org/
Location: 5420 Shelburne Road, Shelburne, VT, USA
Phone: (802) 383-1234
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ChamplainValleySchoolDistrict
Twitter: @cvsdvt