CVSD Update

Hello CVSD Families and Caregivers,

There is much to celebrate this time of the school year. Spring is almost here. More sunlight and later sundowns are also about to join us as well.

First, I would like to acknowledge that March is Woman’s History Month. International Women's Day was commemorated across the world on March 8th. Every U.S. President has marked March as Women's History Month since 1995. I would like to thank all of our female board members, administrators, faculty, and staff for their extensive and continuous contributions to the leadership and learning in the district every day.

Next, the holidays of Easter, Passover, and Ramadan will be celebrated over the next month. Several Hindu holidays, Ugadi, Gudi Padwa, and Chaitra Sukladi, were celebrated this week as well. I hope that you can spend time with family and friends to enjoy this special time of year.

There is much to celebrate from our school athletics and other competitions that took place recently.

• Congratulation to our CVU boys and girls Alpine Ski Team, who won the Alpine Championships for the third year in a row. Congrats to the Nordic Teams, who both placed third in their state meets.
• Congratulations to our girls and boys' basketball teams for the state championships. This is the first in several years for our girls’ team and the first in the school's history for the boys.
• Congratulations to all of this year’s Iron Chef teams from each of our campuses. Congratulations to Williston Central School’s Lively Local Award and to CVU’s teams winning the Crowd Pleaser and Mise En Place Awards.

Finally, I would like to celebrate the passage of our 2023-24 school budget articles and our five-year strategic plan. For the budget, thank you to all of our stakeholders, both internal and external, for the feedback on its development and its passage at the ballot box. For the five-year strategic plan, I am very thankful to our campus and central office administrators, Steering Committee, our School Board, the Vermont School Board Association, and everyone who gave us advice and feedback throughout the process. We are now in the process of adding actions and performance metrics to the plan, as well as tying it to already existing district documents and systems. See below in this newsletter for links to the information that is available on our website.

Thank you for your continued support of our students and schools. Have a great weekend!

Rene

Identity is developing a sense of one’s self with respect for the uniqueness of others.

Connection exists when all individuals see themselves in others and in their environment. It is the feeling that our individual and collective story is known. We learn and appreciate new perspectives. Connection is committing to the time and effort to build shared experiences and understandings.

All learners find direction by discovering purpose and exploring passions or interests. We honor where learners are and support their growth, helping them navigate pathways and empowering them to reach their fullest potential.

Proficiency: All students and staff members demonstrate progress and develop capacity toward CVSD student and educator learning targets.

At Tuesday's School Board meeting, the Board approved the CVSD strategic plan! Please view these slides that were presented to the Board on March 21. The slides include our values, vision and mission statements, four priorities, objectives under each, and next steps in the process.

Further information about the process, timeline, materials, and recordings of the Virtual Town Halls can be found on our Strategic Planning page.

• April 12: CVSD DEI Virtual Town Hall
• April 18: CVSD School Board Meeting 6:00 pm

The next monthly Virtual Town Hall will focus on DEI. It will be held via Zoom on April 12 from 6:30-7:30 pm. We will post the Zoom information on the DEI website closer to the date of the Town Hall, along with details about the specific topic. Please join us!

Each spring, students in grades 3-9 take a statewide common assessment. Most recently, that assessment has been the SBAC for English Language Arts and Math, and for students in grades 5, 8 and 11, the Vermont Science Assessment.

This year that assessment is changing to the Vermont Common Assessment Program (VTCAP) and will continue to assess students in grades 3 through 9 in English Language Arts and Math and students in grades 5, 8, and 11 in Science. The assessment will continue to be administered online in the spring.

The testing administration window runs from April 12 through May 26. Parents/caregivers will be hearing from your student's school and teachers closer to that time with details about your student's schedule for testing.

These assessments are important measures of individual student progress as well as important indicators for our teams, schools and district about the effectiveness of our teaching practices. However, it is one of many measures we use to report on each student's progress and learning.

CVSD benefits from a number of federal grants to support our system. A key factor for some of these grants is the desire and need to engage students, families, and community members in decisions about how to best use these funds to support our students. We invite you to send your feedback to Sarah Crum, Director of Learning & Innovation, at scrum@cvsdvt.org or submit feedback through the Academics Let's Talk button on our website.

You can find information about all of our grants on our website, cvsdvt.org, under Curriculum: Grants. We are specifically seeking input regarding our investments for the Title IV federal grant which is intended to improve students' academic achievement by increasing the capacity to 1) Provide all students with access to a well-rounded education; 2) Improve school conditions for student learning; and 3) Improve the use of technology in order to improve the academic achievement and digital literacy of all students.

We recently updated the technology page on our website with new information and resources. One special focus is on the Student Data Privacy page. We want to be transparent about the important work our district has done and is doing as leaders in Vermont to ensure that our data is protected. The site also features new resources for families/caregivers. The technology page is linked under "Our District" on the CVSD site and under "Families" on most school sites.

In this episode of the EdCast from the Harvard Graduate School of Education, hear how children engage with technology at each stage of development and how they can best be supported. (listen to the podcast or read the transcript)

We have been using Let's Talk for about a year now in the district and since the start of the school year in our schools. We strive to make it easy for any parent/caregiver, community member, staff, or student to contact the district or our schools. Anyone can use Let's Talk to ask questions, request information, and share feedback or compliments.

Here are two new features that we've recently added to Let's Talk.

1. Translate: We have just added the ability to submit a Let's Talk form in 12 languages. When you go to our Let's Talk page, you'll see an option to Select a Language. It also works on the pop-out tab.
2. Send us a text from a mobile device! Now, contacting us is even easier from a mobile device. The district has a unique number just for Let's Talk texts and each school has one as well. Send us a text with a question, suggestion, or compliment and you'll get a reply that way too!

Use these numbers to reach out via text: (Note: these numbers do not accept phone calls)

• District inquiries: 802-278-9468
• Allen Brook School: 802-278-0526
• CVU: 802 -278-9510
• Charlotte Central School: 802-278-6935
• Hinesburg Community School: 802-278-0453
• Shelburne Community School: 802-278-9659
• Williston Central School: 802-278-6671

We hope that you feel comfortable using Let's Talk to reach out on any number of topics. You will get a response within 3 business days, though most often, it's sooner. Look for the Let's Talk tab or page on our district's website from your computer or mobile device.

According to a October 2022 ParentIN survey, 87% of CVSD caregivers viewed smoking/vaping as a big problem or somewhat big problem among our youth. ParentIN is addressing this health concern head on with a community education event for caregivers.

LEARN MORE AND REGISTER TODAY

Our virtual discussion with expert panelists will share what you need to know about vaping and actionable ways to prevent our children from starting.

We wanted to let families know that we are seeing an increase in influenza cases (primarily Influenza A) and influenza-like illnesses in all of our school health offices. Students are primarily presenting with headaches, sore throats, body aches and fevers. COVID does continue to circulate in our greater community but it does not appear to be the primary source of illness at this time (we continue to have both antigen and PCR tests available to families--just reach out if you have a need). While we are committed to keeping students in school as much as possible, we also know that sometimes staying home is best for everyone. We encourage families to follow this guidance when navigating when to keep students home.

Please feel free to reach out to your school's health office if you ever have any questions or contact your pediatrician if/when your child is ill.

Vermont's Universal School Meals law means all students can eat breakfast and lunch for free this year. But we need your help. We can reduce the cost of Universal School Meals for Vermont taxpayers and help our schools access millions in federal education dollars by filling out the Free and Reduced Meals application which increase CVSD's access to federal funds.

Each submitted Free/Reduced Meals application helps:

• Help our schools access their fair share of millions in federal dollars for educational programs.
• Provide students in our district and across Vermont with healthy, nutritious food.
• Reduce the cost of universal school meals for Vermont taxpayers.

Filling out the online form only takes a few minutes and it will help your community, your school, and your tax bill. If you have not yet filled out the form for this year, it's not too late. These 2022-2023 Income Eligibility Requirements may help inform you. Please take the time to complete this form to help CVSD get access to these additional federal dollars.

CVSD Families and Caregivers: Here's a great opportunity!

If your child participates in the free or reduced-price meals program at school, then your family is eligible for the new Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP)! It's another reason to fill out the Free and Reduced Price School Meals form. https://bit.ly/cvsdFRmeals

Learn more about qualifying for affordable internet service through the ACP at https://getmyinternet.org/

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. Please use Let's Talk rather than email.

Let's Talk or send a text to 802-278-9468

Website
Location: 5420 Shelburne Road, Shelburne, VT
Phone: (802) 383-1234
Facebook
Twitter @cvsdvt

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