Please Read - Last Post for this News and Announcements Blog

Lamoille South Supervisory Union, Elmore Morristown Unified Union School District and Stowe School District are deploying new websites. As part of that process, we will be using a new system for posting News and Announcements. This is the last post that will be made to this blog. Below is a link to the page on our new website where you can signup for the new News and Announcements. You will immediately notice one of the improvements in the new sites is that you can sign up for many blogs at once. If you have a child in one of our schools, you should have received an email from your school principal with a link to signup for the News and Announcements. The link in this post and the link in that email serve the same purpose. There is no need to do both.

If you signed up to receive emails from this soon-to-be retired site, you will need to sign up at the new site. Our apologies for the inconvenience but we are sure you will find the new system better in many ways.

If you no longer wish to receive email alerts from any of our News and Announcements, you do not need to take any action.

This blog will remain accessible for those that use it as a reference but we will no longer add any new content.

Subscribe Here - https://www.lamoillesouthsu.org/manage-blog-subscription.php

More information on the new sites and how to give feedback will be forthcoming.

If you have any questions or need technical support, please send an email to lssutech@lssuvt.org to open a support ticket.

Website Refresh Starting Wednesday 8/23/17

Lamoille South Supervisory Union, Stowe School District, and Elmore-Morristown School District will be refreshing their websites, beginning this evening, Wednesday, August 23, 2017.  There is likely to be intermittent issues for the next 24 hours.  Please bear with us.  More information about the new websites and how to give feedback will be forthcoming.

If you are trying to access E-Registration through the school district websites, an alternative would be to use the following link https://ps.morrisville.org/public to access the parent portal.

If you are having any difficulties accessing the parent portal, or resetting your password, please call Melissa Gillen at 802-888-4541, ext. 5559 or email her at melissa.gillen@lssuvt.org, and she will assist you.

School Board Brief - August 16, 2017

The Stowe School District, Elmore-Morristown Unified Union, and Lamoille South boards met to continue their work on our Act 46 Alternative Governance Structure self-study. The boards reviewed the tax implications of both voluntary and forced governance mergers, reconfirming that any merger would present little to no tax benefit to either district and a likely eventual increase in Stowe’s homestead tax rate. This confirms that the boards are on the fiscally responsible path by seeking an Alternative Governance Structure that would maintain two separate districts under one supervisory union.

There are two important upcoming meetings, during which the boards will seek input from both communities regarding a draft of the Alternative Governance Structure proposal that will eventually go to the State Board of Education. On Monday, September 25, at 6:00 PM, the boards will meet at Stowe High School, and on Tuesday, September 26, at 6:00 PM, the boards will meet at Peoples Academy. A draft of the Alternative Governance Structure proposal--our districts’ response to Act 46--will be available several days in advance of these meetings. We encourage members of the community to read this draft and then attend a meeting to give feedback. Community response is crucial to our response to Act 46, and these meetings will allow the board to hear what community members think.

Below, please find the schedule of upcoming Act 46 meetings, which has been revised:

●     Wednesday, September 13, 6:00. Stowe Elementary School Music Room

●     Monday, September 25, 6:00. Stowe High School Auditorium

            Community Engagement Meeting -- PLEASE ATTEND

●     Tuesday, September 26, 6:00. Peoples Academy Auditorium

Community Engagement Meeting -- PLEASE ATTEND

●     Tuesday, October 24, 6:00. Morristown Elementary School Library

●     Wednesday, November 15, 6:00. Stowe Elementary School Music Room

School Board Brief - August 14, 2017

Lamoille South Supervisory Union Curriculum Director Valerie Sullivan briefed the Stowe School Board on our progress implementing Proficiency Based Learning, including a review of what it is, work done to date, and next steps for the coming school year.  

Board members are enthusiastic about our district’s progress toward proficiency based and personalized learning systems.  Our teachers have developed standards by which they will measure and report each student’s progress towards mastering important skills and concepts. The district is customizing a reporting system, which teachers will use to organize and track data about student progress and to communicate that progress to students and  parents. Plans are also in place to strengthen student understanding of mindset, motivation, and metacognition to support their transition to Proficiency Based Learning. There will be a great deal of communication between the administration, teachers, parents, and students as we continue to implement this new process, which will serve students’ learning needs.

The Board is looking forward to regular updates on the work in our schools on Proficiency Based Learning and Personalization at meetings throughout the school year.  

Superintendent Tracy Wrend briefed the board on the ramifications of Act 85, which determines how the state will capture savings from changes in teacher health insurance. Lamoille South Supervisory Union’s contractual net employer/employee contributions to healthcare are close to the target plan laid out by the state, and we do expect to generate savings from the health insurance transition to offset amounts expected to be withheld from state education fund payments.  In addition, Act 85 set yield amounts and non-residential tax rates at a different level than projected  during budgeting, and ultimately local tax rates are lower than was projected in March.

School Board Brief - June 05, 2017

Stowe School Board held its final regular meeting for the 2016-2017 school year. Superintendent Wrend shared the annual report for 2015-2016, which is available here.

Please click this link to see the regularly scheduled meetings for the upcoming school year, as well as Lamoille South Supervisory Union and joint Act 46 meetings.

School Board Brief - May 31, 2017

In a joint meeting with Lamoille South Supervisory Union’s and Elmore-Morristown Unified Union’s boards, the Stowe School Board continued work on our Act 46 Alternative Governance Proposal. Consultant Peter Clarke reviewed the portions of passed legislation that are relevant to our proposal, as well as additional guidelines from the State Board of Education. The boards reviewed achievement data pursuant to both our Alternative Governance Structure Proposal and our continued goal of providing a strong education for all students in the Supervisory Union.

The next Act 46 meeting will be Monday, July 10, 2017, at 6:00PM at Stowe Elementary School.

School Board Brief - May 15, 2017

The board reviewed Stowe’s and Elmore-Morristown Unified Union’s math and literacy progress monitoring tools. Lamoille South Supervisory Union (LSSU) has recently begun using the STAR assessment, which takes 20 minutes and will be given three times a year, with the flexibility to add screenings for some students. Students progress through the assessments once they have demonstrated proficiency.  These screenings provide data that enables more focused instruction in areas where students haven’t mastered skills and provide ongoing indicators of the extent student learning is on track to meet our goals.  

The board began discussion of the formation of a committee to address our capital improvement needs. The board will solidify plans over the summer.

Emily Rosenbaum was named the Stowe School District board representative to the Regional Advisory Board.