School Board Brief - April 24, 2017

Representative Heidi Scheuermann briefed the board on work she has been doing with the legislature and a meeting she coordinated for board chairs and Superintendent Wrend with several key employees of the Vermont Agency of Education, as well as the legislative teams from both districts. Representative Scheuermann continues to provide legislative support for Stowe and Elmore-Morristown Unified Union’s application for an alternative governance structure under Act 46.

            The board decided on several updates to board operations policies, which will be warned for adoption at an upcoming meeting.

The board also began to review its Policy on Public Use of School Facilities use. A number of community members spoke about an upcoming event on May 20 that a community member will be hosting, which will take place in Stowe High School but which is not sponsored by the district. This discussion will continue, as the board fulfills the district’s obligation to honor the free speech rights of individuals and groups using the facilities.  The board will be exploring ways to get broad community feedback on options for changes to the facilities-use policy in the coming months.

School Board Brief

Lamoille South Supervisory Union Curriculum Coordinator Val Sullivan presented the timeline for the rollout of Proficiency-Based Learning (PBL). A cross-supervisory union team has been working to prepare teachers for PBL implementation and grading, and we will see most of the transition in place by September 2017. For students currently in the upper-level high school grades, transcripts will contain a hybrid of the current grading system and proficiency standards in order to create continuity throughout their high school years.

Superintendent Tracy Wrend presented Advanced Placement (AP) data in preparation for the June annual report.

The board reviewed our board operating policies and began the process of updating them as necessary to reflect current recommendations from the Vermont School Boards Association.

Act 46 Update - March 22, 2017

Since 2009, Stowe, Morristown, and Elmore have been studying various forms of governance options through four formal committee processes, including two 706b studies, the most recent of which resulted in a successful merger between Elmore and Morristown in 2016. Discussions between Stowe and Elmore-Morristown Unified Union around Act 46 began more than 19 months ago, and the two districts jointly agreed to pursue an Alternative Structure in the spring of 2016. Since that time, board members have been working with the administration to conduct a comprehensive self-evaluation—the basis of the proposal. The March 22, 2017 meeting continued board analysis of the required data, including a deep dive into enrollment and demographic trends. The boards also requested that the administration provide options for outside consultation and associated costs.

The boards expect to complete data analysis and a first draft this spring, at which point input will be solicited from 1) legal review (to coincide with the end of the legislative session when rules and changes to the law will be final), 2) the community, and 3) preliminary review with the Agency of Education. Once that input has been incorporated, the boards expect to ratify the proposal and submit to the Secretary of Education by November 2017.

At the state level, board members are closely watching the progressions of Rule 3400, pertaining to the proposal for Alternative Structures, and S.122, an act relating to increasing flexibility for school district mergers.

The next joint meeting of Elmore-Morristown Unified Union and Stowe to continue the self-evaluation work will take place on April 26, 2017. The agenda and location will be posted closer to the meeting date; however, a general work plan can be found at www.lamoillesouthsu.org.

School Board Brief

Click HERE to learn FAST FACTS regarding the FY18 proposed school budget. This is the second in a set of budget overviews from the school board. Please remember that the Public Information Meeting on the school budget will be held at the Akeley Building on Monday, February 27, at 6:00 PM.

Stowe High School Principal Candidate Visit for 2/13 is Rescheduled

The Stowe High School Principal candidate visit scheduled for February 13th is rescheduled for February 14th. The agenda for the day will remain the same.

School Board Brief

School Board Brief | February 7, 2017

The vote on the school budget will take place on Town Meeting Day, March 7, 2017. Please follow this link to read the first in a series of budget overviews from the school board. Also, please mark your calendar for a Public Information Meeting on the school budget at 6:00 PM on Monday, February 27 at the Town Hall.

It's About Learning Budget Edition

The February 2017 Budget Edition of It's About Learning is now available. It may be viewed and printed from our website HERE. A printed version of this publication can be obtained by contacting Lamoille South Supervisory Union at 888-4541.