Welcome back to school.  The 2010-2011 school year offers wonder and excitement for all of our prekindergarten-grade 12 and technical education students.  Schools in Essex Junction, Westford, and the Essex Community Educational Center have been busy this summer preparing for the return of students.

The district web-site remains the primary information source about our schools.  One important piece of information on the website is the Parent/Student Handbook.  As we get underway with the new school year, we ask that all families and students take the time to carefully review the Handbook.  Additionally, each school will send home forms to complete and return.  The information on these forms makes up the foundation of our student information system and helps us ensure parent interests and student safety needs are met.

There are many important decisions that will be made this year affecting the future and direction of our schools.  “I urge all citizens to be aware of these conversations, but more importantly to participate and help inform the decisions.  The school boards and I look forward to expanding our communication and public engagement opportunities this year,” Chittenden Central Supervisory Union (CCSU) Superintendent Michael Deweese said.

We are reminded of the children’s book It Takes a Village (Jane Cowen-Fletcher, Scholastic, 1994), drawn from the African proverb, “It takes a village to raise a child.”  Our community’s children are our greatest asset, and the success of our schools hinges in part on strong home-school and school-community partnerships.  Please know your schools welcome your involvement.

Education for the 2011-2012 school year will look different than education today as a result of the “Challenges for Change,” or Act 146, legislation recently passed.  This is a new law mandating decreases in school spending statewide to make up $23 million of the state’s $120 million deficit for school spending, effective next school year.

Recently, the Vermont Department of Education (DOE) released their budget-cutting recommendations, or “targets,” to each school district in Vermont.  Chittenden Central Supervisory Union (CCSU) received a voluntary target of $727,931, which was calculated at the school district level as follows: Essex Junction School District - $240,439; Union #46 School District - $365,729; Westford School District - $59,591; and Central Office - $62,172.  Essentially, these targets represent the amount that should be cut throughout the supervisory union and its member school districts for the 2011-2012 school year.

“We believe we have a responsibility to honor the target.  None of the cuts are easy or desirable,” CCSU Superintendent Michael Deweese said.  “We understand there is a constituency for every single dollar now found within the existing budgets.  The school districts also have certain obligations, bills, and contracts that are binding for FY’12.  We will review a list of tentative education budget cuts that would satisfy the target, and invite your engagement to inform the board on whether or not these are the most appropriate areas to satisfy our obligation.”

School Boards will be seeking public input throughout this fall to help determine where these cuts should be made.  By December 15, each school board must notify the DOE of their preparedness to address their targets, and by January 15, the Commissioner of Education will notify the General Assembly of the response from school boards.

“We take our responsibility very seriously regarding how to provide learners with what they truly need to be prepared for what their futures hold,” CCSU Associate Superintendent Judith DeNova said.  “As we strive to realize these targets, we must continue to prepare students for a world that requires technologically literate people with well-developed critical- thinking and problem-solving skills.”

Learn more about how to be involved in these “Challenges for Change” decisions that will impact schools and communities statewide by visiting www.ccsuvt.org.  Information will be posted as it becomes available, so be sure to check the web-site often.

The Westford School Board would like to thank all those who attended the August 3, 2010 budget work session.

They will next meet on August 10 at 6:30 p.m. at Westford School to continue working on the budget.  On August 18, the Board will hold a Public Informational Hearing regarding the budget.

Every Vote Counts!

Polls will be open from 7:00 a.m. - 7:00 p.m. on August 24.

The Westford School Board will hold a public meeting on Tuesday, August 3rd at 6:30 at Westford School to discuss the next school budget that will be up for a vote on August 24th.

WE NEED YOUR INPUT:  We’re planning a format that will involve brainstorming ideas for further reductions to the budget. The school board will review the input we receive that evening and will make its decision about the new budget at a special school board meeting on Tuesday, August 10th beginning at 6:30. We hope many of you will plan to attend the meeting on the 3rd to share your ideas with us.

Please note, a budget informational hearing will also be scheduled for sometime during the week of August 16.  Check back soon for the date!

- The Westford School Board

• Martha Heath, Chair
• Andre Roy, Vice-Chair
• Jennifer Townsend, Clerk
• Allison Weinhagen, Member
• Marilyn McConnell, Member

The Westford School District is pleased to announce that, beginning with the 2010-2011 school year, Westford School will be served by the CCSU Food Service Department.

All student account balances will be transferred from the previous Abbey Food Group prepay system to the My School Account debit system used by CCSU Food Service. My School Account (www.myschoolaccount.com) is a food services tool that allows parents/guardians to view their child’s account balance, monitor what their child is eating each day, and make online payments from their checking or savings account (a $1.50 service provider fee applies to online payments). Families can also send cash or check payments to CCSU Food Service, and can request account balances and activity reports from the Food Service Director any time. Should an account balance become negative, notices will be mailed home from the CCSU Food Service Department.  Meal balances can be checked via www.myschoolaccount.com or from a Westford food service staff member.

The CCSU Food Service Department utilizes “biometric” student identification system to debit student meal accounts.  Rather than using an ID card or PIN, which could be lost or forgotten, a fingerprint reader is used to identify students. Parents and students can rest assured that the fingerprint reader does not store fingerprint images. Only a mathematical algorithm remains in the system after registration, not fingerprint images. More information about how the biometric system works is available online.

In addition to its ease of use and accuracy, the biometric system ensures complete confidentiality for students participating in the free meal program (reduced meals are now free). Students who qualify for subsidized meals are entitled to all complete meal offerings at no charge. Families who feel they may be eligible for free/reduced meals are encouraged to apply. More information is available online.

Prices for the 2010-2011 school year are: breakfast - student $1.25, adult $2.00; lunch - student $2.25, adult $3.50; juice -$0.50; and milk - $0.75.

Information related to CCSU Food Service, including access to My School Account, Free/Reduced Meals, and information about the biometric technology can be found online at http://www.ccsuvt.org/operations/food-services/ or by contacting the CCSU Food Service Director Robert Clifford at 857-7000 x1044.

Good news from the SkillsUSA National Competition last week in Kansas City!

Center for Technology, Essex (CTE) Computer Animation and Web Design (CAWD) student TJ George (from Essex High School) placed second in the nation in the State Pin Design Competition.  TJ’s pin will go into production to be used as the Vermont SkillsUSA Pin for the 2010-2011 school year.

CAWD students Chris Goodwin and Brandon Griggs (both Mount Mansfield Union High School students) took third place in the nation in web design, and each earned $10,000 for college.

The Dental Assisting program student Amber Wesson competed at the post-secondary level at the national Skills USA competition in Kansas City, Missouri this summer, placing 2nd in the nation,earning a silver medal.

The 2010-2011 Board Meeting schedule is now available!

Click here to view a PDF of the Boards’ meeting schedules for the school year.

This calendar only reflects regularly scheduled board meetings.  Agendas will be posted on the school board web-site in advance of these meetings.

Special meetings may be scheduled as necessary.  Those meeting dates will be posted on the online events calendar and the agendas will be posted on the school board web-site.

The Vermont State Board of Education presented the Martha H. O’Connor award to Martha Heath in recognition of her contribution to education.

Read the press release here.

The Essex Junction Recreation and Parks (EJRP) Department has stopped moving forward with the conversion of the lighted baseball field at Maple Street Park into a multi-purpose field. The decision was made on Thursday night, after the Recreation Advisory Council (RecPAC) meeting, where more than 50 residents attended to voice their concerns over the proposed changes.

The RecPAC consist of eight members of the community who advise EJRP’s staff, serving as their conduit to the community. After discussing the proposed conversion of the field for nearly an hour, the council voted that, “at this time the Recreation Advisory Council makes the recommendation to not continue with the baseball field conversion as originally planned.”

The administration for the Department concurred, noting that the community has vocalized a strong affinity to the baseball field.

“We appreciate having the feedback from the community on this project,” said EJRP Director Brad Luck. “We work for the community and look out for the community’s best interest. In theory, we thought this field conversion project would have been beneficial, but in practice, it is clear there are many good reasons to keep the baseball field here at the park.”

Luck said he was pleased to see the turnout at the meeting and to have productive dialogue on the issue.

The RecPAC meets again on Thursday, July 29, at 6:30 p.m. at the Maple Street Recreation Center.

The Teacher Apprenticeship Program (TAP), an eight month program devoted to helping those interested in becoming educators, is now able to recommend candidates directly to the Vermont Department of Education (VT DOE) for licensure.

The Results Oriented Program Approval (ROPA) Review Team is recommending conditional approval to the Vermont Standards Board for Professional Educators.  The TAP Team (consisting of TAP Director Scott Mosher, instructors Ellen Emery and Jim Gedney, and Portfolio Advisor Jane Goodman) was informed they would be able to recommend candidates for licensure beginning with the fall, 2010 class.

“This is not a culminating event, but rather a huge step forward in our quest to recruit, develop, and retain the best teachers in Vermont,” Mosher said.

Previously, TAP prepared candidates for licensure through the only alternative licensing route in the state, peer review.  With the peer review process, candidates send an educational portfolio to the VT DOE, where it is reviewed by a team of teachers who determine if the candidate met the qualifications for licensure.  Now, just like a university, TAP will be able to recommend candidates directly to the VT DOE for licensure.

“TAP exemplifies some of the best progressive thinking in alternative routes to teacher licensing,” CCSU Executive Director of Curriculum, Instruction, and Assessment Linda Keating said.  “I am so proud of TAP and all of their accomplishments, but ROPA approval of this program has particular significance for the future of teacher preparation.”

To learn more about TAP, visit their web-site at: http://www.ccsuvt.org/tap/.

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