Colchester Middle School’s Aubrey Garrison, a humanities teacher in CMS’s Champlain House, has recently completed the Green Mountain Writing Project’s Summer Invitational Institute (GMWP ISI) at the University of Vermont.

CMS humanities teacher Aubrey Garrison

The Green Mountain Writing Project is part of the National Writing Project (NWP), the only federally funded program focusing upon the teaching of writing. The NWP engages teachers of all grade levels and subjects, and it consists of more than two hundred sites across the country, hosted by colleges and universities. Because writing remains a critical vehicle for communication, the NWP’s primary mission is to improve the teaching of writing, thereby improving student learning and achievement all across the nation. Participation is fairly intense; it includes four five-day weeks and follow-up sessions as well as orientation days in advance of the program. Participants gain fresh insight into their skills as teachers, researchers, and of course writers.

“I have gathered some ideas that I can put into practice with students right away,” Ms. Garrison said. “Not only do I have some concrete, fun, and practical ideas about how to embed more writing into my classes, I also have some insight into how writing on a regular basis feels. Spending time with GMWP this summer has reminded me of the exhilaration that comes from writing each day, and also of how it feels to write under the pressure of a deadline or read your work aloud to others. These are experiences which will help me empathize with students as they work on their own writing.”

Other Colchester School District educators have also participated in this program, including Colchester High School’s Katie Lenox, Wayland Cole, and Erin Brady.

Ongoing professional development opportunities for our educators are critically important, keeping teachers up to date on research, innovative curriculum, technology implementation, and so much more. Beginning and veteran teachers alike benefit tremendously from continual opportunities to collaborate and learn, which in turn provides countless advantages and benefits for their students.

Aubrey Garrison and CMS Principal Dawn Gruss at the Visitors Day event

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We are pleased to introduce science educator Mariah Keagy to Colchester School District!

New Infinity Program science educator Mariah Keagy

Ms. Keagy, who recently earned her master’s degree with a science teacher certification in Environmental Studies from Antioch University New England, will join the Infinity Program at Colchester Middle School. She is an avid outdoor enthusiast, spending much of her free time on the summit of Mt. Mansfield mountain biking, backcountry skiing, or working the garden, and she educates people of all ages about the fragile alpine vegetation. She has an extensive background in recreation management, most recently managing trails for the Appalachian Mountain Club. She is looking forward to helping students get outside and helping them to make good decisions about their health.

Ms. Keagy also has an online portfolio; click here to access it!

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and keep everyone informed. Please help us spread the word!

Honor is the reward of virtue.
—Marcus Tullius Cicero

Beginning in 1977, respected Colchester community member Steven Chamberlain made many significant and meaningful contributions to Colchester School District. He served our community as a school board member, a substitute teacher, a member of the maintenance staff, and a bus driver to countless CSD students over many years. He did all of this while serving with the Vermont National Guard for thirty-two years and while pursuing a myriad of diverse personal interests with his friends and family.

We are grateful to Steven for his many years of involvement, engagement, and support of our schools and of our community. He will be missed.

Please join us as we celebrate his life and his many accomplishments.

Your school community works to align every day with the Colchester School District Vision and Strategic Plan 2012–2017—a document authored collaboratively by members from our community.

Want to step inside our walls and see some of the ways in which we do it?

Please click here to view a video about our schools. Meet teachers, students, and community volunteers who offer a glimpse into life in our school community … and yours.

(And as a reminder, you can read our February 19 article here and view a video about the proposed renovations to the CHS science labs.)

Complete FY 2014 budget information is available on our website.

As always, please contact us at any time of you have questions or comments.

Town Meeting Day is Tuesday, March 5. Please vote.

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We are thrilled to announce that Colchester High School’s Principal Amy Minor has been named the 2013/2014 Vermont Principal of the Year by the Vermont Principals’ Association!

State winners from around the country are considered for the MetLife/NASSP National Principal of the Year award, a prestigious honor awarded to principals who exemplify an exacting list of qualities, showcasing fantastic school leaders who are acknowledged by their peers as providing “high-quality learning opportunities for students.” Those awarded this honor satisfy an extensive list of selection criteria reflecting the themes outlined in the Breaking Ranks framework for middle level and high schools.

Principal Minor will be the keynote speaker at a number of engagements throughout the coming year and will have a private audience with US Senators Leahy and Sanders and US Congressman Welch for the purpose of discussing education-related issues. “It is deeply humbling to be nominated for such a prestigious honor by my colleagues,” she said. “This is an incredible opportunity to advocate for education in Vermont and particularly for education in Colchester.”

Just some of the requirements—encompassing personal excellence; collaborative leadership; curriculum, instruction, and assessment; and personalization—for this award include:

• modeling continuous professional growth
• modeling values, beliefs, and attitudes that encourage others to higher levels of performance
• maintaining an instructional focus in managing administrative tasks
• recognizing, appreciating, and serving the needs of diverse constituencies in the school community
• involving teachers, staff members, parents, students, and the community in creating and fostering a shared vision for the school
• providing focus and direction to ensure alignment of practices, programs, and initiatives with the school’s vision, mission, and goals
• utilizing available technology tools for school management and operation
• improving teaching, learning, and assessment by implementing practices, programs, and improvement efforts on the basis of multiple sources of data
• demonstrating knowledge of learning, teaching, assessment practices, research, and programs that maximize student performance
• facilitating in developing and maintaining cocurricular programs that complement the curriculum while fostering students’ academic success
• ensuring that each student has the best possible chance of realizing success by providing a customized plan that takes into account the needs of individual learners in relation to learning time, setting, methods, and course sequence
• leading in the use of available technology for management and delivery of instruction and assessment as well as the advancement of learning, invention, and creativity.
• creating a school climate that is warm, inviting, safe, and secure
• organizing the school so that all social, economic, and racial/ethnic groups have equal access to all school programs and provides the support needed for student success
• leading in the use of available technology to meet the unique learning needs of each student …

… and so much more!

Your schools demonstrate exceptional leadership at all levels. Please join us in congratulating Principal Amy Minor!

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UMS Principal Chris Antonicci with students at the Little League hit-a-thon event at Airport Park on May 11

On May 11, Porters Point School’s Principal Jim Marshall, Union Memorial School’s Principal Chris Antonicci, and Malletts Bay School’s Julie Benay suited up and dutifully took their turns in the dunk tank at a little league hit-a-thon event at Airport Park on Colchester Point Road.

PPS Principal Jim Marshall plunges into the water

Asked why he was willing to offer himself up for possible dunking, UMS Principal Antonicci good-naturedly replied, “I love baseball, and I know the kids will have a lot of fun with it. There’s no way I could say no!”

UMS Principal Antonicci gets dunked by a student

“I’ve seen my kids throw a ball, and I’m pretty confident they’ll be able to sink me!” MBS Principal Benay said before the event. “I know Colchester’s many volunteers work hard to provide kids with plenty of healthy options for recreation, sports, and exercise. At the high school level, parent ‘boosters’ raise tens of thousands of dollars to support athletics; research tells us that students who are involved in extracurricular activities tend to stay in school, learn to manage their time, and succeed in school. I’m happy to do my small part to help out!”

MBS Principal Julie Benay perches above the dunk tank while a student takes aim

Our students are heavily involved in community outreach and volunteerism, as well; click here to learn more about just a few examples of our student community activists.

Way to go, principals! Excellent show of community spirit and good sportsmanship. Well done!

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For the eighth consecutive year, a number of Colchester High School employees recently ran in the thirtieth-annual Vermont Corporate Cup Challenge and State Agency Race in Montpelier. The five-kilometer event benefits programs and events of the Vermont Governor’s Council on Physical Fitness and Sports.

Colchester High School’s faculty and staff Zach Kramer, Morgan Samler, Sean MacArdle, Steve Fiske, Beth Albright, Maureen Gillard, Chris Lang, Andrea Boehmcke, and Danielle Grise at the Vermont Corporate Cup race in Montpelier on May 16.

Colchester School District takes wellness efforts seriously. Our vision and strategic plan speaks to it, and we are responding in kind both in and out of the classroom. We are committed to health and wellness for our students and community members every day. Please join us!

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Dear Colchester parents and community members,

Because of a Colchester Middle School teacher’s recent actions resulting in alleged animal cruelty, she has been charged with a misdemeanor and issued a citation to appear in Vermont Superior Court.

We wish to express that the situation, which is currently under investigation, is deeply disappointing. Please know that the teacher has been removed from service pending further investigation and a decision regarding any additional disciplinary action.

While questions relating to the criminal charges should be directed to Colchester Police Department at (802) 264-5556, if you wish to express comments or concerns, they may be conveyed to Superintendent Larry Waters at watersl@csdvt.org. Please reach out to us at any time.

There can be infinite uses of the computer and of new-age technology, but if the teachers themselves are not able to bring it into the classroom and make it work, then it fails.
—Former US Senator Nancy Kassebaum

Colchester Middle School Humanities teacher Jenn Roberge was honored at the recent 2013 Project IGNITE Recognition Luncheon for her leadership in implementing Google Apps for Education at CMS!

CMS Humanities teacher Jenn Roberge

The goal of Project IGNITE is to seek opportunities to support and develop the work that educators are doing in the classroom by creating a network experience of the best practices happening in classrooms in Vermont every day.

Thirty educators from around the state were recognized for their innovative and transformative use of technology in the classroom. (To view a slide from the recognition luncheon and to read Ms. Roberge’s explanation of some of her work with technology this year, please click here.)

“This year has been a big year for Colchester Middle School,” Ms. Roberge said. “All seventh and eighth graders have been working with Google Apps for Education, and it is going well! This has been a great opportunity for students to use the most up-to-date and current technologies that 65 percent of colleges and many business models follow. The entire country of Malaysia, as well as many Vermont schools right in Chittenden County, have moved to this model. The best part is that all of these tools are free to schools! This makes the work we do a sustainable plan.

“Students are thrilled to have these opportunities in the classroom and a chance to collaborate with peers in real time with authentic work experiences,” Ms. Roberge continued. “This year, I have helped teachers in language arts, social studies, math, and science—as well as special educators and the library/media specialist—explore the use of these tools as an embedded part of their curriculum. Students have created their own websites demonstrating their research and exploration of real or hoax sites, collaborated on book reviews, developed and maintained their own blogs with regular posting and commenting experiences, and have linked several technology projects (videos, glogs, prezis, spreadsheets, and presentations) that they’ve created as part of content-specific tasks aligned with the Common Core. Students enjoy being able to archive and return to their digital work as well as share with others outside of the classroom walls.”

This summer, Ms. Roberge and some of her CMS colleagues will complete Part II of the Google Tools for School course. “I am very excited to go deeper into the resources and plan for even more rigorous experiences for students,” she said.

The Colchester School District Vision and Strategic Plan 2012–2017′s pathways include Pathway A: High Standards, Expectations, and Individual Engagement for All Learners; Pathway B: Technology Infrastructure and Integration; and Pathway C: Learning Outside Our Four Walls. There is a lot of forward momentum in our schools on these fronts. Furthermore, the Vermont Technology Grade Expectations outline major focus areas in education, and among them are digital citizenship and technology operations and concepts, so this work is particularly meaningful and relevant. (To read our January 21 CSD Spotlight post discussing other efforts in technology integration around Colchester School District, please click here.)

Congratulations, Ms. Roberge and Colchester Middle School!

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Colchester School District’s technology integration specialist, Aimee Boucher, was recently part of the keynote at Dynamic Landscapes, an annual conference co-sponsored by Vita-Learn and the Vermont School Libraries Association.

Technology Integration Specialist Aimee Boucher

Ms. Boucher offered a presentation about Wonder Blogging, which was developed by our own Natalie LaRose, a second-grade teacher at Porters Point School, in collaboration with teacher Ashley Merced in Chicago. These two teachers began their collaboration by doing a Mystery Skype (if you missed our CSD Spotlight article about that, you can access it here). From the original collaboration has grown a larger-scale project using Wonderopolis, an online education tool with countless classroom applications.

If you would like to view the slides from Ms. Boucher’s keynote presentation, please click here. (The event was also filmed by the Regional Educational Technology Network (RETN); please click here for more information.)

Ms. Boucher also writes a technology newsletter for CSD. Please click here to see it—it is packed with resources and information!

Why is all of this so important? Because technological innovation in education is more prevalent—and critical—than ever before. Creative and flexible approaches to instruction are on the rise in our district and around the world. (Did you see our article about “classroom flipping”? If you missed it, you can read it here. It’s really exciting!)

To learn more about CSD’s 2012–2015 technology plan, please click here.

CMS teacher Jenn Roberge was also recently honored for her innovative use of classroom technology; if you missed that article, you can read it here.

The Colchester School District Vision and Strategic Plan 2012–2017′s pathways include Pathway A: High Standards, Expectations, and Individual Engagement for All Learners; Pathway B: Technology Infrastructure and Integration; and Pathway C: Learning Outside Our Four Walls. There is a lot of forward momentum in our schools on these fronts. Furthermore, the Vermont Technology Grade Expectations outline major focus areas in education, and among them are digital citizenship and technology operations and concepts, so this work is particularly meaningful and relevant.

Your schools are working really hard to implement technology in meaningful, innovative ways (please click here to read about $15,000 worth of grants recently awarded for classroom technology). If you would like more information, please contact our administrative offices at (802) 264-5999, call any of your schools, or e-mail Aimee Boucher at bouchera@csdvt.org.

Do you like CSD Spotlight? If so, please encourage your family and friends to subscribe! We are working hard to engage our community and keep everyone informed. Please help us spread the word!

As we’d proudly announced in our May 6 article, Principal Amy Minor of Colchester High School was named the 2013/2014 Vermont Principal of the Year by the Vermont Principals’ Association!

Ms. Minor accepted her award in a July 30 ceremony in Killington. Expressing her appreciation for her colleagues and faculty, she offered some perspective on building effective and meaningful relationships with students and the immense benefits those relationships so often have.

CHS Principal Amy Minor and her husband at the July 30 award ceremony in Killington

Candidates for the award must exemplify personal excellence and collaborative leadership. Ms. Minor’s numerous nominations for the honor were based upon her steadfast demonstration of a multitude of qualities, including but not limited to:

• continuous professional growth
• values, beliefs, and attitudes that encourage others to higher levels of performance
• an instructional focus in managing administrative tasks
• recognizing, appreciating, and serving the needs of diverse constituencies in the school community
• involving teachers, staff members, parents, students, and the community in creating and fostering a shared vision for the school
• providing focus and direction to ensure alignment of practices, programs, and initiatives with the school’s vision, mission, and goals
• utilizing available technology tools for school management and operation
• improving teaching, learning, and assessment by implementing practices, programs, and improvement efforts on the basis of multiple sources of data
• knowledge of learning, teaching, assessment practices, research, and programs that maximize student performance
• developing and maintaining cocurricular programs that complement the curriculum while fostering students’ academic success
• ensuring that each student has the best possible chance of realizing success by providing a customized plan that takes into account the needs of individual learners in relation to learning time, setting, methods, and course sequence
• leading in the use of available technology for management and delivery of instruction and assessment as well as the advancement of learning, invention, and creativity.
• creating a school climate that is warm, inviting, safe, and secure
• organizing the school so that all social, economic, and racial/ethnic groups have equal access to all school programs and providing the support needed for student success
• leading in the use of available technology to meet the unique learning needs of each student

Powerful leadership in our schools—including an engaging, creative, proactive mind-set—is fundamental and paramount to quality educational experiences for our students. Congratulations, and well done, Principal Minor!

Your schools and your town are working hard to engage our community. Please encourage your friends and family to subscribe to The Spotlight. When we’re all informed, we make a stronger community!

Please join us in welcoming four faculty members to Porters Point School!

Tessa Warren is joining the second grade team at PPS. She has a dual endorsement from the University of Vermont in Special Education and elementary education. She has a concentration in environmental studies with a focus on environmental education. Last year, she taught second grade in Fairfield, Vermont. This summer, she completed the Integrating Technology course with Aimee Boucher and is very excited to apply what she has learned. Look for her class blog soon!

Tessa Warren will teach second grade at PPS

Allison Donnelly, who is excited to teach kindergarten, is a familiar face at PPS. She completed her student teaching with the amazing Maureen Belaski in the spring 2012 and was her long-term substitute in the fall. Allison has a bachelor’s degree from the University of Vermont and is considering moving toward a master’s in curriculum development. She spends her summers along the Maine coast, enjoying the beach and time with her family.

Allison Donnelly will teach kindergarten at PPS

Greg Kriger, a Colchester resident, will be the new school counselor at PPS (and he was one of the school counselors at Malletts Bay School for three years). He is especially excited about teaching the Social Thinking curriculum to the K–2 students, because it addresses key social skills that are essential to being a twenty-first-century learner. He is passionate about supporting the social-emotional health of students. He has an undergraduate degree from Penn State University and a master’s degree from Johnson State College.

Greg Kriger is PPS’s new guidance counselor

Mary Mitchell, who will serve as PPS’s librarian, lives in Burlington with her husband, two sons, and daughter. Mary completed her undergraduate degree at the University of Connecticut and earned her master’s degree in elementary education at Sacred Heart University. She has lived and taught in various states, including Connecticut, Colorado, Oregon, Massachusetts, and Vermont. She has been a classroom teacher in grades 1–4 and a school librarian for seven years. While staying home with her two sons, she also taught adult English learners outside of Boston for two years. She has been an adjunct instructor for Portland State University for the last decade where she creates and instructs continuing education graduate courses for the School of Education. Mary loves reading, hiking, traveling, and spending time with her family, and she is thrilled to be part of the PPS community.

If you would like more information about Porters Point School’s incoming faculty, please contact Principal Jim Marshall at (802) 264-5920 or by e-mail (marshallj@csdvt.org).

Stay tuned for upcoming posts introducing new faculty from other schools in your district!

Your schools and your town are working hard to engage our community. Please encourage your friends and family to subscribe to The Spotlight. When we’re all informed, we make a stronger community!

(Newsflash! This is our 600th article!)

Please join us in welcoming four faculty members to Colchester High School!

Lawrence (“Joe”) Romano, having recently relocated to Burlington from Washington, DC, is joining CHS as a Special Educator. He worked in situational awareness and business continuity before recognizing his true passion for education through his experience with Big Brothers Big Sisters. After completing the DC Teaching Fellows, an alternative pathway to education, he served as a Special Education and social studies teacher within DC public high schools. He is very excited to be in Vermont and to be working with such an experienced and welcoming group of educators. Joe graduated from Virginia Tech where he studied political science and sociology.

Joe Romano will teach Special Education at CHS

Andrew Judge will teach Spanish I & II. Raised in Arecibo, Puerto Rico, where he attended grammar school in Spanish and spoke English at home, he later earned a master’s degrees in Fine Arts from the University of Southern California while living in Los Angeles. He also received a certificate from the Spanish Interpreter Program at the Southern California School of Interpretation. He worked as a professional Spanish interpreter and translator for Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center and helped launch a successful federal pilot program, translating over three hundred specialized medical documents in Spanish.

Andrew also spent time teaching Spanish in Prague and has experience teaching several different grade levels in the Franklin Northwest Supervisory Union as an after-school teacher. His philosophy is that a foreign language classroom should never be quiet and that the joy of learning a new language is being able to speak it.

Andrew Judge will teach Spanish I & II at CHS

Courtney Goetz, who lives in Waterbury Center, will teach physical education at CHS. She taught physical education at Essex High School last year—as well as coaching girls’ soccer, basketball, and lacrosse—and for six years prior to that, she taught and coached in New Jersey. She holds a bachelor’s degree from Springfield College and a master’s degree from Emporia State University. This year, she will coach girls’ JV soccer coach and hopes to get involved with winter and spring coaching, as well. In her free time, she enjoys running, having completed a number of marathons and half marathons.

Phil Gulizio will be joining the team at the Colchester Alternative Program (CAP) this year. He has been in alternative education for the past sixteen years. Coming to us from Georgia Elementary & Middle School, he has a master’s degree as a consulting teacher and a master’s degree in educational leadership. Currently residing in Jericho with his wife and two children, he attributes his success in education to developing mutually respectful relationships with his students and his coworkers. He is an avid outdoorsman and all-around adventure enthusiast. He enjoys live music, good friends, and any local art he can find.

Phil Gulizio will teach at CAP

If you would like more information about Colchester High School’s incoming faculty, please contact Principal Amy Minor at (802) 264-5700 or by e-mail (minora@csdvt.org).

Your schools and your town are working hard to engage our community. Please encourage your friends and family to subscribe to The Spotlight. When we’re all informed, we make a stronger community!

Please join us in welcoming four faculty members to Colchester Middle School!

Scott McLoughlin will teach seventh- and eighth-grade science in CMS’s Infinity program. In addition to his teaching duties, he will also serve as a part-time behavior interventionist. He comes to Colchester after completing his student teaching at Williston Central School as part of the master of arts in teaching program at the University of Vermont (UVM). Before attending UVM, Scott graduated from Syracuse University with a degree in history and social studies education. A passion of Scott’s is integrating technology into the classroom to enhance learning and using data analytics to quickly and efficiently identify areas of improvement for both students and teachers. As a native Vermonter, he stays active by playing/coaching soccer in the summer and snowboarding in the winter.

Meredith O’Neil, who holds a degree from the University of Vermont, will teach eighth-grade French at CMS. She joins us from Vermont Academy where she was teaching all levels of high school French. She is looking forward to working with a younger group of students and teaching them about the unique dialects of French from around the world.

Robert See will teach Special Education in CMS’s Champlain House. He joins us from Missisquoi Valley Union High School (MVU), where he taught as a middle school Special Education teacher for the past six years. He earned his degree in Special Education and developmental psychology from Castleton State College. He received the 2012 Vermont Outstanding Teacher Award as well as Franklin Northwest Supervisory Union (FNWSU) Special Educator of the Year Award. He promotes a positive, growth-oriented environment that encourages students to take risks, make mistakes, and be respectful and accepting of others. Outside of school, he enjoys maintaining a healthy and active lifestyle with his wife and daughter.

Lisa Buckton, previously serving as a school library media specialist to youth in pre-kindergarten through eighth grade at Williamstown Elementary School and Orange Center School, joins us as the interim library media specialist at CMS. She relocated to Vermont after earning her MLS (master of library science) from the University at Buffalo. Teaching in rural and urban settings across Vermont and New York has given Ms. Buckton the unique opportunity to learn from and engage with a diverse spectrum of young adults. She believes it is the role of the library media specialist to not only encourage and increase literacy and access to information, but also to help students develop into knowledgeable, dedicated, and innovative digital citizens, lifelong readers, researchers, and empowered library users and individuals. When not buried in a book or trumpeting her latest literary recommendations to students in the CMS hallways, she can be found roller skating, avidly knitting, farming with friends, or romping about with her two pups, Cannoli and Jolie.

Lisa Buckton will be CMS’s interim library media specialist (photo courtesy of Melissa Nyman Photography)

If you would like more information about Colchester Middle School’s incoming faculty, please contact Principal Dawn Gruss at (802) 264-5800 or by e-mail (grussd@csdvt.org).

Your schools and your town are working hard to engage our community. Please encourage your friends and family to subscribe to The Spotlight. When we’re all informed, we make a stronger community!

Please join us in welcoming two teachers to Malletts Bay School!

Trudy Cioffi, who will teach third grade in MBS’s Harmony House, comes to us from Swanton School, where she taught for twenty years and where she was also a member of the school’s wellness team, a member of the literacy task force, and a mentor to new teachers.

She served as a model classroom teacher and consultant for writing expert Leah Mermelstein and has published an article in the Vermont Council on Reading Journal. A native of Fairfield, Vermont, she graduated from the University of Vermont with degrees in regular and Special Education. She has demonstrated abilities in the areas of differentiation and inclusion and has in-depth knowledge of strong classroom management skills. She was also recently recognized as an innovator in the use of technology through Project IGNITE (for more information about that, please click here).

“I loved teaching in Swanton, and I am so excited to begin a new chapter in my teaching career in Colchester,” she said. “I have heard wonderful things about the community and the schools!”

Dual certified as a special educator and currently working on a master’s degree in education, she lives in St. Albans with her husband and three sons. She enjoys watching her sons play football, hockey, and lacrosse; teaching a group fitness class at a local gym; and spending time with family and friends.

Trudy Cioffi will teach at Malletts Bay School

Ashley DiMercurio, a Colchester resident, will teach fifth grade in Lighthouse. She joins MBS from St. Albans City School, where she taught fourth, fifth, and sixth grade. She holds an undergraduate degree from Champlain College and is pursuing professional development in the area of technology integration. She has experience with collaborative teaching and a strong background in Language Arts. When she isn’t at school, she enjoys cooking and spending time with her family.

If you would like more information about Malletts Bay School’s incoming teachers, please contact Principal Julie Benay at (802) 264-5900 or by e-mail (benayj@csdvt.org).

Your schools and your town are working hard to engage our community. Please encourage your friends and family to subscribe to The Spotlight. When we’re all informed, we make a stronger community!

Colchester School District recently honored a Union Memorial School second grade teacher for forty years of service.

Superintendent Larry Waters presents Debbie Howard with a service award recognizing her forty years of service at Union Memorial School

Debbie Howard began teaching at UMS in 1973. At that time, the world population was 3.937 billion, M*A*S*H and Hawaii Five-O were popular television shows, Jim Croce’s “Bad, Bad Leroy Brown” and The Rolling Stones’ “Angie” were topping the charts, the Sears Tower (renamed the Willis Tower in 2009) was completed (and was at that time the tallest building on the planet), the cost of a first-class stamp was $0.08, and Richard Nixon famously told the nation regarding the Watergate tapes, “I am not a crook.”

That was a long time ago! And Debbie has been teaching at UMS since that time!

“It is so hard for me to remember that I have been doing this for forty years,” she said. “I love what I do. I love this district and UMS!”

Union Memorial School’s Debbie Howard

“She’s been doing this for forty years and could easily rest on her experience and laurels; however, she is always one of the first teachers to try something new and/or adopt new teaching methods,” said UMS Principal Chris Antonicci. “For example, she has her students blogging, where a lot of people of her generation avoid computers and technology at all costs. She is simply one of the finest educators with whom I’ve ever worked, and she’s an inspiration to us all.”

“Deb Howard is remarkable,” said Superintendent Larry Waters. “She is a highly skilled teacher who has provided excellent learning experiences for her students, and I express my sincere appreciation for her forty years of service in the district.”

Debbie Howard was the only person in the district who was honored for forty years of service this year. The district honored many other employees for landmark years of service, as well.

Honored for thirty-five years of service were CMS’s Assistant Principal Peg Gillard and MBS’s Brenda Hunt and Louisa Costantino-Foley.

Honored for thirty years of service was CMS’s Mary Beth Dickinson.

Honored for twenty-five years of service were CMS’s Donnalee Barcomb and Ruth Quintin.

Honored for twenty years of service was CHS’s Jeffrey Richey.

Honored for fifteen years of service were CHS’s Kathryn Couillard and Deborah Pratt; CMS’s Cheryl Bouchard, Jennifer Giroux, Marianne Nealy, and Amy Tosch; MBS’s Luba Routsong, Jeanne Racicot, Tammy Walton, and Myrna Laurin; UMS’s Judith Hillis and Colleen Marshall; and PPS’s Priscilla Hammond.

Honored for ten years of service were CHS’s Heather Baron, Steve Davis, Elsie Ducharme, Helen-Marie Jurnak, Marijke Reilly, and Melissa Vilmont; CMS’s AnnaMary Lauricella, John Upchurch, and Paul Morin; MBS’s Carolyn Millham and Jan Wilkinson; PPS’s Jennifer Gamache, Donna Labonte, and Wendy Rogers; and district-wide employee James Lynch.

In all, thirty-seven employees were honored for their service. Given statistics from the Bureau of Labor Statistics indicating that the typical American stays in a job for just over four years, our employees’ years of service speak volumes. As was repeatedly expressed at the Vision Summit, it is our entire community—our employees, parents, committed citizens, and students—that shapes us.

Many, many thanks to all of our talented and dedicated employees!

Your schools and your town are working hard to engage our community. Please encourage your friends and family to subscribe to The Spotlight. When we’re all informed, we make a stronger community!

Vermont Principal of the Year Amy Minor has recently returned from Washington DC, where she joined top principals from all around the nation for an important three-day event.

CHS Principal Amy Minor in Washington DC in September

The award-winning principals from all across the country came together to discuss best practices and current education-related legislation and to meet with senators and congressmen and congresswomen on Capitol Hill.

CHS Prinicpal Minor and US Senator Leahy discuss education in Washington DC

(Senator Leahy wore a blue-and-green tie in honor of the Lakers for his meeting with Principal Minor.)

Bellows Falls Middle School Principal Heidi Lucas-Moccia, US Senator Leahy, and Principal Minor at the Capitol in Washington DC

While on Capitol Hill, Principal Minor advocated for funding to support electronic devices for all students in grades 6–12. She shared with legislators some of the current challenges that high school students face, and she shared some of the ways in which CHS is working to personalize learning and the high school experience for all high school students. She also discussed at length the funding challenges that all schools face and how challenging it is to offer innovative programming on a limited budget.

“It was an honor to engage leaders from around the country in such meaningful and important dialogue,” Principal Minor said. “I had the sense that our voices were truly heard; Arne Duncan, Senator Leahy and Senator Sanders, Congressman Welch … they truly listened. It was a phenomenal experience.”

Colchester High School has repeatedly ranked among the top 5 percent of high schools in the nation under Principal Minor’s leadership. Additionally, CHS won high praise from the Vermont Agency of Education for its impressive improvements in performance with Principal Minor at the reins. In fact, Lawrence O. Picus and Associates conducted an extensive case study of CHS for the Vermont State Legislature in order to ascertain how such improvements were accomplished … without high spending and without high teacher salaries. As a result of the comprehensive study, CHS is being regaled as a model for other high schools across the state.

Under Principal Minor’s tutelage, CHS won accreditation from the New England Association of Schools and Colleges (NEASC)—the result of a long-term, multi-component, and comprehensive assessment, and the school has been invited to present at the New England Association of Schools and Colleges (NEASC) Fall 2013 and Fall 2014 conferences to present the school’s work on personalizing the academic experience for students through its AT program and to present the school’s work in developing a positive culture, climate, and beliefs for its learning community.

(Principal Minor leads the charge in cultivating a warm and comfortable learning environment, making grand efforts to create and foster school and community spirit. Please click here to watch a video of a surprise faculty flash mob at a pep rally.)

To read the National Association of Secondary School Principals (NASSP) press release about Principal Minor’s recognition, please click here.

For those of you who may not have seen WCAX’s coverage of the surprise send-off the CHS students coordinated for Principal Minor, you can watch it here.

Congratulations and very well done, Principal Minor!

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Congratulations to Colchester Middle School head cook Ruth Quintin for her recent honor!

Since 1988—way back when President Reagan was in office!—Ruth has been dedicating her energy to students and to school nutrition. As a result, the School Nutrition Association of Vermont (SNA-VT) recently presented her with its “Serving Up Excellence” award. According to SNA-VT’s website, the honor was given “to recognize the valuable contributions of school food service staff who work in daily operations preparing and serving appetizing meals to children. These employees make the difference between an outstanding program and an average one through customer service, interest in young people, creativity, participation in professional growth and training, and a willingness to ‘greet the challenge’ on a daily basis.”

Ruth received the honor at the recent 2013 SNA-VT Annual Conference and Membership Meeting at Shelburne Farms.

Award-winning CMS head cook Ruth Quintin with incoming national president of SNA Leah Schmidt and outgoing president of SNA-VT Doug Davis at the ceremony at Shelburne Farms

Among other missions, the SNA-VT works to promote and support school nutrition. It put out the call for nominations, and Ruth received a wealth of support from around the district. “Ruthie is definitely an example of the fact that we can keep improving over time,” wrote Director of Nutrition and Food Services Steve Davis in his nomination letter to SNA-VT. “For the past twenty-five years, Ruthie has been a shining star at Colchester Middle School. She excels in her position in our district’s food service program, and she cares about our students’ nutritional needs.”

“There is no job that Ruthie will not do or cannot do,” wrote colleague Glyn Gelinas in her letter of support. “Ruthie loves her job, and it shows in everything that she does, no matter how big or small the task at hand.”

CMS administrators Principal Dawn Gruss, Assistant Principal Peg Gillard, and Assistant Principal Dovid Yagoda wrote in their letter of support that they “cannot imagine an individual whose career has been more exemplary in her ability, and desire, to adapt and grow with the times—all in an effort to provide a nourishing meal to our children … prepared with kindness, caring, and compassion.”

And of course the CMS Cougars love Ruth, too; last year, the Cougars surprised her with a seventy-fifth birthday celebration, complete with the “Happy Birthday” serenade, a grand cheer, and cake for everyone (please click here to read that story and to watch a video of it).

The requirements governing school nutritional programs are vastly different from those of generations past. Meals need to be planned around religious and ethical considerations as well as around allergies, and, as the result of the Child Nutrition Reauthorization Healthy Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010, the new nutrition standards are written by the US Department of Agriculture, which decides what foods may be sold and what ingredients can be used on school lunch lines and in vending machines.

In addition to all of that is the required incorporation of government commodities, such as cheeses, meats, and canned fruits and vegetables into the menus—and it needs to be appealing, all within the confines of limited financial resources. Colchester School District has already conformed to the US Department of Agriculture’s requirements and is working to implement other improvements, as well. (Please feel free to visit our primers about the district’s food service program and wellness program for more information.)

“Recognition is something Ruthie has never asked for, but I feel it is well deserved,” wrote Steve Davis.

Congratulations to Ruth, and very well done!

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The Vermont Association for Health, Physical Education, Recreation, and Dance (VTAHPERD) has given a Colchester High School educator its top honor.

Melanie Laquerre recently received VTAHPERD’s Health Educator of the Year award, which recognizes outstanding teaching in health education, at a ceremony at Stoweflake Mountain Resort and Spa in Stowe.

Melanie Laquerre at the award ceremony in Stowe

She spent nearly a year conceptualizing and designing her signature course, “Food: From Soil to Stomach,” collaborating with UVM Extension in order to develop curriculum that was appropriately challenging for high school students (you can read more about the class, which explores the various aspects of food—including growing, cooking, and eating—through an eclectic assortment of subject matters like nutrition and obesity, conventional versus organic agriculture, food miles, sustainability, the treatment of animals in food production, and the global implications of the production and transportation of our food supply, by clicking here).

Melanie Laquerre and CHS Principal Amy Minor at the award ceremony

Melanie also collaborates with other schools within the school district to help establish connections with a wide variety of students and to create collaborative learning opportunities. (Click here to read about a taste-testing event, and stay tuned for an upcoming article discussing her work with waste awareness and recycling efforts.)

Melanie’s honor speaks to the Colchester School District Vision and Strategic Plan 2012–2017′s efforts with Pathway F: Wellness-Oriented, Balanced, and Healthy Learners.

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With grant funding provided by the National Science Foundation (NSF), Colchester High School science teacher Kara Lenorovitz recently honored Colchester School District by presenting at the American Geophysical Union (AGU) annual fall meeting in San Francisco, having been selected to do so by the Research on Adaptation to Climate Change (RACC) program.

Ms. Lenorovitz joined teacher Tom Lane of Bellows Free Academy, Fairfax and St. Michael’s College’s Miranda Lescaze at the San Francisco meeting. (To read a brief feature about Ms. Lenorovitz’s San Francisco presentation, please click here, and to view her presentation materials, please click here.) More than 22,000 earth and space scientists, educators, students, and other leaders gathered to present groundbreaking research and connect with colleagues as part of the December 9–13 event.

“It was incredibly powerful and reaffirming to both attend and present at the AGU conference,” Ms. Lenorovitz said. “Having the opportunity to learn about cutting-edge scientific findings across the multifaceted disciplines of Earth science, network with researchers and educators from around the world, and to partner more closely with RACC colleagues represented unparalleled professional development. Learning more about the complexities of climate change and educator professional development opportunities offered by other national and international organizations truly highlighted that the broader RACC research focus and model of authentically integrating both high school teachers and students in a vibrant research community is a unique, dynamic, and effective model.”

Ms. Lenorovitz has participated in the Research on Adaptation to Climate Change (RACC) program, which is part of the Experimental Program to Stimulate Competitive Research (EPSCoR)—which is itself a NSF-funded collaborative research effort between university researchers, graduate and undergraduate students, and high school teams throughout New England, New York, and Puerto Rico—for four years. She also mentors CHS students in EPSCoR-related efforts; last school year, three CHS seniors focused their efforts on understanding how storm events impact phosphorus levels in streams in various areas of different land uses and were later recognized for their contributions to climate change research. (Read more about that impressive feat here!)

CHS has participated in the Streams/RACC project for all six years of the program’s existence (the name morphed to Research on Adaptation to Climate Change (RACC) after its third year). Because science teacher Will Warren led the CHS team for the first two years, two science teachers and thirteen students have been actively engaged in this research initiative over CHS’s six years of participation.

Why is this important?

Exceptional teachers and teaching opportunities best position our students for success. Teacher collaboration is a critical element of student success (please click here to read a Spotlight primer about it), as are strategic professional development opportunities. In addition to serving as an elemental component in CSD’s teacher evaluation model (please click here to access our three-part primer about it), professional development is also the foundational aspect of in-service days (please click here to read more about them). Students’ ability to participate in hands-on, experiential learning is critically important, and your schools work to provide as many hands-on opportunities as possible for students—from pioneering a first-of-its-kind sustainability initiative and partnering with UVM to conduct atmospheric research to working with a state official to design simple water filtration systems … and from seeking grant funding to support the construction of a human-powered generator to teaming up with Colchester Police Department to explore forensics, your schools work to align with the Colchester School District Vision and Strategic Plan 2012–2017′s many pathways, including Pathway A: High Standards, Expectations, and Individual Engagement for All Learners; Pathway B: Technology Infrastructure and Integration; Pathway C: Learning Outside Our Four Walls; and Pathway E: Parent, Community, and School Partnerships Among Lifelong Learners. And we are having an astronomical reach—literally; did you know that one of our graduates is a flight controller for the International Space Station?

Hands-on study and application of science is important because making real-world connections to abstract classroom learning piques student engagement and attention—thus encouraging out-of-the-box thinking and enhancing learning. It also strengthens students’ observational skills and allows them to actively engage in their learning, providing additional sensory activities and expanding their curiosity. Our students are busily preparing for careers that do not even exist yet, and as such, problem-solving and critical-thinking skills are of even greater importance; students must be able to translate the theories and concepts they learn now toward applications they will use in their careers that have yet to be developed. Facilitating an increased emphasis on hands-on education—and providing opportunities for leadership development and career preparation in the process—is an excellent example of the forward thinking that the district works hard to promote and encourage. In order to do that, we must have quality teachers. To have quality teachers, they must have relevant, meaningful, and ongoing professional development.

In short, expanded professional development for teachers equals enhanced experiential learning—and thus greater success—for our students.

For more information, please call CHS at (802) 264-5700.

Your schools and your town government are working hard to engage our community. Please encourage your friends and family to subscribe to The Spotlight. When we’re all informed, we make a stronger community!