May 20, 2024
Dear BSD Families, Staff, and Community Members,
Spring has sprung and we have entered the final stretch of the school year. Every May we celebrate Teacher and Staff Appreciation Week in BSD, where we take a moment to step back, recognize, and remember all of the incredible individuals who work together for the success of our students. There are really amazing people working in this District, and that proof is all around us. As you know, Champlain Elementary’s Aziza Malik has been named Vermont’s Teacher of the Year (and spent time last month at the White House!). And Ms. Malik is not the only one being recognized by our broader community!
- Last week, BHS Soccer Coach Mukhtar Abdullahi and EMS Substance Abuse Prevention Councilor Angela Halsted received the Youth and Families Award and DG Weaver Award, respectively, at Burlington Partnership for a Healthy Community’s 14th Annual Roots of Prevention Awards Ceremony.
- Autumn Bangoura, BSD Equity Instructional Leader, has been selected as the recipient of the 2024 Innovative Leadership Award by Champlain Valley Educator Development Center (CVEDC), in honor of the late Ned Kirsch!
- Earlier this year Tech Integration Specialist Amy Truchon was the 2023 ISTE Making IT Happen Awardee.
- And just recently BHS teacher Kate Mastrantone was named the High School Physical Education Teacher of the Year by SHAPE Vermont.
In addition to these awardees, nine different BSD members will also be recognized at a staff BBQ next month for their connection to students and staff, and their work to build relationships and a positive climate and culture. Please join me in congratulating this year’s “BSD’s Best” Award winners, who were nominated and chosen by their peers:
- Daniel Gavin, North Star Award Teachers (BHS)
- Cy Chapman, North Star Award Paras (Flynn)
- Sonam Lhakang, North Star Award Property Service (SA)
- Antony Dennis, North Star Award Administration (EMS)
- Nijaza Semic, North Star Award Student Support Services (District)
- Ashley Taylor, North Star Award Food Services (Champlain)
- Marcie Lussier, North Star Award Expanded Learning (Smith)
- Teresa Giallorenzo, BSD’s Climate Champion Award (District)
- Karlie Gunderson, BSD’s Climate Champion Award (District)
Thank you Team BSD for all you do!
In partnership,
Tom
Change to Bussing – Starting today, GMT has reinstated a rider fee for buses. In order to continue to ride to and from school for free, students simply need to let bus drivers know they are school students. Please ask your students to inform the bus driver of their status as a school student when boarding the bus. As a reminder, students can ride GMT buses for free from 7AM to 7PM; if students are accessing bussing outside of these hours, they will need have bus fare available.
Annual Equity Report – Our Annual Equity and Inclusion Data Report has been published on our website. The Equity Report is designed to help us reflect on and keep us accountable to our promise to the students and families in BSD that we will reduce disparities that exist in our system based on historically marginalized identities such as race, disability, language, socio-economic status, and gender. In reviewing the report, I am struck by the sheer volume of activities we have done to better support our students and to directly address disparities that exist as a result of racism, ableism, heterosexuality, and classism. I believe the effort we are putting forward is a representation of how deeply committed we are to this work and to the goals of our strategic plan. However, I am also struck by the reality that despite these efforts, the disparities are not changing as much or as quickly as we would like. As a result, our students, staff, and families are not feeling the impact of our work in measurable ways. As we balance the urgency of this work with the understanding that change takes time, I am committed to working with our leadership team, our board, our strategic plan steering committee and our broader community to continue to push harder on our commitment to reduce disparities and make real, lasting change.
Summer-time Hiring! Planning for summer programs is in full swing and we have a few more spots to fill. We are looking for Speech and Language Pathologists, Special Educators, Paraeducators, food service staff, and more. Check out all of our openings today!
Strategic Plan New Leads and Consolidation – In the past year, we have made significant progress in the physical building aspects of Priority Area 3: Reimagined High School.
- We have secured a long-term lease for BTC programs at the airport and are moving ahead with the renovation of a large airplane hanger on site (paid for largely with grant money from Senator Leahey).
- We have secured space for both alternative high school programs and are working to combine them into one unified campus and purpose.
- And our new high school and technical center is being built as we speak!
With that in mind, considering the actual work being done in each priority area, the capacity we have to do this work, and the need to keep work from being siloed, I have decided to combine Priority Area 2: Deeper Learning for Every Student with Priority Area 3. Executive Director of Teaching and Learning Stephanie Phillips has agreed to lead this consolidated effort to ensure reimagining the high school includes deep learning that is relatable to the PreK-5 work being done! This means we have shifted the priority area leads for the coming year to:
1: Belonging & Wellbeing: Executive Director of Student Support Services, Kellie Klasen
2 & 3: Deeper Learning for Every Student: Executive Director of Teaching and Learning, Stephanie Phillips
4: Educators Who Look Like Our Students: Executive Director of School Leadership, Bonnie Johnson-Aten
5. Restorative Culture: Director of Equity, Sparks
BHS/BTC Project
Construction – The steel is here and it is going up QUICKLY, along with pre-cast flooring. Whiting-Turner is also preparing to place foundation slabs for Lower Level 1, waterproofing Level 1 foundation walls, and installing Level 1 under-slab plumbing and geothermal injection wells. In the past few weeks, both HMS and EMS 6th graders had a chance to visit the site and talk with architects and the Whiting-Turner team. There were audible “oohs and aahs” as they watched a 3D video rendering of the completed spaces. I love, love, love, that we are already using the new building to support deep learning experiences in our middle schools!
Visiting the Site If you haven’t seen it yet, I encourage you to go check it out! I’ve had fun the past few weeks going to see games on the fields and checking out the progress next door. I’d definitely recommend it! That said, our friends at Whiting-Turner would like us to remind everyone that all visitors need to stay outside of the fences, even if gates are open when you are visiting. Inside the fence is an active construction site, and it would be an absolute tragedy if someone was hurt while taking a self-guided tour before Whiting-Turner is finished building our long-awaited school. Please avoid going on-site and stick to observing the project from outside the fenced area…Thank You!
PCB Reimbursement – Earlier this month, BSD representatives met with Sen. Baruth, Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) Commissioner Matt Chapman, and Agency of Natural Resources (ANR) Secretary Julie Moore to discuss BSD’s concerns about the restrictive interpretation of eligible PCB-related expenses that DEC was applying to Burlington’s reimbursement requests. The conversation was productive and we are now far more confident that the state will honor the $16 million commitment made to Burlington!
Blasting – Mass excavations, including blasting, have begun on the upper portion of the site. Blasting in the upper parking lot portion of the site is expected to take about three weeks and should be completed by mid-May.
Kindergarten Registration and Placement – Welcome to Kindergarten letters have gone out to families! We have 229 students registered for Kindergarten. As a comparison, we have 250 students in Kindergarten right now and this next class may grow slightly as people move to the area. We anticipated that this may be the case and as a result have reduced one kindergarten classroom, going from 13-12 next year.
Facilities
Edmunds Campus The grant-funded HVAC project for the D wing classrooms is on schedule to start as soon as school is out.
IAA We have made a lot of progress at IAA! Geothermal wells are going into place almost every day and we have been able to construct some of the framework for the rooftop ductwork. We have also met with the folks from the dental clinic to make a plan for the moving of the equipment to keep it out of harm’s way during the construction, and have already moved the first load of boxes over to St. Marks! Our Grounds crew has removed the old playground equipment from St. Marks and we’ve been working closely with Food Services to see if we can add some kitchen renovation scope back into the project. And in the interest of being good stewards, we are excited to announce that we may have found a buyer for the old steam boilers that are being removed as part of the project; it will be nice to see them repurposed if it all works out!
COMMUNITY ANNOUNCEMENTS
Screenagers Film Viewing – ParentIN is partnering with the Winooski Partnership for Prevention to host a live viewing of the film Screenagers: Under the Influence on May 22nd from 6-8pm. Watch from the comfort of home AND still have an opportunity to talk with others about what you saw! Join on May 22nd to watch the film starting at 6PM and participate in a panel discussion after the film around 7:30PM with these local substance use prevention professionals:
- Angela Halsted – Edmunds Middle School Student Assistance Program Counselor
- Amy Sayre – CVSD Student Assistance Program Counselor & ParentIN Coordinator
- Mariah Flynn – Burlington Partnership for a Healthy Community Coalition Director
REGISTER FOR THE LIVE EVENT: https://forms.gle/8ca6Sa3kdTqUc5X76
Fire Prevention – As some of you know, there was a small fire at the western edge of Hunt Middle School’s property last month. The fire department was notified immediately and they extinguished the fire quickly without any damage to our property. The firefighters said it was a small brush fire, mostly smoke, that started–accidentally–when a flammable material was thrown into the leaves. He asked us to remind our community that fire season has begun and that as leaves from last fall dry out, they increase our risk. Please be careful with all flammable materials as we move into full spring and summer!
Everything You Need to Know about the ER – We are excited to share an important video that has been several years in the making: Everything You Need to Know about the Emergency Department. This video walks folks through what to expect at the ER, patient rights, reasons one might go to the ER, and following through on discharge instructions, picking up prescriptions, seeing primary care for follow-up, and paying your bill after an ER visit. VLJP conducted five focus groups (in Arabic, Dari, Nepali, Spanish, and Swahili) while developing this video to gather community feedback and assess the effect of the video on knowledge about emergency health care access. Many thanks to Dr. Katie Wells and the team at UVMMC for securing partial funding for this project and for collaborating on the video. Parts of the video were filmed at the UVMMC Emergency Department, but the content and guidance will be relevant for people all over Vermont and the country.
Measles – Measles cases are on the rise in the U.S. Most cases reported to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have been among children 12 months and older who have not been vaccinated against measles. Many cases have been linked to international travel. What can you do? Ensure you and your students are up-to-date on vaccines and talk with your student’s health care provider if they have symptoms of measles. For more information on measles and vaccines, please visit HealthVermont.gov/Measles.
SCHOOL NEWS
Champlain – Students from Champlain were chosen to perform their musical compositions at the Elly Long Hall on The St. Mikes Campus on April 29th. These students showed a passion to create music that may indeed lead them to some of the amazing programming offered at Burlington Technical Center when they get to high school. Students needed to create a composition on a virtual platform, and for some, their music was performed by live musicians playing piano, violin, and guitar.
Champlain Student Compositions Chosen for Performance at Opus 38
1. Skipping Rocks by Arlo Smith and Bruce Creason; composed for piano, cello, and violin
2. Fire by Elliot Blackman; composed for electronic performance
3. Aloha Island by Leon Summers and Gabe Stanton-Geddes; composed for electronic performance
4. Opus #38 by Kiri Heath and Ona Thompson; composed for electronic performance
5. Munchies by Leland Dutcher; composed for electronic performance
6. Epic Duo by Bruce Creason and Arlo Smith; composed for electronic performance
Jason Chin at IAA! Author/Illustrator, or as he likes to call himself, Authorstrator, Jason Chin visited IAA on Tuesday, April 30th to talk about what inspires him and his process for researching, writing, and illustrating his books. Our students loved learning about the universe, redwood trees, gravity, and the coral reef. Jason Chin’s curiosity is certainly infectious. A huge thank you goes out to Jason Chin and to the Children’s Literacy Foundation. Jason Chin’s visit was brought to us through CLiF’s Year of the Book grant.
EMS Winners at he Wildlife Art Expo! Congratulations to the following students for winning a cash award at the 3rd Annual Vermont Student Wildlife Art Expo!
1. Kawdoh Htoo – Curators Award and Judge’s Award !!
Kawdoh’s Blue Jay
2. Connor Morris – Judge’s award
Connor’s Cardinal
3. Julia Blackman- Judge’s award
Julia’s Purple Finch
The following students were also chosen to exhibit at this prestigious exhibition:
Liban Hassan
Shueb Ibrahim
Mae Dery
Lulu Coleman
Lucy Esckilsen
Oliver Crainich
Dalib Ali
Congratulations to all of these students for their effort, talent, and commitment to their creativity!!
BHS Peer Mediators Present at Education Justice Coalition – Peer Mediators at BHS have been trained in Restorative Practices and are working to make BSD a safer and healthier community. Victoria Tornwini, Esther Lokossou, and Lincoln Safron proudly presented on Saturday, April 14th at the Education Justice Coalition Conference in front of over 20 Vermont educators, community partners, and activists. Peer Mediation is a new program running at EMS and BHS and it involves training youth in RP in order to provide youth circle keepers to help repair low-level harms at school. The BHS peer mediators meet every Wednesday during lunch and advisory and are eager to try their skills out so please do reach out if you would like to recommend a case for them to try. They also have created circle templates on graffiti, skipping class, vaping, and more!
World Renowned Band Clinician at BHS! BHS Bands had an incredible opportunity to welcome Dr. Dominick Ferrara, a world-renowned clinician, to work with our students in Concert Band and Symphonic Winds. Dr. Ferrara is a professor at the Berklee College of Music in Boston and specializes in Band and Instrumental methods. He brought his wealth of experience and expertise to our students with a warm, encouraging and fun rapport. He spent the morning of March 20th working with our students on expanding how they approach playing in an ensemble and working together to expand the contrast, clarity and meaning of their playing. It was an inspiring morning of music making and we were grateful for the opportunity!
HMS Visits Montreal! For the first time in years, our students who take French crossed the Canadian border for a day in Montreal! Thanks to the organizations of Jordan Bartlett, the HMS French Teacher, 28 students spent the day in Montreal this week. In this packed, 10-hour door-to-door excursion, they got to eat french treats at a local patisserie, toured Old Montreal as part of a scavenger hunt, and had “une picnique” on Mont Royal. It was a fabulous day. Thank you Jordan and AP Megan Munson Warken, for making this happen.
