June 27, 2025
Dear BSD Community,
As we start summer, I hope you will join me in sending gratitude to our teachers and staff for everything accomplished this year. From providing a supportive community to creating exceptional learning experiences for our students, I am grateful that our educators and staff have fully embraced the work of our Community-developed strategic plan. In my school visits, I see work to prioritize deep learning, well-being and belonging through restorative practices each and every day. And this work and commitment were evident across BSD this year:
- Teachers linked literacy units to sustainability at SA, and the school wowed the City with the first annual trout parade.
- The EMS community infused joy and choice into their switch-up days.
- HMS walked out for Ruby Bridges.
- EES connected their learning to gardens and outdoor spaces.
- Champlain students brought joy to the polls.
- IAA responded to hate with love and partnered with the city to make our streets more beautiful.
- CP Smith brought Tania Aebi to school to connect sailing to life.
- Flynn supported students using videos to explain complex science concepts.
- Afterschool students joined forces with Food Services to bring our gardens back to life.
- Eagle Bay connected math to public murals.
- PreK teachers created new curriculum to support neurodivergent students entering the K-12 system.
- BTC students gained experience on the floors of UVM Hospital to earn their LNA certifications.
- And BHS dug into common language around proficiency-based learning in their PLCs.
As I shared at graduation, the fruit of this labor is also evidenced in the good work done by our seniors. Furquan Mohamed, Nafisa Moge, and Binti Hussein showed it as peer leaders in the racial justice academy. Nicole Xie showed it by starting peer mediation at BHS. Yasmin Aden showed it as a leader for the Youth and Family Engagement Team. Krisha Thapa showed it by serving on the school board and in student government. Reshad and Krishma Kohbandi showed it at the Welcome ALL conference for multilingual educators, leaving attendees spellbound. And Nadia Sylla showed it on big stages at both the Rowland Foundation and the Vermont Superintendent Association Annual Conferences. They also showed it through more unseen acts, like Mason Sweetser and James Lopes-Smith taking care of the Little League baseball fields so the younger kids in our community have safe spaces to play.
Our seniors aren’t stopping now. Some will immediately continue to serve our community as electricians, dental assistants, Licensed Nursing Assistants, and as members of the National Guard. And others will attend great postsecondary schools like Brown, Vanderbilt, Bowdoin, University of British Columbia, McGill, Hamilton, Williams, Smith, Concordia, Emerson, Fashion Institute of Technology (FIT), Embry-Ridley Aeronautical University, Champlain College, UVM, CCV, and many more. BHS students will literally have their voice heard around the world, and we couldn’t be prouder.
Wishing you all a wonderful summer filled with relaxation and rejuvenation…
Tom
Remembering Eljak and Kim – Thank you to the many BSD community members who came out to remember Kim and Eljak this week. I know their families felt your love and compassion. This continues to be a difficult time for all of us, and I ask you to take care of yourself and reach out if there is anything you need. As a reminder, a GoFundMe page and a Meal Train have been created to support Eljak’s family through this. Thank you all.
Antisemitism In Schools – In the last few weeks, some disturbing information has come to my attention. This year, we saw a rise in swastikas being drawn in and around schools, and in one of our schools in particular, students reported to me that they have been subjected to repeated references and jokes about Hitler and the Holocaust. I want to be clear that this behavior has no place in BSD. The symbolism of the swastika is deeply painful to members of our Jewish community and hurts our entire school district community. It is threatening and unnerving to see these signs, and they immediately strike fear into many who see them. References and jokes about Hitler and the Holocaust cause pain as well. By joking around about these topics, we minimize the impacts of the atrocities committed during the Holocaust and minimize the needless, cruel, abhorrent deaths of millions and millions of people. Please know that we will not take these matters lightly, and there is no place for hate, antisemitism, or the minimization of the pain that the Jewish population has endured. Please talk with your students about the importance of this issue and remind them that not making jokes about the Holocaust or Nazis or Hitler and explain why these jokes and references are harmful and inappropriate. We will continue to do this work with students to Stop the Hate in our schools as well.
Summer Meals Update – This summer, we’ll be serving lunch daily at Franklin Square, South Meadow, and Riverside, and supper every evening at Roosevelt Park. These open meal sites are available to all children 18 and under, regardless of where they live. New this year: we’re providing grocery-style meal boxes at the Intervale Center on July 31, August 6, and August 13 from 3:30–5:30 PM. No sign-up is required, but filling out the form helps us plan ahead. Meal boxes are free for all children 18 and under. Parents or guardians can pick them up without children present, and there are no residency requirements —everyone is welcome! Sign up here for Meal Box reminder emails or take this brief survey to help us fill the boxes with things you want/need!
Education Reform – I want to thank so many of you for standing up and reaching out to legislators about H. 454. As you have heard by now, the bill has passed the House and Senate and is heading to Governor Scott. For us, it is important to know that the legislature has set the ideal district size to be “around” 4,000 students. I will be advocating that we fit in this “around” category because I believe we have a district that is unique and is already operating at scale. It’s also important to know that we will continue to advocate for fair funding for districts like ours that serve marginalized communities. There is a lot of work to do in the next three years before implementation, and in the next year as the committees begin thinking about drawing the lines for redistricting. You have my word that BSD will be involved in this work and in these conversations.
State Champs – They did it again! For the second time in three years, our Seahorses are the VPA Division 1 Boys Tennis Champions! The team entered the tournament as the #4 seed, but turned it on in the playoffs, winning three matches in five days to reach the championship. In that final round, the Seahorses swept the #3 Essex Hornets, 7-0, courtesy of five matchbreakers that went in our favor. This was the Seahorse’s 4th championship game berth in five seasons, and they’ve gone 2-2 in championship matches during this unprecedented stretch. The team only loses three seniors from this championship lineup and are poised to solidify a dynasty! Additionally, Quinn Moore (left) and Sam Wick (right) became the 3rd Seahorses duo in the past five seasons to be crowned the State Doubles Champions in the Vermont State Individuals Championship Tournament back on May 31.
Learning Framework – A district workgroup (including teachers, instructional coaches, BEA leadership, and principals) has participated in monthly sessions this year to develop a Learning Framework for the District. Once complete, this document will set a vision for excellent and equitable learning, surface existing strengths and barriers toward realizing that vision, and customize and socialize aligned educator competencies and a path forward to realizing this vision. I am happy to report that we are on track to introduce this framework at the beginning of next school year. We have created a first draft, which has been reviewed by all principals, department leaders, and the educators on the workgroup. Based on the feedback from this group, we will focus on educator goal setting and PLCs as our primary means of introducing the framework next year. Stay tuned for more, and thank you to everyone who has helped us get this far!
BHS/BTC Project – Looking for an update on our new high school and technical center? Check out this great video update from Board Chair Clare Wool and Brian Leet from Freeman French Freeman.
BTC Recognition Night – The Burlington Technical Center celebrated Recognition Night, recognizing 115 program completers representing 14 sending schools and alternative education programs (including Eagle Bay Academy), with BHS representing the largest percentage. Where do graduates go after BTC and high school graduation? Data from last year’s class, six months after graduation, shows:
- 19% Employed in a field related to their BTC program of study.
- 11% Employed in a field that is not directly related to their BTC program of study, but uses the transferable skills.
- 2% Military service (Students are pursuing careers in the military related to their BTC programs of study–all require advanced training.)
- 60% college or post-secondary training in a field related to their BTC program of study.
- 7% college or post-secondary training in a field that is not directly related to their BTC program of study.
Trout Parade! On Friday, May 30th, The Flynn and Sustainability Academy hosted the 1st Annual Burlington Trout Parade. The event celebrated the release of the brook trout SA raised in a tank in their lobby since January. This was the 5th year of the program at SA, which is part of Trout Unlimited and Trout in the Classroom. Through the partnership with the Flynn and local artists, we were able to expand the celebration to a parade from the Flynn, to Sustainability Academy and finally to Battery Park where they performed a pageant honoring the trout life cycle and other important members of the watershed community. We are hoping this expands and becomes an annual event that encourages the Burlington community to come together to honor the waters of this land, our watershed and the creatures that swim, fly, crawl and share this space. Check out the local coverage from both WCAX and Local 22/44.
Food Services Connecting with Schools – Spring is here and students, staff and community members have been out in our school gardens preparing for the growing season. Food Services has been working with schools to have compost delivered and plant starts purchased.
At CP Smith we had a successful Spruce Up Day where all kids spent time cleaning up garden beds, laying out compost, mulch and planting sunflower surprises all across the campus. Thank you to Suzanne Weishaar for championing this day and Burlington Parks and Rec for supplying extra tools.
For Champlain Elementary work day, six classes came out and helped to reboot the entire garden and blueberry patch. Spiders, snakes, earthworms and many multi-legged critters had many students squealing with fun.
Hunt Middle School hosted a Saturday community work day where students and their families helped to plant native perennial trees and shrubs inside the garden.
With help from the Flynn Afterschool Nature Club we have fully prepped and planted the garden there. We expect a nice harvest of strawberries soon and a bountiful harvest for summer SOAR participants.
Currently we have three indoor tower gardens between EMS and EES. They are bursting at the seams with lettuce, flowers and herbs that students have a chance to taste, smell and tend.
Examining the Dairy Industry – Thanks to a grant from the Department of Agriculture, students from SA and BHS have worked on a yearlong project examining the dairy industry in Vermont. We learned about the working conditions migrant workers might face on farms, as well as supply chains and the Milk with Dignity (Leche con Dignidad) Campaign. Recently the students met with Laura La Vacca, director of School Nutrition, to discuss the project and ways we can have a more sustainable relationship with milk in our schools. We also worked with ArtLords, a team of artists from Afghanistan, to create a mural for the Sustainability Academy cafeteria to raise awareness of worker rights in the dairy industry. We culminated our program with a community art-making event that shared our understanding of labor injustices in the milk industry and spread our advocacy for milk sourced from socially just farms. This program is led by members of the SA Team – Theo Soucy, Dave Paarlberg-Kvam and Kestrel Plump.
HMS Student Council Over the past couple of months, HMS Student Council has been learning about the legislative branch of government, in particular the importance of getting involved. Students worked in groups to create their own mock legislative bill: they identified an issue they wanted to see change in Vermont, researched and presented statistical evidence, and developed an action plan for change. In May, students presented their final bill and change proposal to Burlington City Councilors Sarah Carpenter and Carter Neubieser, who in addition spoke to the kids about their roles in the government, what a typical day looks like, and answered any questions that the students have.
Athletics MILESTONES & ACCOLADES: Please join us in congratulating the following student-athletes.
- Nylah Mitchell ‘25 and Bree McDonald ‘25 for surpassing the 1,000-point career mark, the third and fourth players in BHS girls basketball history to achieve the rare milestone. Sharmion Selman ’01 and Kayleigh Shappy ’05, were previously the only two girls players in Burlington history to hit the career mark.
- Lily McArthur ‘26 and Livia Jatlow-Carter, ‘27 on reaching the 100 career goals milestone! Livia reached the milestone in just ONE AND A HALF seasons of Varsity play. We look forward to many more goals from Lily and Livia, leading to many more wins for our girls lacrosse program!
- Abdi Sharif and Nylah Mitchell for the postseason honors of 2025 Mr. & Miss Basketball, adding to the accolades of a championship season!
Roots of Prevention – Congratulations to Libby McDonald, NP, and Dr. Heather Link, who BOTH received a D.G. Weaver Award for their work with the School-Based Health Center (SBHC) at this year’s Roots of Prevention Award from Burlington Partnership for a Healthy Community. Students consistently praise the SBHC’s convenience and the kindness and helpfulness of providers like Libby and Dr. Link. Their unwavering presence and commitment have made them trusted friends to the student population, supporting them in being their healthiest selves through all the ups and downs at DtBHS. Thank you for your work and partnership, and congratulations!
Gun Safety – Safe firearm storage is one of many preventative actions that can be taken to help keep our community safe. BSD’s Rapid Response Crisis Team (DRRCT) has cultivated some resources to help remind everyone about the importance of this topic. (The DRRCT is made of a number of individuals who are on-call to support emergent and immediate safety issues and crises in the District. The intent of the DRRCT is to be a District-level support mechanism available to students, staff, and families within the District in the case of an emerging crisis.)
WELCOME NEW HIRES
Katherine Grykien – Earlier this year, the Board approved my recommendation to appoint Katherine Grykien as BSD’s new Director of Curriculum. Some of you may remember Katherine from her previous time in the district, most recently as an assistant principal at EMS. We’re excited to welcome her back to the BSD team starting in July. This new role consolidates two previously vacant associate director positions, resulting in an $80,000 savings for the district. More importantly, it brings in a leader with deep experience who can hit the ground running, helping to build strong MTSS systems across the district, while supporting curriculum alignment and professional learning.
Lauren Klaffky – The Board has also approved Lauren Klaffky as the next Executive Director of School Leadership (EDSL). We were really impressed with Lauren’s resume, interview, and references, and believe she will bring great experience and leadership disposition to this role that will support principals, our leadership team, and me! Lauren replaces outgoing EDSL Bonnie Johnson-Aten, who has given more than 21 years of leadership to BSD. I hope you will join me in thanking Principal Johnson-Aten for all she has done for BSD and I hope you join me welcoming Lauren Klaffky!
Michelle Basile – The Board has also unanimously approved my recommendation that Michelle Basile be named principal of EES, effective July 1. Michelle was a principal in California for 10 years and is currently serving as an Interim Assistant Principal at Orchard School in South Burlington, Vermont. She has considerable experience in school leadership as a teacher and principal in California, and we are excited to welcome her to the team. In the meantime, I hope you will join me in thanking Kolby Snellenberger for his service to EES and our school district.
