Dear Burlington Community,
By now, I hope you have seen the amazing news that last year, for the first time, BSD eliminated racial disparities in suspensions. In 2024–25, Students of the Global Majority made up 42% of BSD’s student population, yet represented only 33% of suspensions.
As I shared with our staff, this is a big achievement that creates justice in the disciplinary system in Burlington. We know that frequent suspensions lead to negative lifelong outcomes, such as the well-documented connection between school suspension and incarceration. We still have work to do, particularly around serving the social-emotional needs of students with IEPs, but eliminating this disparity is a huge deal, and it gives us more space to focus on student learning.
I’m grateful to our Director of Equity, Sparks, for his deep work over decades to ensure we use anti-racist and restorative practices and for the Office of Equity’s work to create and support the Restorative Code of Conduct. I am also grateful for our school leaders’ commitment to anti-racist, restorative leadership. (BHS, in particular, saw a big drop last year!) And, this work does not happen in a vacuum. Eliminating disparities begins with the work in our classrooms, playgrounds, lunchrooms, and hallways. Our teachers and staff have prioritized building relationships with students and families and making learning experiences meaningful.
This accomplishment moves us closer to our Northstar: to ensure every learner is challenged, empowered, and engaged. And while we have a lot of work to do to maintain this and to achieve our other goals related to academic achievement (more to come soon), it’s important to pause and recognize when good things happen.
Thank you for your support,
Tom
Teachers’ Contract Agreement Reached! I am pleased to report that we have reached an agreement with the Burlington Education Association for a three-year teachers’ contract! The board ratified this agreement at Tuesday night’s board meeting. Thank you to the negotiating teams for working together on this, and thank you, teachers, for all you do!
Superintendent Contract Reached! In addition to approving the BEA contract, I am honored that the board has also approved a three-year contract for me to continue serving as your superintendent. I feel really fortunate to have had this opportunity for the past five years, and I look forward to being able to continue to serve our wonderful community moving forward.
Budget Update – Budget season is here. The budget timeline and FY’27 Equitable Budget Survey have been posted on the BSD budget webpage, and on Tuesday night, we presented our first substantial Budget Assumptions Memo and Presentation. For now, we are considering the following pressures as we begin the budgeting season:
- Decreasing enrollment
- Federal Funding uncertainty
- Sustainability of current summer programming
- Declining Medicaid revenue which is used to pay for clinical services
- Increases in salaries and health insurance
Some of these pressures will be balanced by one-time cost savings as we conclude our lease for Downtown BHS. Like in previous years, I anticipate that we will need to continue to plan for a level-service funded budget that aligns enrollment to staffing. We will also continue to do our best to ensure we preserve our workforce and programming to the greatest extent possible.
Enrollment Snapshot – Our annual October enrollment snapshot shows that our K-12 enrollment continues to decline. We are down by 97 students since October 1, 2024, a decline of more than 3%. It will likely continue to decline this year as we already have 36 fewer students who have enrolled from other countries than we did at this point last year (which represents 1% drop in enrollment by itself). The primary long-term drivers of this decline are economic, like the cost of housing in Burlington and the State, combined with the loss of families coming through refugee resettlement. Neither private school enrollment nor school choice has a meaningful impact on enrollment.
BTC Opens Aviation, Career, and Technical Education Center! Students, staff, and community partners were on hand to celebrate the grand opening of Burlington Technical Center’s new Aviation, Career, and Technical Education Center in South Burlington last week! The $12 million project completely renovated a nearly decrepit airplane hangar at Burlington International Airport. Made possible through a $10 million grant secured by then-Senator Patrick Leahy, BSD completed the major renovation under budget. Congrats to everyone who worked so hard to open this new facility, and special thank you to Director Reed, Property Services Director Lyall Smith, all the BTC teachers who helped us get into the space, and to Moses Daly and Jason Cooper for the vision and goal to make this a reality! Check out all the photos on our website.
Big News for BHS/BTC Project – We remain on track to open next year, and on budget. The big news is that it is looking like we will not have to borrow the full $165 million that voters approved for the project. We don’t know if we will be just under the number or if savings will be more substantial, but we are hoping to have a more solid estimate by the end of 2025. Our team has worked hard to make sure we are being good stewards of resources, and I am grateful that they are taking this work seriously while also delivering on incredible learning spaces! Check out the full project update, with photos and videos, on our website.
DiversityInEd Partnership – HR has partnered with DiversityInEd to help us reach our Priority Area 4 Goals around recruiting educators who look like our students. Last month we were featured on their LinkedIn leadership series, and they are working with us to expand our outreach and advertising efforts.
Congrats Jana! We are thrilled to announce that Jana Fabri Sbardellati, 7/8 Humanities teacher at Hunt Middle School, has been awarded a Fellowship by the Rowland Foundation. She was recognized for this accomplishment at a Board Meeting on November 4th, and we hope you will join us in congratulating her on this accomplishment!
UVM 2025 Outstanding Educator Award Winners – Jason Cooper from BTC, Dave Paarlberg-Kvam from SA, and Jory Hearst from BHS have been named UVM Outstanding Educators! The three were recognized at an Awards Ceremony on Monday, October 27th, at UVM. All three now become part of the pool for the Vermont Teacher of the Year next Fall!
Nutrition/SOAR Grant – In partnership with Shelburne Farms, VT FEED, and the USDA, our School Nutrition Department was awarded a grant that focuses on the ways gardening, food science, and nutrition-based education impact elementary-aged students enrolled in the summer SOAR program!
Tree Planting at IAA – This week, we planted two new trees near the front entrance of IAA. Burlington Parks, Recreation & Waterfront will continue to help water the trees periodically through Fall 2026. Thanks to Michael Zakaras (PTO member/IAA parent), Diane Hannigan (Nature-Based Solutions Field Coordinators with the City of Burlington), Mr. Whitman (3rd grade teacher), Jessie McCarthy, (Behavior Interventionist), and our IAA students —many hands made for swift work!
Reading for Inclusion: Spreading Awareness about Disabilities and Disability Advocacy – We are offering a Reading for Inclusion literacy program in Burlington’s elementary schools during the weeks of December 1-19. Reading for Inclusion is designed to engage PreK-5 students with books and personal stories that lead to discussions about disability awareness and combating ableism. This booklist is a reference point for the types of topics covered.
AI Workgroup – Several staff members are attending a year-long professional learning series, “The Impact of A.I. on Teaching & Learning Exploring.” Hosted by the Champlain Valley Educator Development Center, participants are exploring how AI can support teaching and learning—enhancing feedback, differentiation, and efficiency—while keeping human connection and equity at the center.
BCL Featured in UN University Publication – Burlington High School (BHS) is once again making international news. Last month, the United Nations University published a book featuring Burlington City & Lake Semester (BCL), a collaboration between Shelburne Farms and Burlington School District which offers real-world learning, using the community as a classroom. Check it out!
Facilities Project Updates
Flynn – The new gym floor is complete and looks absolutely beautiful. (Thanks go out to our HVAC team for controlling the exhaust in the space to minimize any construction odors.) It is the same flooring system that we installed at Champlain and Edmunds Elementary. We are planning to upgrade the IAA gym floor with this same system in the near future, as well as install it in the new BHS community gym.. In addition, the final inspection of the stormwater project happened last month, and everything looks great!
Edmunds – We are working with Gale Associates to plan a strategy for completing repairs and ongoing maintenance to the decorative roof edge materials that are showing their age on the A and B buildings. This will likely be a multi-year project that we will work into our capital budget plan.
IAA – We continue working with masonry consultants to address some needed work to the chimneys at IAA. We have the repair scope designed and are prioritizing the scheduling of the work needed based on the condition of each of the chimneys.
Champlain The stormwater project is wrapping up; we expect to be doing a final inspection of the project in a couple of weeks. We have also installed two new boilers, just in time for the cold weather.
Playgrounds We have purchased three adaptive swings and are installing them at our elementary schools this month. We continue to make upgrades and repairs to all of our playgrounds as needed, based on our regular inspections.
Edmunds Middle We are working with a flooring contractor to come up with a way to further our efforts of making a restroom floor more water-tight. We may have to complete a more expensive solution of installing a welded seam floor next summer if our efforts are unsuccessful.
Alumni at BTC – Introduction to Health Care invited BTC/BHS Alumni, Milano Baur, 2019, to Zoom into class from nursing school in Montana, as an expert in type 1 diabetes. Students gained insight into his experience of living with a chronic disease, the evolution of technology and treatment of diabetes, as well as receiving some wise advice for future practitioners. A great example of BTC alumni making a huge impact on the world around them, and remaining connected to BTC! Introduction to Healthcare is a one year, hands-on training program that prepares students for a career in healthcare and can enter directly into the workforce as a Licensed Nursing Assistant (LNA) or pursue further education in the college setting.
Director of Expanded Learning – Last month, we learned that Emma Membrino, Director of ELO, will not be returning to BSD following her maternity leave. We will miss Emma, and we thank her for her contributions to BSD! The team has identified six strong applicants, and we are aiming to complete all rounds of interviews by mid-November to hire a replacement in December.
SA and UVM – Sustainability Academy is partnering with the UVM Horse Barn. Students have been invited to brush horses, learn about their care, and read to the horses. Students will visit the barn a total of four times this school year. The opportunity will allow students to experience the therapeutic nature of connecting with horses, in line with SA’s mission for sustainability and connection to the non-human world. Thank you, Restorative Practices Specialist, Theo Soucy, for leading this opportunity, and thank you to UVM for hosting us!
Athletics is Hiring! We are currently hiring for a variety of winter positions. If you or someone you know would be a good fit at The Reef, please have them apply on SchoolSpring.
- BHS JVA Boys Basketball Head Coach
- BHS JVB Boys Basketball Head Coach
- BHS Gymnastics Head Coach
- Hunt Middle School Boys A Basketball Coach
- Edmunds Middle School Boys A Basketball Coach
- Edmunds Middle School Boys B Basketball Coach
Athletics Newsletter – Winter sports season is almost here. Learn more about what is coming and see some great photos from the fall. Check it out!
