Wednesday, June 24, 2020

Williston Teacher Wins Award



In recognition of inspirational teaching nationwide, Lyn Porter, a Physical Education teacher at Allen Brook School in Williston, has been named a recipient of the National University System-Sanford Teacher Award for Vermont on a surprise Zoom announcement.


Here's an excerpt from the press release:
Ms. Porter has taught Physical Education for three decades in the same school district. She has coached three sports at the middle school level, plays a role locally in setting standards for relicensure, and has been a leader in the Society for Health and Physical Education in the Eastern United States. She notes that social and emotional learning is more crucial than ever, because students do not spend as much time outdoors and lack opportunities to develop communications, negotiation, and problem-solving skills that came from playing hockey and sandlot games or building snow forts. To support this growth and teamwork, she purposefully organizes young people of mixed ability levels in small groups that encourage conversation and cooperation. She teaches students about the value of inclusion and being able to work with everyone. As the school year progresses, she organizes students into larger groups to help them become even more inclusive. Ms. Porter explains, “Listening and sharing also provides a great deal of learning. As a teacher I facilitate this learning but don't always drive the direction of the discussion. I also talk a lot about how the best athletes are not always the most skilled. They are the best athletes because they know how to make everyone on their team better.”

During a year of unprecedented challenges for teachers nationwide, the Sanford Teacher Award honors the top teacher in each state and the District of Columbia with $10,000 for supporting student development and achievement in inspirational and harmonious ways. The award was established in the name of philanthropist T. Denny Sanford, who is committed to supporting inspiring teaching nationwide through PreK-12 programs focused on developing the social and emotional (SEL) skills of young people. Each teacher recipient is now eligible to be named the national winner of the Sanford Teacher Award, which comes with a total award of $50,000 and will be announced at a future date.

Congratulations Lyn! 


Friday, June 19, 2020

CVSD Schools Raise the Black Lives Matter Flag


Champlain Valley School District’s Board of Directors Statement 

Read at Black Lives Matter Flag Raising, June 19, 2020


Thank you for being here today – on Juneteenth, a day of reverence and celebration marking the abolishment of slavery. On this day in 1865 enslaved Black Americans in Texas were finally freed, two-and-a-half years after the Emancipation Proclamation was signed.

Slavery ended 135 years ago, yet racism is still prevalent in our country and it exists in our schools. We have failed to abolish racism in our district and therefore we have failed you. Some may feel that the goal of abolishing racism is unrealistic. And while we recognize the many influential factors outside of a school district’s control – things like cultural messages, political actions, and family dynamics – we believe that the goal of abolishment is the only starting point. Anything less would be unacceptable.

I wish that I could stand before you today and say that we’ve got a solid, foolproof plan for eliminating racism in our district. But we’re not there yet. I can, however, promise that the board will start by listening to all of you – students, parents, community members, teachers, and administrators. Together we will identify the true scope and nature of racism in our schools.

As a school board, our direct influence lies mainly in the policy realm. We will review all of our existing policies through the lens of equity and anti-racism, and pledge to be anti-racist in all policies going forward.

We recently hired CVSD’s first Director of Diversity and Equity in part to understand the many ways that racism impacts our students and faculty. Under her leadership, we’ll root out implicit and explicit bias. We’ll examine the district’s curriculum looking for ways to be more inclusive and to present a more complete picture when it comes to topics like American history, American culture, and the many ways in which our students can change this world.

The administration has already begun revising the district’s hiring practices and that work continues as we strive to build a team of educators that better represents our student body and our country’s rich diversity.

We voted unanimously to raise the Black Lives Matter flag at all schools in CVSD because we believe this symbol of support is also a visual reminder of a most basic and sadly overlooked human notion:

Black lives matter.

Black students matter.

Black families matter.

We hope that raising this flag can also be a reminder to everyone in our community that your school district has committed to change. Hold us accountable. If we’re not moving fast enough, let us know. If we aren’t going far enough, tell us. It’s on us to do the work, and we encourage your feedback.

Education is a powerful tool for change. It’s time for us to leverage that power and all of the resources that go with it, to build on the work that started in Vermont in 1777 when our state’s Constitution became the first in the nation to abolish slavery.

Seventeen-seventy-seven. That’s 243 years ago, and here we are.

We can – we must – do better.


The CVSD Board of Directors



Wednesday, June 17, 2020

All CVSD Schools to Raise the Black Lives Matter Flag



To the CVSD Community -

Black lives matter. 
Black students matter. 
Black families matter.

We have failed to effectively address racism in our district and therefore we have failed you.

On Juneteenth, we will raise the Black Lives Matter flag at all schools in the Champlain Valley School District. We recognize that raising this flag is only the beginning and that true, systemic change must happen to ensure that Black, Indigenous, Students of Color (BISOC) have the same opportunities, are treated with the same respect, and are shown the same love as their white counterparts.

All community members are welcome to join us at Allen Brook School, Charlotte Central School, Champlain Valley Union High School, Hinesburg Community School, Shelburne Community School, and Williston Central School.

The flag-raising will take place concurrently at ABS, WCS, CCS, HCS, and CVU.

DATE: 
Friday, June 19th

TIME:
ABS, WCS, CCS, HCS: will begin at 8:40 a.m.
CVU will begin their program at 8:00.
At 8:46 a moment of silence will be observed.

Shelburne Community School (SCS) will raise their flag at 3 p.m. following a student-led rally which begins at the Shelburne Town Green at 2 p.m.

* We ask that you consider current health guidance for gatherings, including facial coverings and physical distancing. Connecting through open hearts and open minds is strongly encouraged.


The CVSD Board of Directors:

Josilyn Adams                    Angela Arsenault             Kelly Bowen 

Erin Brady                            Russ Caffry                       Lynne Jaunich 

Colleen MacKinnon          Ray Mainer                       Barbra Marden

Jeff Martin                          Brendan McMahon          Ken Scott


Tuesday, June 16, 2020

Honoring CVSD Retirees

Sadly, it's that time of year again, where we must say goodbye to CVSD educators who are retiring. This video features most, but not all, of the group that has given so much to our schools, students, and their families for many years. There are those who are leaving, but not retiring, and varied and valued staff members who provided so much for so many.




This Team Persisted Through the Pandemic

Here's a guest post, shared by John Bennett, CVU educator and faculty coach for the Scholars Bowl team. They had an unusual and very successful season amidst the pandemic. 


C.V.U.'s Scholars Bowl team finished the longest season in team history on June 6. The team had advanced to the playoff round of the National Academic Championship, a long running national tournament that had moved to an online format this year. CVU went 4-3 against tough competition from all over the U.S.A. and ranked 20th overall. The team had qualified for the nationals by doing very well in an online tournament in Vermont, finishing second overall.

scholars bowl
It was part of a lengthy, unpredictable and ultimately very successful season for C.V.U.'s team. We had finished as state runner ups in 2018-19, but lost four talented senior starters. In addition the tournament field here in Vermont was very strong and competitive this season- four other schools qualified for the nationals, a record total for our Vermont league . We had a young team with only one senior starting player, our excellent captain Sam Lawrence. We had some growing pains early in the season against some of the top teams in our league, but by the end of December the young team had jelled. We won 21 of our last 22 matches, culminating in a perfect 10-0 record to win the VT. NAQT Championship, the second most important event of the league season (which we have now won for 3 consecutive years). For good measure our JV team won the JV state championship for the 5th year in a row. We were seeded 3rd going to the VT league tournament finals and had a lot of momentum. Then, the Vermont final playoffs were postponed and eventually cancelled.

Undaunted, the team continued to practice during the remote period and were ready for the online tournament opportunities that were presented. Although the online format worked against our team's greatest strength- speed - we meshed well through the experience and will be ready for any kind of competitions next year.

We finished the year with a 45-12 record in a season that stretched from September to June. Besides Sam, our varsity players this year included 12th grader Jake Twarog, 11th graders Isaac Kremenstov, Patton Wager, and Ben Wilson, and 10th grader Evan McMahan, our high scorer this season. Along with our strong JV players, we will have a strong core next year to build on all of our success this year.

Thanks for your support!
John Bennett on behalf of CVU Scholars Bowl



photos taken earlier this school year, courtesy of John Bennett


Tuesday, June 2, 2020

CVSD Response to Racial Injustices

Administrators from across the Champlain Valley School District created this video in response to racial injustices.