Thank A School Board Member Today

 

Thank a school board member today!

In January, the Vermont legislature will pass a resolution declaring January as School Board Recognition Month. “This is a time to promote awareness and understanding of the important work performed by school board members,” said Sue Ceglowski, Executive Director of the Vermont School Boards Association. The Champlain Valley School District is joining all public school districts across the state to celebrate School Board Recognition Month to honor local board members for their commitment to CVSD and its children.

It takes strong schools to build a strong community, and these men and women devote countless hours to making sure our schools are helping every child learn at a higher level. They make the tough decisions every month and spend many hours studying education issues and regulations in order to provide the kind of accountability our citizens expect.

The key work of school boards is to raise student achievement by:

• Creating a shared vision for the future of education
• Setting the direction of the school district to achieve the highest student performance
• Providing accountability for student achievement results
• Developing a budget that aligns district resources to improve achievement
• Supporting a healthy school district culture in which to work and to learn

School board members give citizens of CVSD a voice in education decision-making. Even though we make a special effort to show our appreciation in January, their contribution is a year-round commitment.

Access CVU - New Classes, New Semester, Always FUN!

Here's a guest post from our friends at Access CVU

                          

Looking to do something fun and educational this winter and spring? Connect with like-minded community members and learn a new skill, or explore a topic of interest at Access CVU! With over 180 classes, this Winter/Spring 2022 semester offers something for everyone and anywhere! In-person and virtual class options available.

View the full Winter/Spring 2022 Catalog on our website https://cvsdvt.ce.eleyo.com/ and register online or call us at 482-7194.

Authors, Speakers, & Presenters
Cooking & Cuisine
Fine Arts & Crafts
Fitness, Dance, Yoga, & Mindful Movement
Fun & Games
Health & Nutrition, New Age & Holistic Wellbeing
Home & Garden
Kids & Teen
Languages, Literacy, & Professional Development
Music
Photography & Technology

We will be adding NEW classes each month, so keep checking our website, and sign up for our weekly newsletter HERE.

Browse the 50 Fabulous February classes and invite your friends, family, kids, and neighbors to join you one-night of crafting, DIY home repair solutions, interesting seminars, book reviews, or cooking! Or, enroll for longer running sessions such as Yoga, Zumba, languages, watercolor, drawing, music, woodworking, welding, reiki, basket weaving, photography, and so many more.

We hope to see you this semester at CVU High School in Hinesburg or online for a virtual class! Winter/spring classes run in the evenings, Mon - Thurs, February - June 3rd

Contact Laura or Jen at 802-482-7194 or access@cvsdvt.org to learn more or if you need help with registration. Looking to teach? Please complete this New Instructor Link.

Mobile Library Project from Empower Youth Leaders

The Empower Youth Leaders (EYL) have teamed up with CVSD Librarians to deliver “mobile bookshelves” to our K-8 schools. Empower Youth Leaders is a CVSD student organization that meets weekly, with a goal to promote Social Emotional Learning (S.E.L.) for our schools through community service projects.

The middle schoolers from EYL developed a plan to procure a mobile bookshelf for each of the CVSD K-8 schools. A Mobile Bookshelf is a moveable bookshelf on wheels. The bookshelf will house books that students can take home to build their home libraries. We are hoping that these books will promote social emotional learnings skills to kids, as they open doors to different journeys through reading.

Students will be able to keep the books that they choose from the mobile bookshelf. There is no need to return the book the the school library. Have fun reading!

 

Here are some potential questions you may have, answered by the EYL students.

How are the students expecting to manage the donation process? We are only using books that are planned to be thrown out from classrooms, and libraries. These books will already have been evaluated, so librarians, or students will not have to re-evaluate them.

Students may have some confusion about the mobile bookshelf and the school library: about which books are the library's - and must be returned - and which books are free for them to keep? How will we indicate that clearly enough between the library and the mobile bookshelf so that our students know the difference? The Mobile bookshelf will be in the hallways not the library. And it will have signs to explain the difference too.

Where will the bookshelf live? Will there be signage around it that indicates that it's not part of the school library? When will students have access to it? The Mobile bookshelves will be in the hallways so that it is more accessible to students. We will label it as the mobile bookshelf, and we will decorate it to show that it is the mobile bookshelf with decorations and signs, and we hope that we can make some announcements in the morning to inform about the bookshelf and help prevent any confusion.

Will it work like a free little library, in which students are swapping books when they take one? If so, extra management of content is required. These books are to be taken from the mobile bookshelf and taken home. This is a way for kids to get access to books that they may not have at home. They will not need to swap any books. These are just to take home without having to swap any book in return.

There is also the issue of the physical quality of donations. I have had many people enthusiastically donate books that are in terrible shape: ripped, stained, and not appealing. How will people know what the standards are for their donations? At this time, we are not accepting donations. We are planning on only using books that are being discarded from the library or classrooms.

The work with Empower School Leaders is done with the support of an SEL in Action grant from the NoVo Foundation. We'd like to give a special shout out to Katherine Batty, school counselor at Hinesburg Community School, for her work supporting the Empower Youth Leaders in CVSD. Thank you, Kathy!

CVSD Update January 21, 2022

 

January 21, 2022

Dear CVSD PreK-8 Community,

Since we last wrote to you on Monday, we’ve been working on systems to incorporate the new protocols that will best support our students and staff. Some of you have shared further questions about how we will implement the new guidance from the Agency of Education directing schools districts to stop contact tracing and adjust current testing protocols. For us, that means shifting from Test to Stay to Test at Home.

We hope that this letter outlines the next steps as clearly as possible and that it provides reassurance to staff and families in yet another time of change about how we can mitigate the spread of the virus. While we have received some test kits to distribute, we’ll need more to fully implement the program. We are communicating with the Agency of Education and the Department of Health to secure more test kits.

This letter is for parents/caregivers of students in our PreK-8 schools. For those who also have CVU students, please continue to follow the protocol previously outlined by the school.

Many families also know that free rapid test kits can be ordered through the USPS or at COVIDtests.gov. Tests are limited to 4 per household and are anticipated to ship out later this month.

Positive Cases:

• Please report results (positive or negative) to the Health Department using this online form, Vermont COVID-19 Self-Test Result Reporting Form.
• Our school nurses also need to know about positive cases. Please contact your school’s nurse to share that information with them as well.

Starting on Monday, January 24, this will be our procedure:

When the school learns of a positive case in a student or staff member, the school will notify students/families that there is a case in their class or team. Classmates and associated staff are considered “presumptive contacts.” They will all receive a notification from the school. In the notification, families of presumptive contacts will be given a link to a Google Form to request COVID antigen test kits. Kits will be distributed based on the form responses and availability.

• If our schools are notified over the weekend of a positive case that was infectious while in school the previous week, one notification will go out on Sundays. Presumptive contacts who are unvaccinated will be asked to Test to Stay at school on Monday. At that time, they will receive test kits for the following days.

• In the notification letter from your school, families will see a daily cutoff time for submitting the form to request test kits. That will enable staff adequate time to fulfill the requests and arrange for the kits to be distributed to the students. Our nursing staff will be the only ones who see what is shared on the form.

• Presumptive contacts receive a different number of kits depending on their vaccination status. It is important to note that it is still unclear how consistent our supply of kits will remain, and availability may impact kit distribution.
• If individuals are fully vaccinated (and have received a booster for adults), they would receive 2 tests and use them on the fourth and fifth days after learning of their presumptive exposure.
• If individuals are not fully vaccinated, they would receive 5 tests and use them for the next 5 consecutive days after receiving them.

We have been informed by the Agency of Education that if we run out of test kits, students should continue to come to school. For individuals with continuous household exposure or who are close contacts to a case outside of school, it is recommended that you follow the guidance from the Department of Health.

Returning to School
After an individual has tested positive with a PCR, antigen, or LAMP test, regardless of vaccination status, you should…

1. Notify your close contacts that you have tested positive, including your school nurse. Visit this page to find your school nurse’s contact information.
2. If you took an at-home test, use this link to report the positive test results
3. Stay home and isolate for 5 days. Call your physician to notify them of the test results.
4. You can leave your home on (or after) day 6 if:
1. You never had symptoms, or your symptoms have improved and you feel better
2. AND you have had no fever for at least 24 hours without the use of medicine that reduces fevers
3. AND you wear a mask around others through day 10
4. AND it is required that you have two negative antigen tests performed at least 24 hours apart, beginning no earlier than day 5. The 2nd antigen test will be performed at school on the person’s first day back to school, prior to attending classes. Please communicate with your school’s nurse to make a plan for that.
5. If you are not feeling better, are not fever-free, or are unable to provide negative results with antigen tests, you should remain in isolation at home through Day 10. You can return to school on Day 11.
6. It is recommended that students who participate in athletics should seek clearance from a physician prior to actively participating in athletics after testing positive for COVID.

For further information, consult the Vermont Department of Health website.

https://www.healthvermont.gov/covid-19/symptoms-sickness/what-do-if-you-test-positive-covid-19

If you have not already, please consider getting your child vaccinated or, if eligible, get a booster. There are vaccine clinics at Williston Central School on January 26 and February 16, at CVU on February 2, and at Shelburne Community School on February 9. These clinics will include Pfizer for ages 5+, first and second doses, and boosters for ages 12 and up. The clinics are available for registration on the Dept of Health’s website. If parents/caregivers are having trouble signing up online, they can make an appointment by calling the Health Department at 855-722-7878, Mon. - Fri. 8:00 am - 4:30 pm, Sat. and Sun. 10:00 am - 3:00 pm.

Important COVID-19 Prevention Measure - Stay Home When Sick
Students and staff who are sick should stay home. This is the most important prevention measure. All students and staff should stay home if they:

• Show symptoms of COVID-19;
• Have a fever (temperature greater than 100.4°F); or
• Are currently in isolation due to testing positive for COVID-19.

Information and Resources from Health Professionals

• Vermont Pediatricians Support Adapting Policies on Testing & Contact Tracing to Keep Schools Safe
• Chittenden County School Staff COVID Policy Changes
• Vermont State School Nurses Association Town Hall
• AAPVT Conversation with Families on COVID-19 Vaccine - Leah Costello
• QuickVue At-Home OTC COVID-19 Test Instructional Video
• BinaxNow COVID-19 Self Test Instructional Video

Guidance from the Agency of Education and the Vermont Department of Health continues to evolve quickly. We will do our best to inform you of changes in a clear and timely manner. Thank you for your continued support as we adjust to the next stage of the pandemic.

Have a wonderful weekend and stay warm,

Rene Sanchez, Superintendent

CVU Student Selected for United States Senate Youth Program

Congratulations to Eva Frazier, senior at CVU, for being selected to the United States Senate Youth Program!

According to the press release, 

The United States Senate Youth Program (USSYP) announces that high school students Ms. Eva Chandler Frazier and Ms. Iris Claire Hsiang will join Senator Patrick J. Leahy and Senator Bernie Sanders in representing Vermont during the 60th annual USSYP Washington Week, to be held March 6 — 9, 2022. Eva Frazier of Hinesburg and Iris Hsiang of Essex were selected from among the state’s top student leaders to be part of the 104 national student delegation who will each also receive a $10,000 college scholarship for undergraduate study. Due to the ongoing pandemic, the 2022 program will be held online, through a comprehensive and highly interactive virtual education and leadership forum.

Read the full press release here. Way to go, Eva!

CVSD Update January 17, 2022

Dear CVSD Families and Community,

This letter is the latest update about COVID and how our schools are managing the upswing in positive cases due to the Omicron variant. We thank you for your attention to all of the details outlined in our newsletter. I am regularly in contact with the Agency of Education (AOE) and Champlain Valley Superintendents to coordinate and roll out recent changes in guidance. We also want to thank you for doing your part to stay safe and healthy amidst this most recent surge in cases.

Please see the full letter and more in our most recent newsletter.

Thank you,

Rene Sanchez, Superintendent

CVSD Update About COVID Protocols and Precautions

 

January 9, 2022

Dear CVSD Families, Caregivers, and Staff,

This letter is part of our effort to keep you informed about COVID-19 and provide updates from the district. CVU families and caregivers - there will be another communication coming from Adam Bunting with specifics for the high school.

Please keep in mind that things continue to change daily, and we are doing our best to streamline communications. The Vermont Agency of Education released new announcements about COVID-19 and schools late on Friday. That news was a precursor to a more official announcements coming this week. Since the announcement does not provide guidance on implementing the changes, we will follow our current processes until we receive communication from either the Vermont Agency of Education or the Vermont Department of Health.

Additionally, you may hear about schools closing in districts near us, around the state, and in other locations around the country. It is our intent to keep our schools open. That being said, there may be circumstances that may cause classrooms, teams/houses, or parts of our schools to close. We keep a close eye on our staffing and the rise in cases in our school communities.

There may be a context that arises where one or more of our schools will have to close a grade level or a cohort. This potential context would occur if the number of faculty and staff assigned to that grade level or cohort could not be covered by available substitutes or available staff from the school, other schools, or the district’s central office. While it is unlikely that CVSD would need to close a school entirely, we would if the number of faculty and staff dropped below the level to ensure that safety and learning systems were viable. In addition, of course, we would provide as much notice as possible to accommodate your child staying home for the period of closure.

Contact Tracing/Exposure Notification

Throughout this pandemic, public health experts have given guidance based on the most current scientific research on this ever-changing virus. Over the past two years, we have gone through many phases where different strategies have been more effective depending on the characteristics of the variant most commonly found at that time. Currently, the Omicron variant is forcing us to, once again, reflect on what is working and what needs to be adjusted. Public health experts have agreed that the contact tracing that we have relied on previously to identify and isolate cases is no longer our most effective strategy. Instead, it’s time that we shift our resources and efforts and understand that the COVID-19 we are seeing today is not the same COVID-19 we saw in March of 2020, and as a result, our response needs to be different. We will continue to rely on the expertise of our public health partners and follow their guidance to keep our schools safe.

We will continue to notify families if their child was exposed to a positive case. Here’s information about what to do if your child tests positive or is identified as having been exposed to a positive case. If you prefer a visual view of that information, see this flowchart.

Test to Stay/Antigen Testing

We will maintain the program we have in place until we have further information. Unvaccinated, asymptomatic students who have been exposed to a positive case in school will still be expected to test (antigen) before returning to school.

Parents/Caregivers:

• If your child tests positive, please connect with your school’s health office to make a plan.
• Have conversations with your child(ren) about wearing masks properly.
• Get your child vaccinated or boosted.
• If your child exhibits ANY symptoms, please keep them home.

Vaccines

We are taking proactive steps to ensure that our schools can stay open. One of those is scheduling additional vaccine clinics at our schools. Please consider getting your child vaccinated or a booster, if eligible.

• January 12 and February 2 - CVU
• January 19 and February 9 - Shelburne Community School (SCS)
• January 26 and February 16 - Williston Central School (WCS)

These clinics will include Pfizer for ages 5+, first and second doses, and boosters for ages 12 and up. The SCS and WCS clinics are now available for registration on the Dept of Health’s website. If parents/caregivers are having trouble signing up online, they can make an appointment by calling the Health Department at 855-722-7878, Mon. - Fri. 8:00 am - 4:30 pm, Sat. and Sun. 10:00 am - 3:00 pm.

Families/Caregivers of SCS or WCS students may be interested in having your child vaccinated without a family member or caregiver present. The Department of Health reports that if parents/caregivers sign up via the website, there is a box to check where you provide consent. The site asks the necessary medical screening questions. So while you are welcome to attend the clinic with your child, you do not need to and you don’t need to fill out any forms as long as you’ve used the website to sign up. If registering by phone, please ask them about this possibility.


Again, the Vermont Agency of Education shared some new announcements late on Friday that will impact schools and families. More information will be shared this week. We will diligently review the new information and will share an update with families and caregivers as soon as possible. We thank you for your continued support and for partnering with us in order to keep our schools open and everyone as safe and healthy as possible.

Rene Sanchez, Superintendent

Welcoming Students Back to School 2022!

 

Dear CVSD Families and Caregivers,

We hope you all have enjoyed this break from our normal routines and enjoyed “COVID safe” time with family and friends. We are excited to welcome students and staff back to school this week, but want to be sure that we’re doing so in as safe a manner as possible. We continue to live through this ever-changing pandemic, and we are committed to keeping our schools safe and open for in-person instruction.

This letter, like a few of ours recently, is rather long. We want to be sure that we are answering the questions many of you may have. We appreciate you taking the time to read it all of the way through.

It’s hard not to be aware of the rapid spread of the latest COVID-19 variant - Omicron. Although it appears that the severity of cases is milder, we do know that it is significantly more contagious than the Delta variant and it has rapidly gained a foothold in our state. Anticipating a post holiday spike in cases, we need all families to help us keep our schools open by using the four most effective tools: vaccinations, testing, masking, and social distancing.

Vaccinations: It is well understood that vaccines decrease the severity of disease and risk of hospitalization even if you contract the virus. Furthermore, students who are identified as close contacts but are fully vaccinated can remain in school without participating in test-to-stay. This is important because we have space and resource limitations to the number of students who can participate in Test to Stay on any one day. Once we exceed that number, unvaccinated close contacts will once again only have the option of the seven or ten day quarantine at home.

Testing: You may have picked up an at-home test kit at one of the distribution sites or have obtained them in another way. To report results from taking an at-home COVID-19 test, please fill out this form for the Department of Health. We would also appreciate it if you would share information with us about any positive cases, by contacting your school's nurse.

Masks: The Vermont Agency of Education and Department of Health continue to encourage masking in schools and other indoor gatherings. Masks are required in our schools. Please make sure you are sending your child(ren) to school each day with masks that fit well and are comfortable.

Social Distancing: For vaccinated students, participation in indoor activities while masked can be safe and healthy for their physical and emotional wellbeing. Avoid indoor activities where students are unable to remain masked (eating, sleeping), crowds, or where ventilation may not be adequate.

Isolation Time for Positive Cases: Last week, the CDC released updated guidance reducing the isolation timeline after testing positive from 10 days to 5. We, along with other school districts in Vermont, have adopted this new guidance. Please see this document for more information about what this means. There are very specific rules to follow before returning to school when a person tests positive for COVID-19. Our schools will administer an antigen test to students returning to school 5 days after a positive result before they start the school day. We very much want students back in school, but only if they’re healthy!

Close Contacts: We will have Test-to-Stay up and running in our schools again later this week. Remember, Test to Stay is designed for those who may have had a school exposure, are unvaccinated, and asymptomatic. Fully vaccinated students do not need to participate in Test-to-Stay in order to attend school. Even with Test To Stay (TTS) in place, students are expected to quarantine (other than school) until they get a negative test result on the 7th day after their exposure. This document (also seen in the section above) provides updated information about what to do if your child is a close contact. This page on the Vermont Department of Health’s site offers additional information.

Mitigation Strategies in School: As far as school goes, we have all of the following mitigation practices in place and will continue to use them. Over the next few weeks, we will make a deep recommitment to these common-sense strategies:

• Anyone experiencing symptoms stays home or is sent home by the health office
• Masking properly (nose covered) whenever we are indoors
• Limit maskless periods by tightly managing snack times
• Students should put their masks back on immediately when finished eating
• Handwashing and sanitizing frequently
• Cohort management - classes stay together and dine together with no unnecessary cohort mixing
• Assigned seats on school transportation and in classrooms to assure accurate contact tracing
• Using open windows in classrooms, dining areas, and on school transportation to add to ventilation. This is especially helpful at times where students are eating or snacking in classrooms.

Steps for Families/Caregivers: As we work to ensure the safety of our students, staff, family, and community members, please consider the following steps that could help us navigate this period successfully:

• Re-address proper mask-wearing and its importance with your child and make sure you are sending them to school each day with masks that fit well and are comfortable.
• Mask up when going out in the community and gathering, regardless of vaccination status.
• Continue to get vaccinations and boosters for eligible members of your family. Remember that students are not fully vaccinated until two weeks after their second dose of vaccine. For those that are eligible, get a booster vaccination.
• Keep students who are experiencing symptoms home from school and get a negative PCR test before returning to school.
• Be kind to our nurses, administrators, and staff when they call to report an exposure. We know that the news we are delivering is disheartening, discouraging, and inconvenient. But, we are doing the absolute best we can to mitigate the impact of the pandemic on our students and this is an essential part of that process.

Finally, please know that CVSD administration and staff are equally as disappointed, challenged, and frustrated at these ongoing pandemic disruptions as you are. The Delta variant derailed our hope for a return to normalcy this fall; Omicron is hindering our ability to connect and learn, as well as our ability to hire new staff to fill our many open positions. We are working hard to keep our schools open, and we are counting on CVSD families to join us in this important effort.

We appreciate your support, communication, and dedication to keeping staff and students safely in school. We are ready to welcome students back for the first day of school in 2022!

Rene Sanchez, Superintendent