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APRIL 23, 2020
WILLISTON’S NEWSPAPER SINCE 1985
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Educators ‘learn on the fly’ how to continue teaching
‘We have had zero preparation for this’ By Jason Starr Observer staff
Vermont’s public schools are taking their regularly scheduled April break this week. Although students have been out of school for six weeks due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and will be for the remainder of the school year, retaining this weeklong pause gives educators and students a chance to evaluate their remote learning efforts so far. Gov. Phil Scott and Education Commissioner Dan French have mandated school districts create and implement continuation of learning plans. Educators have been working from home to adapt their instruction for remote learning, implement new methods of communication with students and parents and ensure all students have the devices and internet connections needed to access materials. “It’s been a really big lift for our teachers and our administrators,” Champlain Valley School District Director of Learning and Innovation Jeff Evans said during an April 7 meeting of the district’s board of directors. “I can’t say enough about the spirit with which our teachers are embracing this work. We’ve had virtually no experience with this, or training, or preparation.” According to the plan, students in grades K-4 should aim for 1-2
hours of work each school day; grades 5-7 should do 2-3 hours; and grades 9-12 should aim for 3-4 hours. The fact that high school students have multiple teachers in multiple subjects complicates remote learning, Evans said. Allen Brook School Principal Angela Filion sent out a reminder in an April 1 post on the school’s blog that this can be a time for families of young students to embrace nontraditional learning. “It’s OK!” she wrote. “It’s OK if you aren’t on a regimented schedule every single day — this promotes flexibility and a sense of adventure. It’s OK if you want to stay in your pajamas and play board games as a family — this helps children learn how to take turns and win/lose a game gracefully … It’s OK if you don’t feel like you can ‘teach’ your children — this allows teachers to support and engage with you in ways that help us stay connected.” Williston Central School Principle Jacqueline Parks had a similar message in an April 15 post: “Although we want students to make progress in their learning during this remote learning time, the most important thing is the well-being of your child and family,” she wrote.
HOPES FOR JUNE Parents may have noticed a subtle shift in remote learning that started last Monday. What had been a more informal effort to “maintain learning” transitioned to a state directive to advance learning in accordance with the typical school
Observer courtesy photo
Hannah Daudelin, a Williston fifth grader, is learning science at home. Here, she explores what happens when you mix hot water and cold water. She learned that when the hot (red) was on top, hot water stayed on top. When the cold (blue) water was on top, it sank and mixed with the hot water.
year curriculum. This second phase comes with stricter expectations for communication between teachers and students, taking feedback from
families and recording student participation (i.e. attendance). Teachers have been given leeway to create their own plans in compli-
ance with the district’s expectation that students and teachers remain connected and engaged in learning. Josilyn Adams, one of Williston’s representatives on the school board and a parent of children in the district, said parents are looking for clearer communications about what to expect from their teachers during this time. “I don’t think anyone questions the connection and the responsibility our teachers feel for our children, but everybody just … they don’t know what to expect,” she said. “So more information, even if it’s murky, is helpful.” The decision to take this week off was made statewide by Education Secretary French, with input from superintendents and administrators from around the state. Not only does it comply with teachers’ employment contracts, it also keeps the possibility alive that students could return for a few days in June — assuming public health emergency restrictions are eased — for a closure, especially for graduating seniors and eighth-graders. “People are … definitely hoping that we have the chance to come back, even if it’s just for one day at the very end in June, to see everyone before we go,” said Kate Gruendling, a student representative on the board and senior at Champlain Valley see LEARNING AT HOME page 2
School administrators paint gloomy budget picture By Jason Starr Observer staff
It’s Jeanne Jensen’s job to look down the line and evaluate the outlook for future school budgets for the Champlain Valley School District. She updated the school board earlier this month on the current budget, the one that takes effect July 1 and the one that will be developed this fall for next year. “It just keeps getting better,” she said with a nervous laugh. Participating via video-conference, board
members did not laugh. They knew she meant the opposite. The school district’s chief operating officer, Jensen provided a picture of how the current economic shutdown caused by the COVID-19 pandemic will affect future budgets. The school budget developed this fall for voter consideration next March will take the brunt of the impact, she said, likely requiring large property tax increases. “It’s far enough out, maybe things could turn around, but it could be an ugly tax year,” Jensen said. For the current year, the shutdown of
schools has created revenue shortfalls in food service and transportation totaling about $800,000, Jensen said. She anticipates state funds could help the district recoup some of that shortfall. The budget for the upcoming fiscal year, starting July 1, was approved in March by voters and can’t be fundamentally altered. But it will be dragged down by a projected $40 million deficit in the state education fund, announced in an April 3 memo from the Vermont Legislative Joint Fiscal Office. The deficit is largely the result of sales and use tax losses in the economic shutdown.
“There is a lot of pressure on how (the legislature) is going to handle a $40 million deficit in the ed fund,” said Jensen, adding that there could be a requirement that district’s use reserve funds — the result of savings from previous budgets — to help fill the gap. In the fall, the school board will turn its attention to developing a budget for next town meeting day, with significantly reduced support from the state education fund. Plus, the district’s reserve funds may be depleted by then. “That is where it really gets ugly,” Jensen said.