Month: September 2019

Equity, After School and the TRSU Continuous Improvement Plan

After school enrichment is designed to not only support the working families of our communities but exist to create equity. In Paul Gorski’s book Reaching and Teaching Students in Poverty; Strategies for Erasing the Opportunity Gap, we are presented with an almost identical dilemma to that which our TRSU Continuous Improvement Plan addresses. Gorski states, “…this is why the condition we call an ‘achievement gap’ is more rightly understood as an opportunity gap. After all, disparities have nothing to do with student effort or intelligence. They only reflect students’ disparate levels of access to the resources and opportunities other students, no smarter or more dedicated to school enjoy.”  Simply put, these students are struggling due to fewer resources in their “toolbox”.

Gorski offers a set of instructional strategies that he believes work in erasing the opportunity gap and that aid in making schools the great equalizers they were envisioned to be. We at TRSU know that our after school programs’ academic focus on enrichment opportunities target 8 of the 11 suggested strategies. As such, we increase student opportunity and help supplement their toolbox when we:

  • Prioritize literacy instruction across the curriculum
  • Promote literacy enjoyment
  • Have and communicate high expectations
  • Adopt student-centered, rigorous teaching practices
  • Teach critical literacy
  • Make curricula relevant to students experiencing poverty
  • Incorporate music, art, and theater
  • Incorporate movement and exercise into learning

Each year the aforementioned gap widens as students grow and collect experiences and opportunities outside of the classroom. At TRSU, our after school programs are committed to providing a variety of learning, and life experiences to all students. These opportunities show up in programming such as Tae Kwon Do lessons, ballet classes, coding, foreign language, tutoring, robotics, hunters safety, African drumming, yoga, circus club, art, drama, and Learning Lab. Overcoming potential obstacles such as socioeconomic class, geographic barriers, lack of transportation, or long parental/guardian working hours, the ASP is bridging the gap for families by bringing experiences directly into our communities.

Beyond continuing to provide high quality and affordable opportunities for students this year, we are also looking to expand our linkages to the school day. In conjunction with the Weikart Center and our Youth Program Quality Assessment yearly action plan, we are working closely with Curriculum Coordinator Michael Eppolito to design an electronic portfolio. These portfolios will help students progress from writing goals and learning targets, to producing and capturing evidence that supports classroom goals and PLPs. It’s an exciting time in education and we at after school look forward to supporting youth opportunity and capturing student growth beyond the classroom walls.

Venissa White
TRSU After School Program Director

Black River Transition

As many of you recall, during 2016 and 2017 our local school boards had to grapple with the Act 46 legislation. This law required our smaller districts to form larger districts. Act 46 Study Committees were formed and then the recommendations of the Committees were brought to the voters in each of our towns including: Andover, Baltimore, Cavendish, Chester, Ludlow, Mount Holly and Plymouth. After all of the votes were counted, our supervisory union needed to transition from ten districts to two, Green Mountain Unified School District (GMUSD) and the Ludlow-Mount Holly Unified Union School District (LMHUUSD). Within GMUSD are the Cavendish Town, Chester-Andover and Green Mountain schools and LMHUUSD has the Black River, Ludlow Elementary and Mount Holly schools.

In addition to transitioning to two new districts, we knew the formation of LMHUUSD meant that our Black River (BR) school would be closing. It is sad and difficult at times to accept the fact that BR will close in June of 2020. BR is precious; it is a school with rich traditions and is known for graduating students who are very successful in their chosen fields. The relationships between administration, staff and students are close and significant. 

The administration and staff at BR are amazing. Even with the painful news of an upcoming school closure, they have kept our students at the forefront of their thinking and work. Last spring the teachers and staff decided to enter this academic year with the motto of “Finding Joy.” They plan on celebrating and honoring our students, alumni and school. Currently, we have two Transition Teams meeting and planning. One team is focused on our students and staff. The other team is meeting to work out all the logistics for closing a school. We are grateful for the positivity and support we receive from the LMHUUSD school board members as we work to educate our students on a daily basis and plan for this closure.

Next year our secondary students will have school choice. This Monday, September 16th at 6:00 p.m. we will be holding a school fair for our families. We will be welcoming the seven schools that our students have told us they want to attend. They are interested in learning more about Green Mountain Union, Black River Independent School, Long Trail, Mill River, Riverside Middle, Springfield High and Woodstock Union schools. Representatives from each of the schools will share their academic programming and co-curricular opportunities. After each of the schools have presented, families will be able to walk around to visit and ask questions of those representatives.  I will continue to keep you updated regarding BR’s transition throughout the school year.

Meg Alison Powden
Superintendent of Schools