“Yes, if…” rather than “No, because…”

The world of public education has been one of shifting landscapes. Expectations for our students and our educators have changed dramatically over the last several years. It can seem as though each new school year brings a new set of standards, a new set of tests, a new set of acronyms and a new set of rules. No Child Left Behind. Common Core. District Mergers. Proficiency Based Education. All these changes! How will we manage?

One way that the educators at Green Mountain are approaching these changes is to practice looking at challenges by saying “Yes, if….” rather than “No, because…” This helps us to look at ways to solve problems, rather than avoid them. It helps us respond to new initiatives, rather than resist them.

There is no avoiding change — not for our schools and not for our students as they venture out into the larger world. A student entering Green Mountain Union High School as a seventh grader in 2019 will graduate in 2025 into a world that we might not recognize. There will be new technology, new jobs, new expectations. We are always looking for ways to help our students be ready to adapt to changes that we cannot predict.

How do we teach students to be ready for the unknown? The answer is both simple and complicated. We teach students to think (not what to think). We teach them to be comfortable with change (not afraid of it). We teach them to think, “Yes, if…” when they encounter a problem, rather than, “No, because…”

Once upon a time, the role of most middle and high schools was to provide students with facts and information about the world. Today, our students have a universe of facts and information available in the phones they carry with them everywhere (devices unimaginable not that long ago). As a result, the role of middle and high schools today is to provide students with the skills and understanding to use that wealth of information wisely. That means that, while our assessments still expect students to learn facts, we do not stop with knowing them — students must also show that they know how to use those facts. Can our educational system help them reach their goals? Yes, if we take the time to provide them with the skills they need, if we give our teachers the time and support to learn new approaches, if we all work together.

What does “Yes, if…” look like in our classrooms?

Can a student who mastered only 4 of the 5 standards in a particular class show mastery of the final standard without re-taking the entire course? Yes, if the student can show mastery with a different project to the same level of expectation (rather than No, because the student missed their chance).

Can a student whose writing skills are in need of improvement show mastery of science concepts when the assessment asks for written responses? Yes, if the teacher provides options for showing mastery that do not require writing such as oral presentations or construction of a model (rather than No, because we always do this assessment with writing – even though it is not a writing standard).

Can a student who missed two months of class for health reasons still complete the course requirements (rather than having to take the course again?) Yes, if we can arrange for materials and instruction through a flexible pathways approach (rather than No, because the student has to be in class until June).

Can an art class create a display of Halloween skeletons? Yes, if we can collect 104(!) plastic milk jugs (rather than No, because we do not have enough material).

Can we have a student open mic night at Green Mountain? Yes, if teachers and community volunteers and students work together to make it happen (rather than No, because we don’t have enough time).

Can we do everything we dream of doing? Yes, if there is enough time, enough support, enough resources. While I have no illusions that we will accomplish all the things the devoted faculty and staff of Green Mountain hope, I know that we are already accomplishing more with the attitude of Yes, if…

Lauren Fierman
Green Mountain Union High School Principal

Black River Autumn Colors

While the incredible colors of our fall foliage slip away as the weather begins to turn, the season of college acceptances begins with our Black River seniors donning their own spectacular colors – those displayed on the folders of college acceptances!

Congratulations are extended to Mariyah Fales (pictured below) with her early acceptance documents from Franklin Pierce University through a rolling admissions process.

Mariyah Fales with her early acceptance documents to Franklin Pierce University — Mariyah Fales

Our seniors are immersed in the process of completing college applications, with most deadlines for early decision/action a handful of days away on November 1 and the regular deadline primarily on January 1. Our Guidance Department is busy meeting with students, formalizing college applications lists, and supporting students as they navigate this sometimes cumbersome and stressful process. There is a good match of a college for every student seeking to move on in higher education, and our work is to help guide the student in that journey.

While the cost of college can be daunting, there are many financial resources available through the Vermont Student Assistance Corporation (VSAC), individual college scholarships/grants, and local funding sources. Students and parents are encouraged to visit www.vsac.org for a host of resources on the college funding opportunities and additional support for the college application process. The decision for college or other avenues of post-high school education based solely on financial reasons should not be made without exploring all of these options; there are many pathways to attain further education for deserving Vermont students.

Black River High School will host a Financial Aid Informational Session on November 7, at 6:00 p.m. for students and parents in its library. A representative of VSAC will be on hand to walk participants through the completion of the FAFSA, the form necessary to apply for financial aid. Come and ask all your questions on financial aid.

It is an exciting school season as the colors of stick season approach us. While the outside landscape may turn gray and barren, the futures of our seniors color our worlds every day within our walls. If you have a current senior, please do not hesitate to call on us for any assistance throughout this critical year of decision-making. In partnership with our families, we can best support the success of all our students.

Dr. Colleen Palmer
Black River High School Guidance Director

Budgeting Season

It is budgeting season.

This means it is time for us to create a budget that will support the work that goes on in the classrooms and that will help the students achieve academic excellence.

The budget process is reflective.

Reflection plays a large part in the everyday professional lives of educators. At the end of a lesson, they reflect upon whether that worked as well as they intended. In June, teachers are thinking and planning for the coming year as the current one is slowly winding down. The summer is spent planning and preparing, thinking about whether the plans aligned with the outcomes, and making adjustments.

It is the same for the budget.

I look at the year and I think about what we spent, what we needed and went without, what we created workarounds to procure, what we invested in and what we should set aside next time around. I look at field trips, supply lines, repairs and upkeep, food usage. Nothing goes unexamined.

What’s interesting about school is that it is one of those experiences that binds us together; most everyone went to school. Schools have changed a lot since they first began calling a building with a teacher an educational institution – they have changed a lot since the late 70s when I attended, but in fundamental ways, they have not. Kids still love books, recess, and their teachers. Littles still want to learn cursive, a lost tooth is still A Big Deal, and field trips are still special. Accordingly, the school has changed in many ways as well – now books might be on a little laptop or an iPad, typing can be as fast as cursive, one can take field trips by way of the internet.

Let’s take that last, because this is an example of why school costs more money now. In order to teach Vermont early history, teachers talk about settlers and the chores of a homestead and The Fort at #4. We sometimes get to go as far as Sturbridge Village if we have saved our pennies to see an entire village in action. One way to show and teach at the same time is to employ the internet – YouTube or the sites of the historical places themselves to “tour” the locations virtually. In order to do that, teachers need a way to show everyone – a screen big enough to see, a projector of some sort and a reliable connection ready at a moment’s notice. I’ve been teaching long enough to have started before the internet showed up, so we did it with photographs, slides, filmstrips and audio cassettes – which all cost more money back then as they were the latest technologies. Now, however, we can join a tour LIVE at Plimoth Plantation and learn firsthand what a hearth is.

So what?

Well, if you are a kid who is lucky enough to have parents who have jobs with vacation time, maybe you have gone as a family to see these national treasures. But, say your folks work 2-3 jobs and you don’t really take a vacation and you have never ever gone camping, either, which takes time and money; what are you going to know about a hearth? When have you seen one, where have you heard the term?

The “so what?” is that the budget helps fulfill the promise and the premise on which this country and the educational system is founded.

The budget is about equity.

The internet connection, the SMART board, or whiteboard or the iPad helps level the playing field so that every child in the room sees several versions of a hearth from colonial times and that is both an example of how the budget is higher than in days gone by and how the budget helps education fulfill its original promise in creating schools – common schools. Common schools originated in New England as community-funded instruments of education for all children of the region or neighborhood. Curti (1935)

Thus, single parents who can’t afford family vacations because they are working or grandparents raising grandchildren with no transportation can rest assured that their student is receiving a state of the art education even at the small rural schools like those we have in this Supervisory Union because the community, from the taxpayer to the board member to the Superintendent to the administrators to the teachers, are engaged in continuous cycles of reflective practice to improve, refine and hone the skills and talents we have, the education we offer and the stewardship of the resources entrusted to us to create an informed, enlightened and engaged citizenry.

Debra Beaupre
Cavendish Town Elementary School Principal

Merle Curti (1935). Social Ideas of American Educators. Charles Scribner’s Sons.