Education

BRATTLEBORO UNION HIGH SCHOOL BOARD
53 Green Street
Brattleboro, VT 05301
www.wssu.k12.vt.us

NOTICE OF COMMITTEE MEETINGS

The BAMS Committee will meet at 7:45 a.m. on Monday, November 4 in the Middle School Conference Room.

The BUHS #6 Finance Committee will meet at 7:30 a.m. on Wednesday, November 6 in the WSESU Central Office Conference Room, 53 Green Street.

NOTICE OF MEETING

The BUHS #6 Board of Directors will meet at 6:30 p.m. on Monday, November 4 in the WRCC Cusick Conference Room.

The Brattleboro Town School Board has three budget meetings scheduled for Wednesday, October 30, 2013.

First meeting 10/30/13 – 8:30 a.m.

Wednesday, October 30th: 8:30 a.m. The Brattleboro Town School Board’s Energy Committee will meet at 8:30 a.m. on Wednesday, October 30 in the WSESU Central Office Conference Room, 53 Green Street. 

Escuelita Spanish School is offering a weekend Spanish Immersion Course November 9th-10th at Hilltop Montessori School in Brattleboro. These courses make learning Spanish feel effortless, fun, and truly effective. Many of us have had frustrating experiences learning a second language. The way we were taught in school might have taught us the rules of the language but, in most cases, we did not learn how to speak the language.

Escuelita’s approach is based on brain and language acquisition research and it gets students understanding and speaking the language quickly and with a lot of laughter and fun along the way. After our weekend immersion course last June, one of our students wrote:

Over 30 people crammed into a tiny conference room at the Brattleboro Food Co-op Tuesday night with another 25 or so out in the hall outside to participate in a School Board planning session for future “public outreach” meetings that the board plans to hold. The meeting began with an hour long open session during which people were allowed to speak for two minutes each.

A number of parents and teachers spoke with criticism of the schools including over-reliance on data and standardized tests, changes in teaching methods and management style, treatment of experienced teachers, and other issues.

 is an anonymous statewide survey of licensed school-based educators. This includes full and part-time teachers, administrators, media coordinators, counselors, classroom assistants, and clerical support staff. Sponsored by the Vermont Agency of Education and Vermont NEA, the goal is to assess teaching conditions at the school, district and state level.

The 2013 survey was taken in March and April. A VEA representative in each school was to receive instructions to work with administrators to set up a faculty meeting to distribute letters with anonymous survey access codes. Teachers were allowed to switch letters in the same school to further randomize their response codes. Anyone not in attendance was to have been met with personally to explain the process.

On Friday, October 25th, Kurn Hattin Homes for Children will hold its 22nd Annual Mental Health Conference, Treating Trauma and Attachment Issues in Children and Families. This full-day workshop offers support, practical training, and continuing education credits for counselors and therapists, social workers, educators, medical and legal professionals, caregivers, therapeutic parents, and anyone involved in the field of child welfare or family services.

Over 30 people, many of them teachers, turned out to observe a special Town School Board meeting this week, which was held to hear a grievance from Academy School teacher Lauren Ashley. Ashley, a veteran of 27 years, filed the grievance after a disputed process involving her performance evaluations earlier this year. Usually hearings that involve personnel matters are held behind closed doors, but Ashley opted to have hers in open session.

School Board Chair Margaret Atkinson acted quickly to quell any off-topic discussion by members of the public, saying that due to open meeting law, no comment from the public would be accepted. “These are perilous times for public schools,” she said, but that the time to talk about it was not this hearing. “Please remain respectful,” she warned the audience.

Got Teens?

Do you want to learn how to problem-solve with your teen, encourage cooperation, how to listen and be heard, and to develop fair and effective discipline skills? On Monday, March 3rd from 6 to 9 PM a FREE Parenting Teens Wisely class will be offered by the Brattleboro Area Prevention Coalition at the Marlboro College Graduate Center in Brattleboro.

This free 3 hour workshop teaches parents skills and techniques to help them better understand and deal with their children ages 10 to 19.

To the Editor:
 
Sometime last spring before school ended, a letter was written to the Reformer regarding the lack of respect for teachers, the lack of appreciation for long years of service and teachers’ fear of speaking up in some schools. With the new school year, the disrespect is continuing. Some teachers are being asked to perform certain tasks while others are not. Some teachers are favored over others. Comments about one teacher are being shared with others. Ideas by staff members are ignored if they even dare to express them. This is not how a collaborative learning environment is fostered.
 

BRATTLEBORO UNION HIGH SCHOOL BOARD
53 Green Street
Brattleboro, VT 05301
www.wssu.k12.vt.us

NOTICE OF COMMITTEE MEETINGS

The BUHS Teacher Curriculum Committee will meet at 6:00 p.m. on Monday, October 21 in the Cusick Conference Room.

The BUHS #6 Finance Committee will meet at 7:30 a.m. on Wednesday, October 23, 2013 in the WSESU Central Office Conference Room, 53 Green Street.

September 4, 2013

To The Brattleboro Town School Board:

I write today to express my dismay at what I have witnessed in the Brattleboro Town Schools lately, particularly in the last three years.

Our town, and the district as a whole, has chosen a path that I believe is stifling the desires of both teachers and students to analyze, reflect, create and explore. Adopting commercial programs (at no small expense) in an attempt to make learning “systematic” not only narrows the curriculum for students but also discourages thinking amongst teachers. The over-emphasis on “data points” from the recently-adopted ongoing assessment system has trumped existing classroom assessment systems that actually give deeper and more comprehensive information about individual students.

Recently, Kurn Hattin Homes Music Program Director, Lisa Bianconi received an exceptional phone call from the Grammy Foundation in Los Angeles. Lisa had been waiting for news since last May when she was notified that she was one of 217 quarterfinalists (from 30,000 nominations) for the Grammy Music Educator Award.

For the semifinals, she submitted a 500-word essay describing her educational philosophy, along with a video of testimonials from colleagues, volunteers, and others close to Lisa and the Kurn Hattin music program.

The phone call Lisa had been waiting for for several months was to notify her that after reviewing her materials, the judges had selected her as one of only 25 semifinalists for the award.

BRATTLEBORO UNION HIGH SCHOOL BOARD
53 Green Street
Brattleboro, VT 05301
www.wssu.k12.vt.us

NOTICE OF COMMITTEE MEETINGS

The BUHS Planning and Policy Committee will meet at 6:00 p.m. on Monday, October 7 in the Cusick Conference Room. 

The BUHS Teacher Curriculum Committee will meet at 6:30 p.m. on Monday, October 7 in the Cusick Conference Room.

The BUHS #6 Finance Committee will meet at 7:30 a.m. on Wednesday, October 9, 2013 in the WSESU Central Office Conference Room, 53 Green Street.

PUTNEY, VERMONT: The Grammar School is excited to announce a new program open to all students in grades 2-8: The Power of Discovery, an after school STEM (science, technology, engineering, math) program. TGS invites young people to join innovative, project-based after school clubs led by talented mentors and coaches.

The Power of Discovery will offer sixteen weeks of after school club activities from late October through February, open to all children. The after school clubs will focus on developing skills and interest in STEM areas as well as creative and critical approaches to problem solving. The program will offer young people a fun, safe environment to apply concepts learned during the school day and allow children to take risks through trial and error problem solving in collaborative, team settings.

The Windham Regional Career Center at Brattleboro Union High School is pleased to announce their Community Education and Training Programs for this fall. Betsy Gentile, Workforce Development Manager and Adult Education Coordinator has developed 15 community education and training programs to meet the needs of area employers and their employees as well as providing personal and professional enrichment opportunities for all community members.

Come experience an exciting approach to second language acquisition. Escuelita Spanish School’s courses make learning Spanish feel effortless, fun, and truly effective. Many people have had frustrating experiences learning a second language. The way we were taught in school might have taught us the rules of the language but, in most cases, did not teach us to speak. Escuelita’s approach is based on brain and language acquisition research and it gets students understanding and speaking the language quickly and with a lot of laughter and fun along the way.

This year, Brattleboro’s schoolchildren and their teachers will be working within the new national curriculum, known by most as Common Core.  The Common Core Curriculum, or CCSS, has been adopted by 46 states, Vermont among them.  It will replace the regional and state curriculums now in place, and usher in a new era of standards-driven education aimed at creating graduates who are ready for “the global economy.”

What is this thing called Common Core, who created it, what are its goals, and why are so many people, including and especially teachers and parents,  against it?

“Spanish Together” classes are a great way to learn Spanish with your child. As a result of so many parents wishing that they could enroll in Spanish classes with their children, we’ve designed a class for children ages birth-5 and their parents!

Class is comprised of songs, movement, gestures, and music from Latin America.

It’s never too early (or too late) to start learning Spanish!

Lisa Bianconi, Music Director at Kurn Hattin Homes for Children, has been chosen as one of 25 semifinalists from across the U.S. for the first-ever Music Educator Award presented by the Grammy Foundation® and the Recording Academy®. The 25 semifinalists, music teachers from 24 cities across 15 states were officially announced on September 11. In total, more than 30,000 initial nominations were submitted from all 50 states. Bianconi is the only nominee from New England to make it to the semifinals.

Added Class times and Enrollment news!

Monday Jazz Vocal Class almost full – 1 slot left! Still Will consider a Tuesday evening class if there is enough interest

Added Ensemble Classes for Saturday – at 11:45am – Bop Ensemble! Compositions to be chosen from the Sonny Rollins, Clifford Brown, Charlie Parker and Similar Book!

Added Ensemble Class – Saturday 1:30pm – Beyond Ensemble – Limited Space – Piano, Drums and other considered

Sign up for these and other classes:

Wednesday Jazz Ensemble – 5 pm – drums, piano and other instruments still needed

Thursday Vocal Technique – 5 pm – Sign up now! With Ken and Julie Olsson – Group Vocal Lesson

Guitar Ensemble – email for details!