Dear Parents, Caregivers and Staff:
I want to keep parents informed about the SU-wide mandate for indoor masking for staff and students. It is up to the due diligence of our Supervisory Union School Board to decide on any changes to the masking protocol. Yesterday, we learned at the Governor’s Press Conference that the Agency of Education (AOE) is changing their mask recommendations on Monday, March 14th. The Secretary of Education, Dan French, stated that the new state guidance will align with the general community guidance and it will be recommended that masks be optional after March 14th. We don’t know any more specifics about the new guidance. We look forward to more details next week.
In light of this new guidance, the SU Board will change their Special Meeting to Monday, March 14th at 6:30 p.m. You can find the virtual link below. At this meeting, the SU Board will reorganize (appoint the chair, vice-chair, clerk, and treasurer) for the upcoming year and there is only one other agenda item that evening - Mask Protocols. In the meantime, the administration and the COVID Task Force will be working on a recommendation based on input from staff, parents, and students. We will also be reviewing positivity and vaccination data. We will also review any additional guidance from the AOE and the VDH. We have relied on guidance from the AOE and the VDH since March of 2020 and it will be the same with the masking protocol. But please keep in mind that until the meeting on March 14th, masks are still required indoors at our schools. We are so appreciative of all that our parents, staff and community have done to follow the established protocols. We have dedicated board members and they will make the right decisions.
I wanted to give you a brief update on the survey data so far. The parent data at last check was 67% to 33% in favor of eliminating the Mask Mandate. We are closing that survey today (Friday, March 4). You can find the survey at this link. If you have trouble opening the survey from this email, please copy and paste the following link into your browser: https://forms.gle/
We are also collecting vaccination data across the SU. Our staff is nearly 100% vaccinated due to the vaccine staff mandate issued by the SU Board last August. Student vaccination rates run in the 50 to 60% rate. When you look at rates building-wide (staff and students combined), only Albert Bridge is above the 80% rate, but clearly the 80% guidance is changing on the 14th. We are clearly moving into a new phase. During the last two weeks, our positivity rate has been low. Our schools are at lower risk right now than ever and that is a good thing. Positivity rates are the most critical because we must have a healthy staff and student body to keep schools open. Safety has always come first.
It is so important to look at the many differing opinions on this issue. I thought it was timely that Montpelier High School students protested yesterday because they wanted to bring the masking mandate back. Go figure! Apparently, the Montpelier District jumped the gun a bit and made masking optional as of Monday of this week. You can see the story here. No matter what decision our SU Board makes, we have work to do going forward. It has been a tough two years - the toughest of my career. No one is going to declare an end to COVID. We just have to figure out a way to live with it safely. Our communities should be proud of the way they responded over the last two years. We kept all our schools open. We can do this again.
One important note - if the SU Board makes masking optional, we have to be aware that some adults and students will still want to wear masks. We have several adults and students who have compromised immune systems and serious medical issues. They have appreciated the mandate and they have communicated so with me and board members. If masks are optional, we have to make sure that no one feels isolated if they decide to wear a mask. Stay tuned as we move forward.
We have a couple of other items:
1. Budget Votes: We want to thank the voters in all three districts for passing the school budgets on Tuesday, March 1. Our communities have always supported their schools. That is not the case everywhere in the state. Again, thank you for your support.
2. Board Meetings: We have our March meeting this month. The dates and links are below. March is a time to reorganize after elections. We decide on chair, vice-chair, clerk, signer of the manifest, and the SU representatives (three from each town). We also appoint a Truancy Officer and look at the dates and times that meetings will occur. Usually there are not many changes in those dates and times. Here are the links for those meetings:
Mt. Ascutney School Board Meeting
Monday, March 7, starting at 6:30 p.m.
Virtual only - Google Meet link: https://meet.google.com/pxp-
MASD School Board Site: https://windsor.wsesu.net/
Weathersfield School Board Meeting
Tuesday, March 8, starting @ 6:00 p.m.
Virtual and in Person (@ Weathersfield School) - Google Meet link: https://meet.google.com/nfo-
Weathersfield School Board Site: : https://ws.wsesu.net/
Hartland School Board Meeting
Wednesday, March 9, starting @ 6:00 p.m.
Virtual only - Google Meet link: https://meet.google.com/uee-
Hartland School Board Site: https://hes.wsesu.net/
WSESU School Board Meetings
Monday, March 14, starting @ 6:30 p.m. (Reorganization and Masking Protocol)
Virtual only - Google Meet link (March 14): https://meet.google.com/tdb-
Monday, March 28, starting @ 6:30 p.m.
Virtual only - Google Meet link (March 28): https://meet.google.com/mcw-
WSESU School Board Site: https://www.wsesu.net/
3. Athletics: High school playoffs have begun and Windsor is doing well. The Girls Varsity won in the Semi-Finals at the Barre Auditorium on Thursday evening, so they moved on to the championship game scheduled for Saturday, March 5, at 7:30 p.m. at the Aud. The Boys Varsity upset Northfield on Tuesday. They will be in a Quarter Final game tonight at Hazen Union at 7 p.m. If they win, they are off to the Barre Aud (next weekend) as well. Great job to all our teams! Our Bowling Team is in the state finals on Saturday morning. Again, I want to take this opportunity to congratulate Harry Ladue & Don Swinyer on their retirement after 39 years of service to the boys basketball program. We owe them a debt of gratitude.
4. Equity Audit: The Supervisory Union approved a Request for Proposals (RFP) to conduct an Equity Audit in all of our schools. We will look at policies, procedures, curriculum, materials, and hiring practices to see where we have strengths and weaknesses. The RFP will go out next week to a variety of specialists that do this type of work. We will use some of our ESSER money to conduct the audit. It is critical, as we continue on our equity path, that we have all the information. We want to be solving the right problems. The board’s commitment to securing safe and brave spaces for all of our school community is commendable.
5. Teacher In-Service: Friday, March 11th, is a Windsor Southeast Supervisory Union In-Service day. There will be no school for students in the SU. The administrative team has designed the day with our teachers’ well-being in mind. Our school lunch program will be providing a hearty breakfast to start the day. Teachers are encouraged to spend time in a variety of wellness activities and to work with their teams. We recognize the challenges of teaching during this school year and want to acknowledge that our staff continue to show up for work and do their best for kids. This is a small gesture to support their mental health and well-being and to acknowledge their contribution.
6. Legislative Report: The Vermont School Boards Association publishes a weekly blog updating the field on current status of legislation. If you are interested in the education agenda at the state level, you should find this blog interesting. Here is the link.
I think that is it for now. Stay safe and enjoy the upcoming weekend. It looks to be great weather!
Dr. David Baker
Superintendent
Windsor Southeast Supervisory Union