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Schools Narrow Achievement Gap

Monday, 06 May 2013 14:49 | Posted by Admin IT |

Our Middle and High School Principals recently recived a letter from Vermont Reads Institute at UVM asking them to take a survey on how they have narrowed the achievement gap:

The Vermont Reads Institute (VRI) at the University of Vermont has begun a research project to determine how student perspective, engagement, and motivation, teacher knowledge and practice, and administrative leadership affect literacy achievement in Vermont.

According to the Vermont Agency of Education (AOE), Springfield High School (and Riverside Middle School) has demonstrated success in narrowing the achievement gap. Congratulations! Given the small number of schools that have been able to close the gap, we would love to understand the ways your school has approached reading and writing: the systems you have in place, the types of collaboration that exists in your building, how your teachers support student literacy learning through their instruction, how you use assessment data, and what types of professional learning opportunities your faculty engage in.

We know that this is a busy time of year, but your school’s participation in a brief survey would be a great benefit to our research. While the survey is short (approximately 8 minutes to complete), we realize that time is a precious commodity in schools. If you are willing to participate as a school, we will provide a summary analysis of your school’s responses and your school will receive 5 vouchers to be used by any faculty member or administrator at any of VRI at UVM’s professional development conferences scheduled for next year. We will then compile all of the responses and analyze the data to gain an understanding of the practices and structures in place that build success in Vermont public schools.

We would be honored to have your school participate, helping to shed light on the literacy practices that have contributed to your success, and we hope that you will take advantage of the professional learning opportunities we have to offer. Please feel free to contact me directly for more information and to receive your school’s survey link.

Sincerely,

Mary K. Grace

Director, VRI at UVM

Pre-Kindergarten 2013-2014

Tuesday, 05 March 2013 10:23 | Posted by Judi Stebel |

Publicly Funded Pre-K of Springfield School District

What is publicly funded prekindergarten education? Publicly funded prekindergarten education is defined as 6-10 hours per week of developmentally appropriate learning experiences using curriculum based on Vermont’s Early Learning Standards. Publicly funded pre-kindergarten education is limited to the academic year (September-June or 35 weeks).

Where are these publicly funded pre-kindergarten programs? The Springfield School District’s publicly funded pre-k programs are located in community early care and education programs that meet specific quality standards. Springfield School District’s pre-k partners are:

· PlayWorks (licensed center) – 886-5242

· Safe N’ Sound (registered home) – 886-1070

· SEVCA Windsor County Head Start at Pine Street Preschool (licensed center) – 885-6669

· Squeaky Sneakers Springfield (licensed center) – 885-5541

· Squeaky Sneakers Bellows Falls (licensed center) – 463-4795

· Suzy’s Little Peanuts (licensed center) – 885-7899

· Saxton’s River Montessori School (licensed center) – 869-3349

· Springfield Learning Garden (licensed center) – 885-5077

· World of Discovery III (licensed center) – 885-8380

· The Little School (licensed center) – 824-3405

Are there any charges for my child’s pre-k program? If selected, your child will be provided with 6-10 hours of pre-k program at no cost to you. Families are responsible for any charges or co-pay amounts beyond the 6-10 hours. The payment will be set up with the partner program.

Is my child eligible for publicly funded prekindergarten? If your child is 3 years old by September 1, 2013 and resides in Springfield, then your child is eligible to participate.

Please note: If we receive more applications than we have funding to support, we will use a random selection process to determine which children will receive public funding. We will inform you of the results of the selection process by mid-May 2013. After notification of selection, please check in with the partner program of your choice and find out what paperwork must be completed to enroll your child. Space in some partner programs may be limited.

How do I apply? Complete the attached application form and return it by mail to Gladys Collins, 109 Park Street, Springfield, VT 05156 or to one of the programs listed above on orbefore April 12^th, 2013.

If you have any questions, please contact Gladys Collins at 885-1150.

Attachments:
File	File size
Application for 2013-2014	482 Kb

Budget Information Posted

Friday, 08 February 2013 11:46 | Posted by Admin IT |

The Springfield School District’s Proposed Budget for Fiscal Year 2014

(FY14) is $ 28,402,219. This will be voted upon in two parts. The voters of

Springfield will vote on an article for $ 27,750,839. The remaining $ 651,380 will

be voted upon as part of the separate regional vote for the River Valley

Technical Center budget.

A decrease in the K-12 enrollment of twelve students is anticipated. Elm

Hill and Riverside will be experiencing increases while the enrollment at Union

and Springfield High School will decline. Additionally, the Preschool program

should see an enrollment increase.

The FY14 budget process began with an initial budget prepared based on

the School Board’s request for a “needs” budget so that they could see what

would be required to operate our schools. This initial budget represented an

increase of $ 2, 571,061over the current budget. The school administration

quickly realized that this initial budget increase was too high and recommended

some $ 1,714,721 in reductions. The Budget Advisory Committee reviewed the

budget and recommended additional cuts of $ 290,092. Finally, the School

Board reviewed the budget and added $ 154,861. The end result was an FY14

Proposed Budget that is $ 721,109 (2.6%) higher than the current school budget.

The estimated increase in tax revenue is only 1.8%. The tax rate will

increase by 3.5 cents for residential property and by less than one cent for non-

residential property. Local School Property Tax revenue only funds one-third of

the school budget.

Attachments:
File	File size
Budget Summary - As Adopted.xls	35 Kb
Enrollment-FY14.xls	32 Kb
FY14 Fixed & Disc.xls	33 Kb
Summary - Schl Rpt.xls	32 Kb

District News

Wednesday, 16 January 2013 14:49 | Posted by Judi Stebel |

Newspaper Articles

Rutland Herald & Times Argus
Archives

THIS STORY HAS BEEN FORMATTED FOR EASY PRINTING

Union Street students mediate their own conflicts

Author(s): Christian Avard

Staff Writer Date: January 10, 2013 Section: NEWS

SPRINGFIELD - Fifth-graders Nadine Spigel, 11, Jessica Cerniglia, 10, Ryan Kirker, 11, and Kristos Iliopoulos, 11, are making a difference at Union Street Elementary School. They are four students who are trained in defusing potential conflicts in the school and on the playground. On Monday, the peermediators and their advisor, school counselor Jan Rounds, met with Elizabeth Harty's third-grade class, performed a skit, and discussed how they can help students when trouble arises.

"We are not judges. We are not here to punish you or tell you what to do. We are here to help you resolve your conflict," Kirker said in a skit performed withpeer mediators.

The students acted out a situation that would be hurtful, imagining a student who is left out of an activity by a friend. Kirker and Cerniglia asked Iliopoulos and Spigel what they could do to make the situation better. They each suggested ideas and eventually came to an agreement. The Union Streetpeer mediation program is in its 13th year at Union Street Elementary. According to faculty and staff, the program is effective in helping students solve problems in a constructive manner.

"We have 12 peer mediators who advised in 23 situations. They sat down with kids and helped them figure things out on their own."

Rounds was introduced to student peer mediation at Riverside Middle School. She took the program model and worked with fifth-graders in their final year at Union Street Elementary.

Rounds teaches all fourth-graders in peer mediation and they receive certification. Teachers choose 12 students as mediators while those not chosen can volunteer as deputies.

The deputies monitor students on the playground, in classrooms, and in other areas where students congregate. They refer problematic situations to peermoderators who take over from there.

Even when students are not selected as peer moderators, many are eager to fill in as deputies. "Being a deputy is voluntary but we have 70 deputies who are willing to help out. They also enjoy the responsibilities they have," Rounds added.

Having student mediators and deputies has made Union Street a supportive school for everyone. Knowing that fifth-graders are helping them find solutions contributes to a positive learning environment.

According to the fifth-graders who spoke to Harty's class, being a peermoderator is more than just helping students.

"It's about leadership, helping people and teaching them skills to where they want to go," Iliopoulos said.

Cerniglia agreed.

"It feels good because you know you can help people," she said.

Spigel added that mediation skills also help outside of the classroom and are empowering.

"These skills can be used in families. They are good skills to know and I feel strong," Spigel said.

@Tagline:christian.avard

@rutlandherald.com

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Springfield Mentor Makes Difference in Student’s Life

By Christian Avard
Staff Writer | January 14,2013

SPRINGFIELD — Zach Cheney, a fifth-grade student at Union Street Elementary School, was eagerly awaiting his friend’s arrival Thursday. Floyd Buck, a well-known student mentor from Springfield, made his way down the hall, high-fiving all the students who crossed his path.

“So what are we going to do today, Zach?” Buck asked.

Zach, a shy but friendly 12-year-old, said with a smile, “Let’s play football.”

Buck volunteers with Let’s Do Lunch, a mentoring program that matches volunteers with students for one hour a week for the whole school year. Windsor County Partners offers the mentoring program to Windsor County children between the ages of 5 and 18, free of charge.

Buck has been Zach’s mentor for six years. He has offered him guidance and support, friendship and skills for life.

When asked why he mentors Zach, Buck said it’s about finding a student’s potential in life.

“I’m passionate about kids and I try to get them to be passionate about their own interests and develop that. It’s the small little things,” Buck said.

Buck recalled a time when he and Zach went to the Black River on an outdoors field trip. They went fishing, caught crayfish, went on nature walks, and learned about the local habitat.

Zach was very active with his classmates and Buck could tell that Zach thrived in outdoor education settings.

“Zach opens up more outside when he takes part in more hands-on stuff. Just seeing him do hands-on stuff and figuring things (out) on his own shows how much he is blossoming,” Buck said.

Zach’s fifth-grade teacher agreed.

“Zach is having a great year, academically. His math skills have shot up. I think when you know someone else in your life cares about you that will have the biggest impact on someone,” Vanessa Stern said.

Buck said goodbye to Zach after recess and told him he’d be back next Thursday. Zach is already looking forward to it.

“I enjoy having an adult to talk to and play games with,” he said. “We play football, he shows me how to throw it and I get better. I’ve had great times with him.”

“The relationship we formed keeps us going, Buck said. “I hope Zach gets a lot out of it. It’s changed my life and it’s rewarding to see him grow into the man he’s becoming.”

Southern Vermont mentoring organizations are celebrating National Mentoring Month in January. Windsor County Partners is seeking donations and volunteers. There are 23 young people waiting for an adult volunteer to spend time with them, they said.

To learn more, visit www.windsorcountypartners.org, email This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it or call executive director Kathy Kinter at 674-5101.

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Last Updated (Wednesday, 16 January 2013 14:59)

Kindergarten Registration

Monday, 07 January 2013 14:51 | Posted by Judi Stebel |

SPRINGFIELD SCHOOL DISTRICT

KINDERGARTEN REGISTRATION

The Springfield Public Schools are now registering children for Kindergarten for the 2013/2014 school year. Children born in 2008 who will be five (5) ON or BEFORE September 1, 2013 are eligible to enter kindergarten. If you have not yet received a registration form, please call Judy Spaulding at 885-5154 to request one.

Last Updated (Monday, 07 January 2013 14:53)

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