District Communications

What to Expect – A Year Full of Heart, Learning, and Practical Precautions
We are thrilled to welcome our students and staff back for what is shaping up to be a regular pre-pandemic in-person schedule. For students, the first day of school is August 25*.  

As before, the school day will be from 8am to 3pm. Students should be in their classrooms by 8:10am. Students who arrive after that time will need to check in with their school’s front office. Expect to learn more about our robust afterschool programming once school begins. 

*Winooski Middle High School (WMHS) is excited to offer a Smart Start morning for 6th and 9th grade students to help them transition to their new schools. More information about the Smart Start will be shared directly with WMHS families and students this month.

Student Meals
WSD is a Community Eligibility Provision (CEP) district due to the high number of students who qualify for free and reduced lunches. That means breakfast, lunch and supper are completely free for all students. Breakfast will be served in our elementary school classrooms and will be offered mid-morning to all WMHS students. Lunch will be served in the cafeteria. Supper will be available for students who participate in afterschool programming. 

Entering the Building
As the past school year has taught us:  Flexibility is key to our success! While the pandemic’s impact has lessened significantly, our Capital Project continues to create changes for our learning community. Please discuss these campus changes with your child, and remind them that in a little over a year, the WSD building will be a brand new, amazing place they will all enjoy! We’ve got to keep our eyes on the prize. 

For the next school year, all students and staff will enter through two entrances: the JFK Elementary School main entrance and the new George Street entrance. 

PreK-5th grade will enter through the JFK main entrance. All students who arrive after 8:10am should enter through the JFK main entrance. Visitors will need to check in at the JFK main entrance as well. Parents and guests are allowed in our building again, but access will be limited due to construction. 

Grades 6-12 will enter through the George Street entrance. 

Drop Off and Pick Up
You may drop off your child in the front of the building at 8:00am near the JFK entrance. The previous bus loop and short term parking loop are currently closed. The new drop off/pick up location will be in a marked location in the front of the parking lot. The drop off loop will require the driver to stay with the vehicle at all times and be ready to exit once their child has been dropped off or picked up.  This will get heavily congested.

Parking will be limited. Please consider walking or biking to school with your child, if possible, to avoid traffic congestion. 

The new Rear JFK Entrance off George Street will be closed at 8:10am. Dropping off and picking up students by car is not permitted at the George Street entrance. 

Other Changes on Campus
Due to construction, eight classrooms in the elementary school have been converted to high school classes. Additional high school classrooms are located in the newly constructed gym. The WMHS Central Office is now located in room 6 of the JFK building. 

JFK Central Office is in room 12. Grades PreK-2 will now be located in the newly constructed elementary school building. Middle school students will be able to enjoy their new classrooms in the newly constructed Middle School wing. 

COVID-19 Precautions
As of June, there are no requirements about wearing masks in Vermont. The Vermont Department of Health (VDH) strongly recommends unvaccinated individuals wear masks indoors. Our summer programming has been operating under this guidance.

The VDH and the Vermont Agency of Education are currently evaluating the guidance from the Centers for Disease Control (bit.ly/CDCFall2021) and the American Academy of Pediatrics (bit.ly/AAPfall2021) about masking and other health precautions this fall. We hope to be able to share more information by mid-August.

By Julian Portilla, Champlain College Center for Mediation and Dialogue, and Emily Hecker, WSD Communication Director

At a Special Board Meeting on April 7, 2021, attended by approximately 125 people, more than 60 individuals from the Winooski community, including parents, current students, alumni, and school staff members shared their thoughts, experiences, and feelings about the School Resource Officer (SRO) program in the WSD. 

After four hours of public comments, the School Board voted 4-1 to retain the district’s current SRO program through the 2021/2022 school year. Within the same motion, the board approved the commission of a Multi-Stakeholder Group (MSG) to further examine the SRO program in the district and research school safety models. Read more about the April 7 meeting at this link: bit.ly/April7WSDMeeting

At the May 12, 2021 Board meeting, the WSD Board approved a proposal by Julian Portilla, the Director of the Champlain College Center for Mediation and Dialogue, to create the Multi-Stakeholder Group and provide recommendations about school safety models.

Julian Portilla shared the following progress updates about the MSG in July. To read the full report presentation visit: bit.ly/MSGSROstatusupdate

Mr. Portilla had conducted 12 interviews with school and city officials, parents, the WSD Parent Teacher Organization (PTO), Winooski Police Department, restorative justice experts, and other Winooski residents.There are additional interviews scheduled with students, liaisons, SRO, parents of WSD students as of this update. He asked each individual the same questions about their connection to the school and their concerns about safety and security at the school district. 

Among the group there was universal praise for the city and the school environment and community, including that the WSD is the “Best school district ever. Hands down.”

When discussing what safety meant to each individual, people responded almost universally that they were not concerned with threats from inside the school for the physical safety of children. Rather, the responses were most concerned with threats from outside the school such as shooters.  People were most concerned with ensuring the proper systems and protocols were in place to guard against those threats.

However, there were people concerned with the emotional impact of an armed, uniformed officer in the building, especially among older students of color. Conversations about safety inside the school led to conversations about discipline and approaches to managing behavior in school.  Some people were concerned about the potential disproportionate impacts of discipline on students of color and therefore their sense of safety at school.

When asked about how the SRO affects safety and the feeling of safety, the majority of people mentioned the usefulness of the SRO’s role in ensuring awareness and communication between the school and police department, especially in instances of police contact with a child’s family.  

For those who were not comfortable with an armed officer in school, responses tended to be appreciative of the individual in the SRO role but also wondered whether these responsibilities could be accomplished by other people or groups.

Members of the Multi-Stakeholder Group shared their ideas for improving the safety of students. The idea behind many of these suggestions was to preserve the aspects of the SRO that provide safety and security to students and staff while reducing the time of having an armed, uniformed officer in the building. Many suggestions were an attempt at addressing the concerns of people on all sides of the argument.

The responses fall into a few different categories:

• Keep the SRO but change the amount of time in the building.
• Transfer the duties of the SRO to either a new individual or new group.
• Increase the skills and training of existing staff and administration.

Next Steps:
While many solutions have been put forward, before discussing solutions and changes, the MSG will need to invest time to understand the work of the current SRO, the concerns of all relevant parties with regards to security, analyze relevant data and compare models used elsewhere before discussing changes to the SRO position.

In order to fulfill its charge, the MSG will hold conversations with various segments of the community, experts, other school districts, restorative justice experts and law enforcement.  Regular updates will be provided to the board and will regularly post meeting times and minutes for anyone wishing to learn more about the process.

Mr. Portilla will complete nine more interviews scheduled with students, home-school liaisons, the current WSD SRO, and parents of WSD students. He will also develop a list of participants to represent specific groups. The MSG held their first meeting in August.  After that, they will hold bi-weekly meetings in September, October and November in order to provide recommendations to the board about the SRO program for budget finalization.

Winooski Receives $150,000 Gift to Feed & Clothe Students Through Innovative Programs and Partnerships

July 23, 2021 – The Vermont Community Foundation (VCF) has awarded $150,000 to the Heart of Winooski (HOW) Foundation Inc. to support an innovative building project in the soon-to-be renovated main lobby of the Winooski School District campus.

The gift, which was recommended to VCF through anonymous advisors, will provide critical funding for the construction of a 380 square foot Necessities Store and the construction of a 175 square foot Grab and Go Corner Cafe. 

The Necessities Store, at no cost to shoppers, will contain fresh produce, culturally appropriate non-perishable foods, essential household items such as cleaning supplies and menstrual products, as well as winter clothing/gear for students. These necessities will be available to any of the 850 students in the district as well as their families. 

Sarah Keblin, Director of Philanthropy, Marketing & Communications for the Vermont Foodbank, said her organization is excited to support the WSD in providing a permanent and accessible location for families to access food. “The store will be hosting our pilot school pantry program, VeggieVanGoPlus, providing a culturally responsive food pantry to students and community members. The full-time free store builds on the Winooski School District’s commitment to address the unique needs of its community and to expand access to food in meaningful ways.” 

The Grab and Go Cafe will serve free pre-made meals to students throughout the school day to accommodate students’ varying schedules. This flexibility is important for many middle and high school students who take advantage of learning opportunities off-campus and miss regular meal times. Due to a high rate of students who qualify for free and reduced lunches, all meals in the district are provided at no-cost to students through federal funding. 

“Addressing food insecurity is always top-of-mind for the Community Foundation and our fundholders,” says Dan Smith, president and chief executive officer of the Vermont Community Foundation. “We’re thrilled to support this innovative pilot program that creates another tool in the toolbox for getting culturally-relevant food and other necessities to the populations who need it.”

Read more about the Necessities Store and Grab and Go Cafe here. 

The Heart of Winooski Foundation funds projects and programs that uplift our school community and empower students to change their world for the better. 

Want to support Winooski students? Email us at [email protected].