District Communications

Important Upcoming Dates:

• Monday, November 23 – early dismissal at 11am (JFK parent-teacher conferences)
• Tuesday, November 24 – early dismissal at 11am  (JFK parent-teacher conferences)
• November 16 – No School
• November 25-27 – No School

At this time there are no plans to move to a fully remote learning model between November break and the end of 2020. More on this topic below. 

• Find the WSD’s updated school calendar here. 
• Flu Shot Clinic – Tuesdays and Thursdays in December

Dear WSD Families, 

To my great disappointment, 5th grade will not be returning for increased in-person instruction next week. Despite our efforts, we have not been able to fill our staffing needs. At this point, we don’t have a clear idea about when we will be able to bring 5th graders back to in-person school four days per week, but we will continue to keep you informed about the situation on a weekly basis. 

Our schools, like many other districts across our state, need qualified Instructional Assistants and Support Staff. We are monitoring our staffing levels weekly, and the decision to maintain four days per week of in-person learning for elementary students will depend on whether we have enough staff members. If you would like to help, please consider applying.

Student Absences

If your child will be absent from school, remember to email or call the school to provide information about the nature of the absence. Our COVID-19 Co-Coordinators will follow up if it is a health-related issue. 

• For JFK students please call or email Linda Casier at [email protected] or 802-655-0411.
• For WMHS students please call or email Angie Small [email protected] 802-383-6106. 

Help Us Keep Vermont Open

Families are making hard decisions about holiday plans to travel and gather with loved ones. Since last spring, Vermonters have changed their lives to stay healthy during the pandemic, and many are tired of the daily effort required to prevent the virus from spreading. 

We are all longing for connection and crave things that feel normal, like our traditional holiday celebrations. But travel and gathering does increase your chance of getting and spreading COVID-19. 

As the virus continues to spread throughout the country, we encourage families to make safe choices about travel and gathering this holiday season by taking the following steps: 

1. Check the map to find out the risk of COVID-19 infection at your destination, 
2. Decide if the risk is worth it for your family, 
3. Plan to have a safe trip or gathering, remain flexible and get your flu shot and 
4. Quarantine when you return. 

By making safer choices, we can help Vermont stay open together. 

More On Safe Travel

Travel for parental shared custody is considered essential travel, however, there are some important guidelines regarding quarantine and safe ways to travel on The Vermont Agency of Commerce and Community Development website.

Rumors Related to School Closure

I have heard that there are rumors that schools across Vermont will return to fully remote learning from November break until January 1, 2021. Given the adverse effect of the abrupt dismissal on the academic growth and social emotional wellbeing of our students, as well as the adverse impact dismissal had on working families, I believe it is very unlikely Governor Scott, the AOE and VDH will require schools to go fully remote this year unless the health data demands it. 

Health Commissioner, Dr. Levine, recently stated, “The less risk we take on, the more we can protect our students, co-workers, our own families and our community.”  If everyone does their part, then Vermont schools can continue to safely operate.

Winter Sports

We are excited to announce that we are able to hold a limited WMHS basketball season, per Vermont Agency of Education guidelines. There are many details we are currently looking at and we will share more information next week. Practices will not start until December. Due to health and safety restrictions, there will not be any spectators allowed but we are exploring options to live stream games. 

Antiracism Updates

Next week, at the November 11th regular school board meeting, the WSD School Board will continue with their antiracism work.  

The board will begin by prioritizing the Winooski Students for Antiracism’s (WSA) demands. They will then establish the composition and roles of each demand-based working group and discuss how to conduct outreach to recruit the necessary team members. 

The full agenda for the board meeting will be released next week.

School Safety & Security Community Engagement

The goal of the School Safety and Security Engagement is to plan and run a community education, engagement and voice process about school safety and security. This effort is being directed by our school board in response to student demands about the immediate removal of our School Resource Officer (SRO). The board has directed this process so they can hear from the community to inform their decision-making about general school safety and security by mid-January, and specifically the SRO role for the 2021-22 school year.

Lindsey Halman of UP for Learning and Evelyn Monje of the Winooski Students for Antiracism will co-lead the project through the established Restorative Justice (RJ) group of students, staff and community members, with support from an advisor and consulting team from UVM. 

Additional Information: 

City of Winooski Virtual Tutoring Program in partnership with 21C Afterschool

There are UVM Education majors available to work 1:1 with middle and high school students virtually Monday-Thursdays from 4:30-7:30. All UVM students have been fingerprinted.

If you know of a middle or high school student that could benefit from individual tutoring, please email Suzanne Skaflestad at [email protected]. She would be happy to help facilitate communication with the City of Winooski staff. 

Pick-up procedures for parents/guardians for 21C Afterschool Programs at JFK:

If parents/guardians prefer to drive up to the JFK elementary school to pick-up their student from the 21C Afterschool program, it would be most helpful if they stand outside their cars so we can identify them quickly. Or, they can walk up to the entrance to the JFK building and wait physically distant from other parents with a mask on.

COVID Criteria for Building Entry of Non-District Personnel

Stay Connected

For more school-specific highlights, remember to read our Middle High School news and JFK weekly Elementary newsletters. 

Thank you,

Sean McMannon, Superintendent

Dear WSD Families,

This week’s updates and reminders are below.

Important Upcoming Dates:

• Friday, October 23 – 11am dismissal for all student and MHS parent-teacher conferences from 12-3pm
• October 26th – 1st and 3rd-grade students will start attending in-person four days per week.
• October 29th at 4pm – Ground Breaking Ceremony for the Capital Project (Join us via Facebook live!)
• November 2nd – Kindergarten and 5th-grade students will start attending in-person four days per week.
• Monday, November 23 – early dismissal at 11am (JFK parent-teacher conferences)
• Tuesday, November 24 – early dismissal at 11am  (JFK parent-teacher conferences)

No School Days

• November 16
• November break – November 25-27
• Find the WSD’s updated school calendar here.

We Need You! The Challenges of Moving to Four Days per Week of In-Person Instruction for JFK Students – Staffing Shortages

Our district, like many other districts across our state, needs qualified Instructional Assistants and Support Staff. We will be monitoring our staffing levels weekly, and the decision to maintain four days per week of in-person learning for all elementary students will depend on whether we have sufficient staff.

If you, or someone you know, are looking for meaningful work and to make a difference in the life of a Winooski student, please consider applying. The rate of pay ranges from $16-25/hour, includes full benefits and schedules follow the school-break calendar.

As long as there are sufficient staffing levels, we will adhere to the schedule below for bringing students back to more days of in-person learning:

The days of instruction will be Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday. Wednesdays will be remote for everyone. Kindergarten and 5th-grade classes will continue their hybrid schedule of Monday/Tuesday or Thursday/Friday until they begin the four-day schedule.

• Next week, October 26th – 30th: 1st and 3rd-grade students will start attending in-person four days per week.*
• November 2nd – 6th: Kindergarten and 5th-grade students will start attending in-person four days per week.*

(*If staffing levels allow.)

Traveling Outside of Vermont: Important Guidelines to Follow

The next few months are typically full of cultural celebrations and traditional family gatherings. Are you and your family thinking about traveling outside of Vermont or welcoming guests from out of state? To keep everyone safe, please carefully adhere to the following restrictions from the Vermont Department of Health. Read more here.

Early release days and parent-teacher conferences for the months of October and November

• Tomorrow, Friday, October 23 is an early release day at 11am for all students.  Middle high school student-led conferences will take place from 12-3pm.
• There will not be any afterschool programs running on early release days due to health restrictions. All students must be picked up by 11am.
• JFK student parent/teacher conferences will take place on November 23 and 24. All Winooski students will be released at 11am on those dates.

A note from the PTO President

Greetings Families,

The Winooski School District Parent Teacher Organization (PTO) is committed to enriching the educational and social experience of Winooski students and the community. The Winooski PTO is open to parents/ guardians, teachers, and community members. Our goal is to work together to support all children PreK through twelfth grade, as well as the teachers and staff of the Winooski School District to help do our part in making the school experience the best it can be for all students. Please consider being a part of the PTO and joining a very committed group of volunteers.  The Winooski PTO will continue to meet every third Wednesday of the month on Zoom from 6:00-7:30pm (April’s meeting is the second Wednesday of the month). Attending PTO meetings is a great way to keep informed of school activities and events and a great way to connect with others in the school district (parents/guardians and educators). With questions or for the Zoom meeting information please email us at [email protected].  All are welcome and encouraged to become a part of the PTO. We look forward to seeing you at an upcoming meeting.

Thank you,

Laura Lee, PTO President

Antiracism Updates

Per unanimous board agreement, every regular WSD board meeting will allow for at least one hour in each agenda to discuss and make progress toward meeting the Winooski Students for Antiracism’s (WSA) demands. At the most recent regular board meeting (10/14/20), the WSD school board spent 75 minutes focusing on these goals:

• Building equal partnership between WSA, WSD LT, WSD Board, Spectrum and City of Winooski to move demands forward.
• Establish process, functioning, monitoring, and structure for inclusion of community and faculty in ‘demand groups’ to commence work.

WSD representative Evelyn Monje and Lindsey Halman of UP for Learning facilitated a discussion that focused on building a balanced youth-adult partnership. Read the notes from that portion of the discussion below:

When only adults dominate decision making: What do they potentially gain? What do they potentially compromise?  What is required of adults to make a shift to partnership with youth?

When only youth dominate decision making: What do they potentially gain, What do they potentially compromise? What is required of youth to make a shift to partnership?

Groundbreaking Ceremony for the Capital Project

We will be hosting a groundbreaking ceremony on October 29 at 4pm to celebrate the Capital Project. The tentative speakers’ list is below. While we must limit physical attendance to adhere to safety guidelines, all WSD staff and Winooski community members are invited to watch the ceremony via Facebook live. 

• Welcome – Sean McMannon
• Land acknowledgment
• Alex Yin, WSD Board member, and Capital Project Executive committee member
• Kristine Lott – Mayor of Winooski
• Congressman Peter Welch
• State Director at USDA Rural Development Vermont and New Hampshire,  Anthony Linardos

Stay Connected

For more school-specific highlights, remember to read our Middle High School news and JFK weekly Elementary newsletters.

I appreciate your ongoing partnership as we work to uphold the WSD ENDS statement – that all Winooski students will lead healthy, productive, and successful lives and engage with their local and global community.

Thank you,

Sean McMannon, Superintendent