Superintendents Annual Letter 2014 How can we afford to sustain and improve the quality of our public school

system? If this question looks familiar, it may be because I led my annual letter ith this question last year! As you re"ie your school boards proposed bud#et, you may find this question more pertinent than e"er! All ele"en school district boards that make up the $indham %entral Super"isory &nion and I take #reat pride in hat our students are learnin# and performin#! 'ermonts students lead the nation in hi#h school #raduation rates! All courses and classes in the $%S&s schools are tau#ht by hi#hly qualified teachers! (utritious meals are no a"ailable in our se"en lar#est schools! )re*k education for 10 hours+ eek is no a"ailable for all $%S& residents! As part of the School* ide Action )lans for Impro"ement, schools pro"ided after*school acti"ities supported by the $%S& 21st %entury ,rant! -iber*optic cable connects all ei#ht schools and pro"ides broadband access to the eb! .hese positi"e results and impro"in# prospects for the future are due to the public support of our schools, their accomplished instructional teams, principals and dedicated school directors! As e ork to#ether to sustain educational e/cellence, e must o"ercome t o troublin# trends that ill continue to put tremendous up ard pressure on the local school ta/ and state ide property ta/ rates0 11 School enrollment is pro2ected to decline or remain static at best, and 21 -urther reductions in federal and state fundin# for education includin# .itle I and after school pro#rams are anticipated! .he ans ers to my question are not readily apparent or easily implemented, but they are ithin our reach if school districts continue to 3collaborate, share and seek creati"e solutions4 as directed by the Core Values for the WCSU. (e 5rook 6lementary School is a fine e/ample of collaboration benefitin# e"ery student in 5rookline and (e fane! .he 7amaica and .o nshend boards are 2ointly e/plorin# the possibility of buildin# a ne elementary school to ser"e both communities! After more than t o years of study, the formation of a $indham %entral 6ducation 8*12 9istrict :$%691 is proposed! If appro"ed by the "oters :tentati"ely 7une ;, 20141 the $%69 ould ser"e the fi"e to ns of Leland and ,ray &nion <iddle+=i#h School as a sin#le 8*12 school district! See eb link https0++sites!#oo#le!com+a+ indhamcentral!or#+ indham*central* education*district+! Last Au#ust, the $%S& 5oards 6/ecuti"e %ommittee appro"ed a re"ised WCSU Strategic Plan to achie"e common #oals in t o areas0 %urriculum and Instruction and School and %ommunity! .he %urriculum and Instruction area includes our most important #oal > student learnin# and achie"ement! In fact, all other #oal and action steps are desi#ned to support our students in this effort! See eb link https0++sites!#oo#le!com+a+ indhamcentral!or#+home+home+mission*core*"alues!

?our schools staff and administration ork hard to impro"e student learnin# and achie"ement follo in# your schools buildin# based Action )lan! .he $%S& pro"ides continuin# professional trainin# to impro"e instruction in all disciplines, ith a particular focus on readin#+ ritin# across the curriculum and mathematics 8*12! Implementation of the Common Core State Standards and recently adopted Next Generation Science Standards ill be our ma2or focus for -?1@ and beyond! A school bud#et pro"ides the plan for in"estin# in opportunities for student learnin# and #ro th! ?our school directors carefully considered e"ery detail of the -?1@ 5ud#et! ?our School 9irectors elcome any su##estions, ei#h them carefully, and make tou#h decisions hile keepin# the needs of all students their top priority! $hether you "ote by Australian ballot or from the floor at your annual meetin#, e ur#e you to support this ork by appro"in# your boards proposed bud#et! Ste"en 5! 7ohn, 6d!9! $%S& Superintendent of Schools