Some of the information in this post was provided by the Vermont Agency of Education.


​Last week, we witnessed the devastating effects of yet another school shooting, and an arrest in response to a school threat in Fair Haven, VT. These horrific events remind us that every student, teacher, parent, school administrator and community member plays a role in providing a safe and secure environment for all those who attend, visit and work at our schools.
 
The Vermont Agency of Education and the Department of Public Safety have worked with school systems, law enforcement, and first responders over the past few years to make sure our schools and first responders are well prepared in implementing school safety best practices. This was hard and careful work, and we are grateful to the many individuals who partner and prepare to ensure the safety and wellbeing of our children.
 
We take this emergency preparedness very seriously. We remain actively engaged with our local, regional and state partners to ensure they are keenly aware of the robust resources available through the Vermont School Safety Center. We will continue to engage in future school safety initiatives that will provide a safe and secure environment for our school community. The Northeast Kingdom Superintendents’ group has organized an ALICE training to be held in the NEK on May 1st and 2nd. We will be sending at least one person from each school to that training and those people will plan for next steps in implementing ALICE protocols.
 
As a reminder, if an emergency were to occur at any of our schools, we would use School Messenger to notify parents of the unfolding event. The school’s emergency response procedures would be executed quickly. 
 
In a school emergency, your first instinct may be to pick up the telephone and start calling the school or rush up to the school and get your child/children. This only complicates matters from a safety and security standpoint. Parents too close to an incident often hinder the rescue attempts of police and fire officials on the scene. The best action parents can take in an emergency is to stay close to their phone and email and to monitor local radio and TV reports for regular updates and instructions. 
 
I want to assure students, parents, faculty and staff that school safety is our top priority, and we will continue to collaborate with local emergency planners and our first response community to continue our school emergency preparedness efforts. Below are a couple of resources that may be helpful when considering how to talk with children about violence.

​The latest buzz word in education circles is “equity”. We see the word “equity” appearing in many different contexts, and I’m not sure that we all have the same definition in mind.
 
It appears as one of the goals in Act 46: “provide substantial equity in the quality and variety of educational opportunities statewide”. To me this does not mean that every student receives the exact same things, but rather that each student gets what they need to be successful.
 
The Vermont Superintendent’s Association (VSA) and the Vermont School Board’s Association (VSBA) recently held a 2-day workshop where participants discussed equity and its role in education. That group developed the following definition:
 
Educational equity means that each and every student receives the resources and educational opportunities they need to learn and thrive.

• Equity means that a student’s success is not predicated nor predetermined by characteristics such as race, ethnicity, religion, economics, class, geography, disability, language, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity or initial preferences.

• Equity means that every school provides high quality curriculum, programs, teachers and administrators, extracurricular activities and support services.

 

• Equity goes beyond formal equality where all students are treated the same.  Achieving equity may require an unequal distribution of resources and services.

 

• Equity involves disrupting inequitable practices, acknowledging biases, employing practices that reflect the reality that all students will learn, and creating inclusive multicultural school environments for adults and children.

​The Lake Region Board held a Board retreat on January 29th during which they explored the Board’s role in assuring equity in education. Some points that were debated included:

• Do our ideas of what is equitable change depending on our point of view (parent, student, educator, Board member)?
• How do we balance providing equitable opportunities with being financially responsible?
• How do we ensure that our implicit biases don’t get in the way of equity?

 

S​ome people prefer to use images when they consider the meaning of equity. Here is an image that I like:

The reason I like this image so much is that it clearly illustrates the differences between equity and equality. I think that sometimes we use these terms interchangeably when they are clearly quite different. The image helps me to remember that fair is not always equal.
 
Equity is also embedded in our OCSU mission and vision:
 
Our Vision:
All of our students will have choices for success throughout their lives.

Our Mission:
It is the mission of the Orleans Central Supervisory Union to provide an environment that celebrates          diversity and creativity, promotes inclusion and integrity, and partners with parents and community members to give students access to a 21st century education.
 
If we focus decision-making on our mission and vision, and if we understand the differences between equity and equality, we can work towards providing equitable opportunities so that all students truly will have choices for success.