Ward 5 School Board
Update:
April 25, 2005
A tour of our schools
We had our “new board members” tour of the district today, and to sum things up quickly, I would note that six hours, and all 10 (!) schools later, I am grateful to be a Burlington resident, and overwhelmed by the passion and enthusiasm our teachers and administrators bring to their work. For those interested in our city schools, I thought I might share a few notes jotted down during the tour:
1. As you might expect, all of the schools in our district have varying strengths and weakness. Some, particularly Edmunds Elementary and Middle Schools, are in need of serious repairs: these magnificent old buildings are scheduled for facade repairs, window replacement and drainage improvements to the fields in the next two years. I’m not sure it’s on anyone’s short list at present, but it would be nice to get elevators into both buildings at Edmunds, without somehow removing usable space. The glory of these buildings is also their chief deficit: age. Music education here, as across the district, is a fabulous standout.
2. At Barnes and Wheeler, space is not the issue. Here, the problems are all about integrating refugees, and providing comprehensive services for some of our city’s most disadvantaged kids. I was quite frankly a bit teary-eyed visiting Linda Segal’s “newcomer” classroom of Somali-Bantu children. These are kids who had to be taught to wait in line for lunch: at the refugee camp they came from, they were starving, and among a million other things, they are learning that in Burlington there is enough food for everyone. The doctor’s and dentist’s offices at Wheeler (funded by external grant sources and volunteers), and the team of Howard Center social workers on site, are a good reminder of the amazing professionalism and success of the district’s grants writer, Betsy Lilley, the progressive and compassionate policies of our administrators (especially Lyman Amsden), and the basic needs of many Old North End families. On the Barnes wish list – laundry machines for kids who need their clothes washed. These schools are profoundly inspiring. Nevertheless, the existence of two schools in Burlington in which 100% of the children qualify for free or reduced lunches makes me wish our city weren’t so economically segregated. To make matters more challenging, something like 12% of Barnes parents are incarcerated. They certainly don’t have as active a P.T.O. we do at Champlain! (which, it goes without saying is a remarkable school thanks not only to Mrs. Zahnhiser and her staff but also to the many dedicated parents who enrich the curriculum in a variety of ways).
3. In the New North End, C.P. Smith is a standout in terms of facilities: after touring the south end and downtown, it was surprising to see a school with a cafeteria that wasn’t also the gym and theater. Flynn is facing a changing population – they now have 80 students who need help to learn English, and still have only one full-time ESL teacher. Hunt is also seeing an increasing population of students who need language acquisition assistance. On the whole though, like Champlain, these schools seem to be on a relatively steady course.
4. Our high school and tech center are gems. Despite the shocking sight of students kissing (!) in the cafeteria, I was thrilled that my middle-schooler is on his way there in two years. Principal Amy Mellencamp and Director Mark Aquino supervise a great array of programs, including honors and advanced placement classes, as well as a large number of well-run tech. ed. programs (i.e. graphic design, architecture, aviation mechanics, and early childhood education). Students were building a helicopter when we were there. Given my lunchroom shock, I was pleased to hear that there are only on average 2-4 pregnancies each year at the high school, in a population of more than 1100 students.
Teacher-contract negotiations start soon, and I want to remember during that time that our faculty and staff are the heart of this thriving and diverse district. But of course those contracts don’t exist in a vacuum. Rising health care costs are also on the plate, a disturbing rise in autism, and our status as a refugee resettlement city are all on the docket. I was surprised to learn that refugees admitted by the federal government receive four months of rent, and a small clothing allowance. The school district gets not a penny to help cover the costs of translators and staff. Partnerships with local non profits including foremost our Parent-Teacher Organizations, St. Michael’s, U.V.M., Champlain College, Very Special Arts, and many others are so crucial – as are the hundreds of unpaid overtime hours put in by teachers and staff.
More after our next meeting on May 10th.
Amy Werbel
awerbel@bsdvt.org