School Board Task Force Update
Dear Five Sisters and South End neighbors,
The School Board has been somewhat quiet lately – a usual slow down in the action between the budget vote and town meeting day. However, not all is quiet on the public education front. I just returned from the second meeting of the Task Force created to study our school district’s achievement gap and make recommendations about directions for the future. I am one of three ex-officio school board members serving on the task force. So far, we have discussed the broad parameters of the issues we currently face and have come closer to defining the problems we are trying to solve. Definitions of poverty and achievement vary depending on points of view, and in general, we need to come to some consensus about what we are trying to fix before we can do so. Given how broad our discussion has been thus far, I don’t have much to report about where things are heading.
The task force is composed of a fascinating and diverse group of Burlingtonians, including (from our neighborhood) Nancy Zahnhiser, the principal of Champlain Elementary, Lynda Siegel, a teacher at Wheeler Elementary, and Michael Monte, Director of the city’s office of community development. With so many different perspectives at the table, I think we all share a sense of possibility that we can craft a plan that will provide excellent education for all our students even as we make tough financial decisions in the coming years. I will keep you posted as we begin to formulate a vision, and you all should certainly take advantage of opportunities to contribute to the discussion by e-mailing me at: awerbel@bsdvt.otg , or by posting a comment on the district weblog at : www.bsdvt.org .
In just a month, we will go to the polls to hopefully approve the school budget. I am up for re-election, and therefore have spent a bit of time posting a campaign website in support of my candidacy for another two-year term as Ward 5 School Commissioner. You can find the website at: http://amywerbel.info . My plan is to run a paperless campaign, consisting of the website posting and also attendance at the Ward 5 N.P.A. introduction of candidates at Champlain School on February 16th. I will also participate in a debate with my opponent to be aired live on CCTV at 6 p.m. on Friday, February 17th. Stay tuned neighbors, and stay warm,
Amy Werbel
Ward 5 School Commissioner
12 Catherine Street