CTES half-days are lost; both boards agree on joint committee

The GMUSD Board decided to forego CTES’ half-days in favor of aligning all school schedules. Photo provided

CAVENDISH, Vt. – The Green Mountain Unified School District Board and the Ludlow Mount Holly Unified Union School District Board held a joint meeting on March 23 which ultimately led to the GMUSD board voting to eliminate Cavendish Town Elementary School’s early release half-day that allows for weekly embedded professional development time for teachers, by a vote of 8 to 2. The move essentially aligns the school schedules of all Two Rivers Supervisory Union Schools, a unification TRSU Superintendent Lauren Fierman had requested from both boards.

In response to the acknowledged positives from increased professional development time for teachers, in particular through collaboration in fostering student progress, both boards also agreed to form a joint committee with board members, staff, administrators, and likely parents to study the issue and make recommendations for the 2023/2024 school year.

To reach their decision, the boards defeated several motions during the two-and-a-half hour meeting and spent considerable time discussing the wording in their final motion to approve the formation of a joint committee.

The meeting began with comments from ten district parents and educators, all with opinions that were essentially split on the issue. Childcare concerns and disruptions to the schedule and classroom instruction for students were echoed from past board meetings. Those in favor of the CTES schedule cited better teacher preparation that resulted in positive outcomes for their children, both anecdotally and through test scores. Several parents who were against the CTES schedule did agree that professional development time was of value and might be achieved in another way.

After GMUSD board chair Joe Fromberger gave an overview of the issue, GMUSD board member and Cavendish resident Abe Gross made an immediate motion to, “Adopt the embedded collaboration and professional development model for the entire district after the current manner of Cavendish Town Elementary School, while maintaining the current number of classroom instructional hours of Chester Andover Elementary School.” Gross explained that the motion was to have all districts adopt the embedded instruction model, although he was vague on details. His motion also provided the same amount of instructional classroom hours that CAES had, a point that would counteract some of the pushback heard in prior meetings. Gross also attempted to amend his motion by providing a timeline for implementation.

Gross then proceeded with a presentation that included comparison of test scores between CTES and the other district schools, during which he described Chester Andover Elementary School as a “failing school.” He also said that as a CTES parent, he was upset that “in the name of bureaucratic simplicity, my son’s excellent school may have to change to conform to a pattern of failure.”

Gross wrapped up his presentation with three points: the current contract had been agreed to by all teachers; that CTES had just hired a new principal who had agreed to the position having admired the embedded professional development in place; and that teacher burnout was a real concern and the extra preparation time and support was needed.

As GMUSD board members gave their opinion, Gross found support in just one member, Julia Gignoux, also of Cavendish. Dennis Reilly, the other Cavendish representative on the board did not support the motion. The original motion was defeated by the GMUSD board by a vote of 7 to 2, with one abstaining. The timing amendment was also defeated.

LMHUUSD board member Judith Pullinen then made a motion that their district “maintain a full five-day schedule with no early release days, and establish a committee to develop an improved model of professional development and collaboration.”

Several of the LMHUUSD board members pushed back on the need to spell out the schedule in their motion since that might limit any decision a joint board considered for professional added development. Three voted for and three against the motion, resulting in failed vote.

In discussing timing for professional development committee and it recommendation, Fierman said that committee recommendations would result in potential changes to begin in the fall of 2023 because they needed an amount of time to look at all the issues. In the meantime, all schools would run under the same schedule beginning in fall of 2022.

The GMUSD board continued to craft different versions of a motion that encapsulated both establishing a consistent schedule across all schools, and included establishing a joint committee to develop an improved model of professional development and collaboration. In the end, the board decided to divide the issue into two motions: one to eliminate the embedded professional development half day at CTES, and a separate motion to establish a joint committee.

The motion to “end Cavendish Town elementary school early release Tuesdays for professional development beginning in the fall of 2022 for the 22/23 school year” was passed 8 to 2. The motion to “establish a joint committee with the LMHUUSD board to study an improved model of professional development and collaboration, and to make a recommendation for the 23/24 school year,” was passed unanimously.

The LMHUUSD board’s identical motion to establish a joint committee with GMUSD using the same language was also passed unanimously.

The next meeting of the LMHUUSD board is scheduled for Wednesday, April 13 from 6–8 p.m. The next GMUSD board meeting is scheduled for Thursday, April 21 from 6–8 p.m. at Green Mountain Union High School.

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