This commentary is by Peter Langella of Moretown, a public high school and college educator.
Imagine that education in Vermont is a game of chess.
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Over the years, many pieces have been taken away from the board. Student enrollment has declined, but there has also been a steady stream of cuts and consolidations, spiking during Act 46 mergers and now again over the past two years.
Conversely, many other pieces have been added that don’t mesh with the original rules of the game. This is because the United States (and Vermont, under Gov. Scott and his vetoes) has rejected many social foundations and safety nets; and schools, admirably, have often tried to fill the gap by employing special educators, social workers, psychologists, intensive paraeducators, behavior interventionists and a plethora of other important and helpful humans.
So when legislators and bureaucrats talk about “right-sizing,” they are mostly trying to play a conventional game of educational chess based on Carnegie Units, the metric developed in 1906 that awards academic credit based on the number of “seat time” hours in a given course, especially at the high school level. This is the “Reading, wRiting, aRithmetic” model many of today’s decision-makers experienced as students.
Simply put, it’s stagnant, outdated and inequitable.
So, Vermont has a choice. We can react to this education funding crisis by further cutting and consolidating, trying to put all the pieces back the way they were and play chess by the original rules, or we can flip the board over and play a new game — completely transforming our model of public education.
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The possibilities abound. We have so many creative and empathetic people here. We also have so many amazing students, who are truly our resident experts on what school is and what it can be.
We could harness that, but we aren’t, at least not at a statewide level. For example, the Commission on the Future of Public Education, by statute, was supposed to “represent the State’s geographic, gender, racial, and ethnic diversity,” and it knows it failed on multiple levels of its most basic charge. There also aren’t any current educators or school employees who are part of the group, and there are no students, who repeatedly lack power, access and representation in official spaces where their future is being decided, especially when they come from marginalized backgrounds.
On a more micro level, this isn’t happening in most districts or schools, either. Like many around the state, the district I work in had its budget defeated last year. The school board moved quickly to adopt a new number, and district and building administrators were tasked with identifying cuts.
Instead of having a more transformational conversation, they cut librarians, drama teachers, music teachers, business teachers, French teachers, personalized learning coordinators, restorative practices coordinators, mentoring coordinators, instructional coaches, intensive paraeducators and JV sports programs.
It was and is horrendous.
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Imagine something better. Imagine flipping that chessboard over and looking at an open canvas. Before talking about tax rates, yield bills and common levels of appraisal; imagine centering teaching and learning. Imagine a visioning process where we, all of us, collectively redefine what school can be.
I’m not naive enough to think it would fit my exact hopes, and I’m not idealistic enough to think it wouldn’t include some cuts and consolidations. But at least it would be intentional.
The current narrative around this crisis is reactionary. The state is trying to force its way back to the chessboard, and it’s being falsely portrayed as the harder choice.
The harder choice, in actuality, is to transform. Create a bold vision and initiate a brand new game of school — creative, holistic, inclusive — that could serve as an example for the entire country.
ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) — Brett Decker Jr. had 23 points in Liberty’s 79-73 victory against Vermont on Monday.
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Decker shot 7 for 11 (5 for 7 from 3-point range) and 4 of 7 from the free-throw line for the Flames (5-0). Zach Cleveland added 14 points while going 6 of 7 and 2 of 6 from the free-throw line while he also had six rebounds and seven assists. Kaden Metheny shot 5 for 14 (1 for 7 from 3-point range) and 3 of 3 from the free-throw line to finish with 14 points.
TJ Long led the way for the Catamounts (4-2) with 19 points. Gus Yalden added 17 points for Vermont. TJ Hurley finished with 15 points.
Metheny led Liberty with 12 points in the second half.
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The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.
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STORRS, Conn. – No. 9 UConn women’s hockey secured a decisive 4-0 win over Vermont on Friday night at the Toscano Family Ice Forum. Julia Pellerin led the way for the Huskies scoring three of UConn’s four goals in the win. UConn moves to 4-1 in Hockey East play and 9-3-1 overall this season.
UConn netminder Tia Chan was stout throughout, making 18 saves, earning her second shutout of the season.
The first period began with Vermont winning the opening faceoff and testing the Huskies’ defense early with a series of blocked and saved shots. UConn responded with offensive pressure, leading to a power-play opportunity after a tripping penalty against Vermont. Junior forward Julia Pellerin capitalized on the power play, finishing a great no-look pass at the back post from Livvy Dewar. This goal marked the beginning of a standout performance for Pellerin, who would go on to record her second career hat trick, and first in a UConn uniform.
Both teams continued to trade shots, but the Huskies maintained their 1-0 lead going into the first intermission, with shots favoring UConn, 17-8.
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During the second period, UConn extended their lead with a series of effective plays, leading to goals. Pellerinonce again found the back of the net, marking her fourth goal of the season, putting UConn up 2-0.
Shortly after, UConn doubled their lead as Brooke Campbell added another for the Huskies with a re-directed shot in front of goal, making it 3-0.
The Huskies advantage grew to four when Pellerin completed her hat trick on the power play, going bar down from a near impossible angle. UConn maintained a commanding 4-0 lead going into the final period. Shots favored the Huskies in the second period, 13-3.
UConn maintained their four-goal lead throughout a scoreless third period. Despite multiple shot attempts from both teams, neither side could find the back of the net in the final 20 minutes. The period concluded with the Huskies securing a 4-0 victory to open the weekend series.
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UConn will conclude the weekend series with Vermont on Saturday, November 22. Puck drop is set for 2:00pm at the Toscano Family Ice Forum. TICKETS
