BY MAT CLOUSER
BRANDON — New Rutland Northeast Supervisory Union (RNESU) Superintendent Kristin Hubert was on hand for the first Otter Valley Unified Union (OVUU) school board meeting following the board’s retreat in August.
As part of Hubert’s informational report, she spoke at length about a number of challenges facing OVUU, such as the ongoing fallout from the COVID-19 pandemic, equity and staffing, as well as trauma, mental health, and cyberbullying issues.
COVID fallout
Hubert said that pandemic-related effects such as short and long-term closures, remote and virtual learning, and record high truancy numbers throughout Rutland County had led to declines in local, state, and federal assessment scores.
Her report stated that “the declines [in testing] spanned almost all races and income levels and were markedly worse for the lowest performing students,” adding that much of the students’ pre-pandemic progress was “erased,” and inequalities of all kinds had been exacerbated.
According to the report, student performers in the 90th percentile showed “a modest drop,” but students in the bottom 10th percentile showed a more drastic fall off (12 points in math).
Equity and staffing
Hubert mentioned equity and staffing issues as being somewhat tied together, saying that each had a kind of “ripple” effect on the other—particularly where access to technology, LGBTQIA+ issues, racial and socio-economic impacts, and access to learning environments were concerned.
Much like many parts of modern America, staffing shortages are affecting all levels of OVUU, according to Hubert. “When positions are unfilled, high-needs students suffer the most,” she said. In particular, bus driver shortages were said to be leading to longer bus rides, something Hubert noted that a recent study by Temple and Syracuse universities had tied to “chronic absenteeism.”
Trauma, mental health, and cyberbullying
OVUU’s students are no different from their parents or the communities in which they reside, and Hubert identified that they had “significant needs” which would require additional staff training and resources related to things like mental health, nutrition, clothing, healthcare, homelessness, and other ongoing issues.
Hubert cited the influence of social media’s impacts on children, specifically mentioning an uptick in cyberbullying as an area of concern that she hopes to address via an increased focus on social-emotional learning, engagement and personalization strategies, and “21st-century skills with a focus on the ‘whole child.’”
In other business, the board;
- Heard from new OV principal Michael Ruppel and new Associate principal Patrick Binder. The enthusiastic pair introduced themselves to the board and discussed their current state of assessment and reflection on OV’s operations, stating that they acknowledged a number of issues at the school—especially with regard to behavioral issues. “What we’re hoping people see early on,” said Ruppel, “is that we’ve done a lot of work around the discipline system—being more communicative with families and being more consistent with our approach.”
- Discussed the district’s ongoing Global Ends policy assessment—a function of its policy governance that“exists so that students of Brandon, Chittenden, Goshen, Leicester, Mendon, Pittsford, Sudbury, and Whiting are empowered with the knowledge, skills, and attributes needed to prepare them for the next stage of their lives as successful and contributing members of a global society.”
- In particular, the board paid special attention to its policy regarding the “naming, de-naming, and re-naming” of facilities policy. Although no action was taken, it was noted that the current policy allows naming to fall under the superintendent’s authority, and former superintendent Jeanné Collins had recommended that the board discuss whether they wanted to amend the policy to acquire full naming approval.
- Set new dates for the next three OVUU board meetings as Sept. 22, (6 p.m. at Lothrop Elementary,) Oct. 4 (6 p.m. at OVUHS,) and Oct. 18 (6 p.m. at OV north campus) due to scheduling conflicts with Superintendent Hubert.
