As a current school board member, I am pleased to announce my support for Joanna Doria and Jamie McCallum for ACSD Board. I am confident that Joanna and Jamie will both be an excellent addition to the board and fulfill their board role with integrity and transparency on behalf of all our children regardless of the town they live in. According to the Vermont School Boards Association (VSBA), “The school board acts as trustees on behalf of the community to provide strong oversight of public education.” And the VSBA “Essential Work of Vermont School Boards” handbook further states this includes effective engagement with the community; responsible fiscal management and oversight; and establishing measurable performance goals and monitoring learning outcomes.

After having had the opportunity to substitute teach in several of our schools, I believe that it is critical that we fully understand how the learning outcomes and emotional well-being of our students have been impacted as well as our educators by the pandemic. In parallel, there have been other decisions that have impacted our learning outcomes. I believe it is the responsibility of the board to ensure that we have an accurate checkpoint for how well our children and educators are doing. We must then ask tough questions regarding the effectiveness of the measures that have been put in place, ensure that any needed changes are addressed, establish indicators of success, and routinely monitor our progress. This will help to ensure that our district takes advantage of the remaining emergency federal funding in the best way possible.

I know Joanna and Jamie well and I look forward to working with them as board members. Joanna and Jamie will take their role seriously on behalf of the ACSD community and be willing to ask the tough questions and provide the oversight needed.

The views expressed in this submission are my own and are not intended to represent the views of the ACSD board.

Barbara Wilson

Shoreham