Dresden School Board Update: October
The Dresden School Board has met twice this school year. On September 2nd, Hanover’s new Police Chief (Charlie Dennis) and Fire Chief (Martin McMillan) stopped by to introduce themselves. Superintendent Bass and Chief Dennis recently signed the Memorandum of Understanding between the town of Hanover and its schools. The memorandum outlines the expectations for both the school and the Police Dept in cases of emergency or disturbances that require legal action.
In addition, Mr. Campbell gave a presentation on the findings of the Strategic Planning Committee that were approved by the Dresden Board. The 5-Year Vision drafted by the committee contains three main priorities. #1 – To effectively educate each student, on an individual basis, in support of their personal journey. #2 – To communicate the newly developed Core Values into the culture of the school through curriculum integration, adjustments to policies and practices, and the establishment of new programs. #3 – To develop and carry out systematic ways to analyze and use assessment results and other data to improve teaching and learning.
On September 23rd, professionals briefed the Board on efforts to clear the presence of TCE on Richmond Middle School’s grounds. Long story short: everybody’s going to be fine. Another highlight from the meeting was the passing of a March Intensive pilot. The current $650 cap on MI courses has eliminated nearly all possibilities of travel outside of New England. This pilot now allows 5 courses (TBA) to exceed the $650 cap to accommodate current airfares.
Lastly, Mr. Campbell updated the Board on the upcoming Smarter Balanced tests for all Juniors. Essentially, this year all public schools in VT and NH will administer these federally enforced assessments. Consider them to be “The New NECAPs”. These tests will include 4.5 hours of English, 4 hours of math, and 4 hours of science.
Please feel free to voice any questions, opinions, or concerns by emailing me at henrylang@hanovernorwichschools.org. I’m the DSB Representative for Council. Don’t hesitate to contact me at any time — I strongly encourage your input!!
