This week the three school board chairs of the schools that comprise FWSU spent the day together learning. The professional development opportunity was sponsored by the Vermont School Boards Association is a requirement of all school board chairs and superintendents in Vermont (16 VSA 561(b).
The daylong training explored topics such as educational leadership, school board roles and responsibilities, education funding, open meeting law, public records, and collective bargaining. A portion of the meeting was also devoted to the State’s study of special education completed by the District Management Group (DMG). The DMG worked with FWSU three years ago in a pilot study and later expanded its work with schools all over Vermont.
The work of our school boards is essential to the success of our schools by providing student-focused oversight of education system. The boards of Fairfax, Fletcher, and Georgia are all committed to providing the best educational experiences for students. Each school board meets monthly and always invites the community to attend board meetings which are lawfully held in public. The Franklin West Supervisory Union Board meets five times per year and is comprised of three board members from Fletcher, Fairfax, and Georgia. FWSU Board meetings are also held in public and community members are encouraged to attend. Each year, the chair of the FWSU board rotates year to a different member district in our supervisory union. All of our school boards have also adopted a written Code of Ethics to hold their work to the highest ethical standards as they serve our schools and community.
Each of school board has its own webpage with current information:
“Having the opportunity to meet with other school board chairs as well as superintendents is always informative and energizing. Not only were we updated on current challenges for funding Vermont’s education system, but we also spent time focusing on data-driven best practices for improving student outcomes. It is validating to know that other Vermont schools are facing the same challenges that we are in balancing the needs of our students with the economic reality of funding public education.” – Elaine Carpenter, Chair Fairfax Board of School Directors.
The FWSU Story 