Are there other very important learning opportunities that we’ve missed above? Please elaborate: | # of responses |
Life skills - shop, financial literacy, cooking, resume writing, etc | 7 |
Local internships + community service projects, community engagement activities | 5 |
Education around mental health, social/emotional well-being, teamwork | 5 |
Programs with Sterling/outdoor-based ed | 4 |
Civics education/participation | 4 |
Differentiated instruction to serve all students | 4 |
More electives, arts, and/or extracurricular activities | 4 |
Technology/typing/computer science | 3 |
Address facilities | 1 |
Start GED program | 1 |
Have bigger field trips | 1 |
Bring back thematics | 1 |
Do more hands-on work in class | 1 |
Look to examples of other successful small schools | 1 |
Are there other very important learning outcomes that we’ve missed above? Please elaborate: | # of responses |
Financial literacy & basic life skills | 6 |
Values and social skills: fairness, kindness, respect, integrity | 6 |
Civic engagement/how to be a good citizen, whether globally/locally | 5 |
Critical thinking/reasoning, ability to interpret news/fake news | 3 |
Communication skills | 2 |
Proficiency in language that is not English | 1 |
Personal accountability | 1 |
DEI education | 1 |
Self-directed learning | 1 |
leadership development | 1 |
Sewing, knitting, woodworking, fine motor skill development | 1 |
Place-based learning; education specific to VT landscape/history | 1 |
Counseling for life after college | 1 |
Mental health skills | 1 |
If the costs were equal, what do you believe is the delivery system that will provide the best learning opportunities for our students? Please select one.
Note: the initial presentation of this chart had an error that resulted in a 2-3% difference in some categories. This was corrected on 5/24/24.
The next step is for the School Board to consider the financial and educational implications of different educational delivery systems. We anticipate this will take the form of sub-committees that will produce reports for the community to consider. What options do you want our community to pursue? | # of resp. |
Retain K-12 system | 14 |
Look into different options for high school, such as: tuition out to school of choice, designate some schools, etc. | 10 |
Present cost comparisons for the different models listed above; look at costs to address Elementary School facility needs, including cost to retrofit high school facilities to accommodate younger kids if we tuitioned out high school | 10 |
Improve collaboration within OSSU at all grade levels to provide more flexibility, more choices, access to more classes/extracurriculars | 5 |
Build new buildings on one campus if CA remains K-12 | 4 |
Work on recruiting students from other towns | 3 |
Do whatever leads to best educational outcomes, potentially even if it's more expensive | 3 |
Offer more online learning options | 3 |
Capitalize on what makes us unique; work on keeping students engaged with special offerings | 3 |
Provide better teacher support: ongoing training, better recruiting, offer housing, allow teachers' children to attend CA tuition-free | 2 |
Improve support for special ed, Provide education for our community about Act 173 and Special Ed laws in general | 2 |
When looking into alternatives, limit bussing to Hardwick (not beyond) | 2 |
Consider consolidating grades/make mixed grade classrooms | 2 |
… continued: The next step is for the School Board to consider the financial and educational implications of different educational delivery systems. We anticipate this will take the form of sub-committees that will produce reports for the community to consider. What options do you want our community to pursue? | # of resp. |
Would like to see costs for making our pre-K-12 programs more robust | 1 |
Look into establishing work internships for seniors | 1 |
Strengthening community support for our schools | 1 |
Ask why families have chosen this school community | 1 |
Maximize education within a budget that doesn't make taxes unaffordable for older VTers | 1 |
Work on addressing needs of students at both ends of the bell curve | 1 |
Locker rooms | 1 |
Use historic CA buildings as learning resource | 1 |
Offer GED program | 1 |
Do a community forum | 1 |
Prioritize emotional and physical safety | 1 |
New principal | 1 |
College preparedness/integration with Sterling | 1 |
Any other comments/suggestions? | # of resp. |
Collect various data points: student status 3-5 years after graduation; exit interviews with departing teachers; survey what draws people to come here (move here, school choice, etc) | 4 |
Kids may fall through the cracks at another school | 3 |
More volunteer opportunities/community service projects | 2 |
Try to minimize teacher turnover | 2 |
Let's try to make CA capitalize on its strengths and be a real magnet for students, staff, admin | 2 |
More extracurricular opportunities | 2 |
Recruit from nearby towns | 2 |
Stellar individual teachers/staff can have a major positive impact on students and the school community | 2 |
Communication from the school needs improvement | 2 |
In Craftsbury everyone can feel like a part of the school, be looked after | 2 |
Need to look into the facilities and cost issues ASAP | 2 |
…continued: Any other comments/suggestions? | # of resp. |
Let our kids be kids; stop worrying about legality | 1 |
Look into what social/emotional topics should be taught at school vs home | 1 |
Work on making the school feel more accessible to residents who don't have children in the school system | 1 |
The Outdoor Center is an asset | 1 |
Consider that answers to some of the survey questions could be pretty variable depending on grade level | 1 |
Our school is the heart of the community; community will suffer if kids at any grade level tuition out | 1 |
Make sure you meaningfully involve the public in this process; keep people informed via FPF; be transparent | 1 |
Make sure kids are physically safe at school | 1 |
Investing in kids now/while they're young is cheaper long-term | 1 |
Add school board members who don't have kids in the schools--this is biased | 1 |
More civic engagement activities | 1 |
Increase fundraising by community/trustees to better support the school | 1 |
Minimize use of screens at elementary ages; eliminate phones at older grades | 1 |
Work on housing for teachers; let children of CA teachers attend CA tuition-free | 1 |
Look into less than 1.0 FTE positions | 1 |
Make sure experiential learning is broadly applied; include reflection and application | 1 |
The school morale is terrible and people are afraid to talk about it | 1 |
Invest in research-based math/literacy instruction | 1 |
How can we support community members struggling with property taxes? | 1 |
Need to keep growing and improving facilities, athletics and academics to attract people | 1 |