Middlebury Hospice to honor Dunn on Friday
Tonight: Editor of Slate speaks in Middlebury
Interested in journalism and the future of news? How about international watchdog groups or web publishing?
If any of those topics tickle your fancy, you might consider dropping by Middlebury College’s Bicentennial Hall tonight for the Meet the Press lecture series, where seasoned editor, author and columnist Jacob Weisberg will discuss how newspapers fit or don't fit into government.
As the executive editor of the Slate Group — the internet publications division of the Washington Post Company — and former head of Foreignpolicy.com, Weisberg will talk about “Government Without Newspapers.” Things will kick off on Feb. 20, at 7:30 p.m. in room 220 of McCardell Bicentennial Hall — that’s the massive science building with the driveway off of Route 125: http://www.middlebury.edu/media/view/148791/original/2008campusmap.pdf.
Tigers dance their way to Vermont state hip-hop title
VERGENNES — The Middlebury Union High School dance team on Saturday for the third time in five years won the Vermont hip-hop crown, this time before more than 1,000 fans supporting 10 teams at Vergennes Union High School.
The Tiger team — with half the dancers dressed as men with goatees and eye black — edged the defending hip-hop titlist Burr & Burton squad, 263.5-261.
MUHS had previously claimed the hip-hop title in 2008 and 2010.
In the Tigers’ second category — each team competed in two of the three categories, hip-hop, jazz and pom — they finished tied for fourth in jazz, scoring 219.5 points out of a possible 300. Overall, MUHS finished fifth in the combined standings with 483 points.
South Burlington won both pom (272.5) and jazz (269.5) to earn 542 points and a 20-point win over runner-up Burr & Burton, which also finished second to the Rebels in pom (261).
Colchester, third in both pom and jazz, took third overall with 254.5 points, and Mount Mansfield (500) was fourth.
Check out the photos from the competition:
Independent photos/Trent Campbell
Sugarmakers tap in early
ADDISON COUNTY — In his 34 years of maple sugaring, Starksboro’s Dave Folino has encountered few winters like this one. With some local spotters noting temperatures soaring eight degrees above average last month and more than six degrees above average in December, the sap has been flowing steadily.
“It’s not really a winter,” said Folino. “It’s pretty much a perpetual sugar season.”
The line of snowshoes at the Folinos’ home this year isn’t sitting atop its usual bank of snow; it looks more like a museum display than a row of tools for navigating the family’s 14,000-plus maple taps. But despite the unseasonably warm weather, Folino and many other sugarmakers have yet to start producing syrup this year.
Why not?
Folino offered three chief reasons:
• The sap’s sugar content is much lower in January and February than it is in March.
• Equipment could be damaged if heavy winter weather rolls in.
• And the integrity of the tap and tap hole is only good for a limited time.
It’s well documented that the sugar content of maple sap changes from winter to spring, according to Tim Wilmot, the University of Vermont Extension’s maple specialist. But no one seems to know what causes this phenomenon.
“We know that it increases in the spring,” he said. “But I’m not sure I’ve ever seen spelled out why the sugar content increases between January and March. I don’t think it’s really clear why it changes and what regulates that.”
Although sap’s been running, Folino, who runs Hillsboro Sugarworks, said the combination of low sugar content and the winter’s potential weather risks aren’t worth the investment of early-season sugarmaking.
WACKY WEATHER
According to the National Weather Service, Cornwall and South Lincoln experienced their second- and third-warmest Decembers, respectively. In January, towns witnessed colder weather, but temperatures were still way above average, with Salisbury and South Lincoln both experiencing their fourth-warmest Januaries on record. And the unseasonably warm weather has continued into February.
While the warm temperatures are abundantly strange to many local residents, sugarmakers like Moe Rheaume, president of Addison County Maple Sugarmakers Association, are less worried about the near-record high temps than they are about the lack of precipitation.
“My concern and a lot of others is the lack of moisture,” said Rheaume, who lives in Middlebury and runs Rheaume and Sons maple operation. “Down here it’s pretty dry. And the fact that sap is mostly water and there’s not a lot of water, it could affect the sap flow quite a bit.”
December precipitation was down more than half an inch in Salisbury and South Lincoln, and January precipitation across Cornwall, Salisbury and South Lincoln also teetered around half an inch below average. So far, February’s been even worse for precipitation. While South Lincoln and Salisbury received only 0.08 inches in the first two weeks of the month, Cornwall received even less.
“We could be inhibited by drought conditions later because sugaring is so moisture dependent,” said Folino. “And when you have snow on the ground you have locked up moisture just sitting there.”
Right now, Addison County doesn’t have much snow. January snowfall across the county was down by about a foot, and February is looking even worse.
“I think we could be facing a situation where in the middle or later in the (sugaring) season there’s not enough moisture to keep going,” said Folino. “But who knows.”
TAPPING THE TREES
By the end of the day on Tuesday, Folino said he should have two-thirds of his 14,000 maple trees tapped. Rheaume also indicated that many local sugarmakers should be producing syrup by the end of this week. That’s about a week earlier than usual.
“It’s kind of a gamble,” said Folino about the sugar season. “It’s just hard to figure out the timing.”
What the sugarmakers are looking for is a fabled freeze-thaw cycle that allows the sap to run, but maintains the integrity of the taps, keeps undesirable bacteria at bay and prevents the trees from budding — which signals the end of the sugar season. Combine this process with enough ground moisture to push the sap through until April, and sugarmakers will rejoice in a sweet season.
“As far as what happens in the season, so much of it has to do with the weather during the season, not before the season,” said Wilmott. “I know a lot of people are wondering if (the lack of) snow will make a difference … Moisture in the ground makes a big difference. If we don’t get some good precipitation of some form between now and April it could be a less than banner year.”
While memories of last year’s record maple syrup season are sweet, Folino shares Willmot’s cautious outlook.
“It’s really hard to predict just looking at the conditions we have now where we might end up in April,” he said. “Things could switch up a lot between now and then. But if things continue, I’d say it’d have to be an early starting season and an early ending season.”
Reporter Andrew Stein is at andrews@addisonindependent.com.
Mary Hogan proposes spending hike, lower tax
MIDDLEBURY — Middlebury residents on April 11 will vote on a proposed 2012-2013 Mary Hogan Elementary School spending plan of $6,144,811, representing a 4.15-percent increase compared to the current spending plan.
But it should be noted that the budget, approved for warning by ID-4 school directors Monday evening, is projected to result in a 0.86-percent decrease in the current homestead education property tax rate of $1.74 per $100 in property value. That’s due to an anticipated increase in the school’s equalized per-pupil count and a bump in Middlebury’s common level of appraisal (CLA) — both factors outlined in Vermont’s education funding laws that influence tax rates.
The CLA is a town’s ratio of actual real estate market value compared to its assessed grand list value, as determined by the state’s analysis of property sales in the town. If a CLA increases, it has the effect of lowering a tax rate. Middlebury’s CLA is expected to increase from the current 81.96 percent of market value to 86.80 percent, according to Mary Hogan School Co-principal Tom Buzzell.
Buzzell and fellow Co-principal Bonnie Bourne noted the proposed budget allows the school to maintain current programs and staffing levels.
“This budget is pretty unremarkable,” Bourne said. “There are no significant initiatives here.”
It is a spending plan that reflects a reduction in five instructional assistants and a 60-percent full-time-equivalent special educator, Bourne noted. Those reductions reflect the impending graduation of several special needs students to the middle school level, officials said. Bourne stressed those staffers would be following the students to the middle school to ensure continuity of services.
Factors contributing to the proposed 4.15-percent increase in spending, according to Bourne and Buzzell, include:
• Anticipated rises in fuel and utility costs. The Addison Central Supervisory Union office has recommended budgeting increases of around $6,000 for electricity, $1,200 for propane and more than $21,000 for fuel oil for next year.
• A boost of $20,000 for computers and other technology-related equipment in the school’s media center. Bourne explained that the school was able to dramatically scale back its media center expenses last year due to a “school improvement grant” from the state. But that money will not be available next year, so the school will have to pick up the slack, according to Bourne.
• An increase in ID-4’s share of the ACSU’s school bus contract. Mary Hogan’s share of the contract this year is $90,753, a number that the ACSU business office says should be at $106,648 next year, according to Bourne.
• The early retirement program. The program, which offers financial incentives for teachers considering retirement, is projected to increase from $88,829 this year to $122,641 next year. More teachers are taking advantage of the program, which increases upfront costs for the district but reduces long-term personnel costs. That’s because the retiring teachers can be replaced with less senior educators at a lower wage.
Mary Hogan teacher salaries collectively are pegged to rise by around $43,000, per terms of an already negotiated labor contract.
There are currently 393 students enrolled at Mary Hogan Elementary. Officials anticipate the school will serve around 400 students during the next few years.
Buzzell and Bourne acknowledged that Mary Hogan students are fortunate to benefit from programming outside of the regular ID-4 budget. The school’s McGilton Fund — which has now accrued to around $700,000 — was established decades ago to help fund “enrichment opportunities” for kids. Interest from the fund has bankrolled student trips to Boston to walk the Freedom Trail, tuition to an annual Camp Keewaydin environmental program, basic swimming instruction, ice skating and wall climbing.
The ID-4 school district annual meeting will be held on April 11 at 7:30 p.m. in the Mary Hogan school gym. It will feature, along with a vote on proposed spending, another significant warning item. Residents will be asked if the district would no longer be required to mail a copy of the district’s annual report, but rather residents would be invited to request that a report be mailed to them at no charge. This would potentially save the district money for mailing, as voters could instead choose to review the annual report on-line.
Reporter John Flowers is at johnf@addisonindependent.com.
ANeSU narrows top executive search to three
BRISTOL — The Addison Northeast Supervisory Union (ANeSU) board and superintendent search committee are closing in on a new superintendent.
On Monday, the three finalists for the position — David Adams, Catrina DiNapoli and Douglas Harris — toured the supervisory union schools and met with more than 120 local residents at a public forum that night. On Tuesday, they then interviewed with the ANeSU board in executive session. Ray Proulx, an outside consultant who is overseeing the superintendent selection process, said the board would decide on a new superintendent within a month.
The finalists are vying for a vacancy that will be left this summer when ANeSU Superintendent Evelyn Howard steps down after 12 years on the job.
At the Monday night forum at Mount Abraham Union High School, the finalists briefly explained their reasons for applying for the superintendent position and laid out their moral and educational tenets. Local townspeople were given a form to analyze the finalists and were asked to judge the candidates based on four criteria: the candidate’s personal and professional reasons for applying, their “vision for the future of education,” their ability to build infrastructural capacity and their ability to act as an “ambassador for ANeSU schools.” Proulx will then compile these ratings and submit them to the ANeSU board.
In Mount Abe’s large cafeteria at Monday’s forum, Harris succinctly outlined the superintendent position.
“The superintendency is a highly demanding position,” he said. “It’s a position with long hours, a lot of work, a lot of people to deal with, a lot of groups to deal with who have different dynamics and agendas. And all that falls into the lap of the superintendent. On the other hand, I believe the superintendent makes a difference for kids. I believe it matters who sits in central office.”
Harris is a seasoned educator, who held the superintendent position at Franklin Northwest Supervisory Union and then acted as the executive director of the Vermont Institute for Science, Math and Technology. The well-published author of several publications on education design has recently filled his time as an education consultant. As a consultant, he’s helped school districts solve structural problems, but he indicated that it leaves him partially unfulfilled because he doesn’t get to stay with the institution through to the end. This is one reason he’d like to return to a superintendent post.
“I’ve been working with some really good people in different places, and I’ve learned a lot and I’ve enjoyed the work,” he said. “But at the end of the day I always walk out and don’t get to see things through to fruition.”
Harris said he wants to help ANeSU reframe the core curriculum — math, science, English, etc. — in a digital and global setting. He spoke about preemptive problem solving and setting up policies for continued learning. He also answered audience questions comprehensively.
David Adams also brings a wealth of administration experience to his candidacy, as the current superintendent of Windsor Southwest Supervisory Union in Chester and former assistant superintendent at Southwest Vermont Supervisory Union in Bennington. The main reason that he said he’s applying for the ANeSU superintendent position is that he sees great potential in the basic ANeSU structure that already exists.
“I have always been a true supporter of the Vermont union school district organizational structure,” he said.
Currently, he’s the superintendent of a K-8 system, which he believes pales in comparison to ANeSU’s K-12 system. He laid out different school district structures for the audience, and he thinks ANeSU positively affects students and helps bring adjacent communities together. In summary, he’d like to build on a fundamental structure that he thinks already works.
Adams touted the benefits of learning with teachers in the room — not from a distance via technology. He supports a hands-on approach to learning, and he and Harris both spoke about needing to create an education system that turns students into lifelong learners.
“We shouldn’t be training kids to be good students,” said Adams. “Being a good student really isn’t the (desired) outcome. It’s really being a good citizen and making a positive contribution to society overall.”
The third candidate, Catrina DiNapoli, is in the middle of her third year as principal at Bristol Elementary School. With the least overall experience of the three candidates, she is the only candidate who has worked for ANeSU — although Harris has consulted to ANeSU — and is the only Addison County resident who is a finalist.
Although her speech may have been the most succinct and uplifting of the three candidates — beaming with personality, big ideas and a reading of one of her favorite motivational poems — she didn’t include as much detail as the others when it came to how she’d execute her job as structural overseer of the supervisory union. Her stated reason for applying is to help further build a community that she already has a huge professional and personal investment in.
“I’m a Monkton resident. I have two kiddos in our system. I have a ninth-grader here at Mount Abe and I have a fifth-grader over at Monkton. So my connections are both professional and personal and run deep,” said DiNapoli. “I’m not out looking for a superintendency anywhere. I want to be here. I have no intention of leaving this community one way or another. So it’s really just to see what I have to offer and help expand some of the programming across our system.”
She said she’s pleased with the overall direction of ANeSU schools and would like to see less standardization. She spoke about offering students more freedom in the classroom and looked to Mount Abe’s individualized learning program Pathways as an example. She’d like to shift the education system to reward teachers based on their outcomes and she’d like to create a more flexible system that allows students to explore learning more deeply.
“We need to outwit the things that feel confining, like lack of time, lack of resources, declining budgets, various readiness levels of the kiddos, those nagging interruptions like fire drills and principals asking for things and put the kids in the driver’s seat more often than we do,” she said.
Of all the candidates that presented in the big cafeteria — candidates also spoke in two other rooms — DiNapoli was the only one to touch upon extended education. She raised some eyebrows when she indicated that students shouldn’t be able to graduate unless they’re 18.
Kim Farnham, a member of the Mount Abe and Hannaford Career Center boards, asked DiNapoli to clarify.
“Are you talking about a 13- or 14-year program? Are you referring to that when you say they should stay until they’re 18? Some kids are 17 when they’re graduating. Are you inferring maybe we need another year?”
“I’m thinking we may — absolutely,” said DiNapoli, “That would be great.”
And after talking about “opening the walls a bit more and being flexible,” she was asked about an open campus.
“I think a lot of details would have to be worked out,” she said. “I think I’d have to know more.”
But she said she’s open to new possibilities.
Reporter Andrew Stein is at andrews@addisonindependent.com.
Cornwall teen's volunteerism lauded
CORNWALL — Emery Tillman takes community service seriously — and not only in her backyard of Addison County. At the tender age of 17, Tillman has donated her time to environmental and humanitarian causes stretching from her hometown of Cornwall to Uganda, Africa.
Her efforts recently earned statewide recognition and will soon get national exposure, thanks to an award from Prudential Financial and the National Association of Secondary School Principals (NASSP).
ACSU reboots search for new superintendent
MIDDLEBURY — The Addison Central Supervisory union board will re-advertise the school district’s superintendent vacancy in wake of an initial search that concluded on Thursday without producing an acceptable candidate.
Gail Conley, the ACSU’s interim superintendent, said the position will now be re-advertised in conjunction with the soon-to-be-vacant associate superintendent position. Associate Superintendent Jan Willey has tendered her resignation effective at the end of the school year.
Approach to lost hikers different in other states
MIDDLEBURY — Vermont State Police have primary responsibility for finding lost hikers and other missing people in all areas of the state that are not covered by municipal police departments.
City council candidates to share their views
VERGENNES — Vergennes American Legion Post 14 will host a Thursday evening forum for the half-dozen candidates seeking three seats on the city council in what is the most crowded race since 2007.
The forum, to be moderated by local insurance agent Michael Donnelly, will begin at 7:30 p.m.
Challengers William Benton, Renny Perry and Nelson Sears are seeking slots on the council now held by multi-term incumbent Aldermen David Austin, Lowell Bertrand and Clara “Ziggy” Comeau.
Moms & babies: get moving
MIDDLEBURY — There’s growing scientific evidence to suggest exercise is beneficial for both babies and new mothers. Studies show that a little bit of exercise can set infants on a healthy track for life, and it can help moms shed weight from pregnancy and prevent postpartum depression.
What’s more is that most recommended fitness routines for infants and new mothers are relatively easy.
While Vt. birthrate drops, Porter numbers remain consistent
MIDDLEBURY — While Vermont’s population continues to get grayer, Porter Hospital’s Birthing Center is attracting a consistent, healthy flow of expectant parents — a clientele that is also coming from outside Addison County.
Statistics covering the past five years show annual births at the Middlebury hospital hovering around the 300 mark. Specifically, number of babies born at the Birthing Center were as follows:
• 288 in 2007.
• 340 in 2008.
• 299 in 2009.
Panthers roll over Ephs
MIDDLEBURY — When the Williams College men’s basketball team visited Middlebury on Jan. 28 and came within a point of upsetting the Panthers, the Ephs shot 53 percent and scored 79 points.
But in Saturday’s NESCAC quarterfinal against those same Ephs, the No. 7 seed, the No. 2 Panthers were ready: They held Williams to 34.3 percent shooting — four of 29 from three-point range — to win, 73-61.
Junior guard Nolan Thompson said the 23-2 Panthers spent the week studying film of the first match-up. In that game, Williams repeatedly ran high screens to create easy layups, many for Eph center Michael Mayer, while forward Taylor Epley lit them up from outside the arc.
This time the Panthers were better-positioned, said Thompson, who helped hold Eph All-American James Wang to five points while chipping in nine points and three assists of his own.
“We had a week to prepare for this game, so a lot more this time than last time we went over ball screens and being in help-side (position),” he said. “This time we knew where we were supposed to be.”
Senior forward Ryan Sharry (22 points, seven rebounds and four blocks) also took it on himself to guard Epley more carefully.
“Last time Epley really killed us. I really focused on that the whole week with the scouting report,” Sharry said. “For the team ... we just wanted to play them tough.”
After the game, Coach Jeff Brown noted that although the Panthers scored just seven points in the first nine minutes, they trailed by just three, 10-7.
“We really felt that we could defend them much more effectively than we did the first time,” Brown said. “Today we did a much better job defensively, and it really helped us in the first half when we were struggling to get our footing on the offensive end.”
That was the point of the game when Sharry first asserted himself, sparking a 12-0 Middlebury run over the next six minutes with seven straight points, two jumpers and a three-pointer. The Panthers never trailed again.
The Panthers finished the run on a trey by point guard Jake Wolfin (16 points, six rebounds, three assists) set up by Thompson, and two Thompson free throws at 5:13.
Guard Nate Robertson, who led the 17-8 Ephs with 19, broke an eight-minute Williams scoreless streak with a three-point play at 4:59. The Panthers twice led by 11 in the half, once on a Wolfin trey and once on two free throws by forward Peter Lynch (six points, six boards) with three seconds to go in the half. But Epley beat the halftime buzzer with a long trey and it was 32-24 at the break.
Williams finally was able to attack the basket to open the second half and cut the lead to 35-32 in the first four minutes.
But Sharry outscored the Ephs, 10-5, in the next 3:30 to make it 47-39. The points included a free throw, a baseline drive for a three-point play, a move in the post, two more free throws, and a putback.
“He’s our guy,” Thompson said. “Good things happen when we give him the ball.”
The Ephs made one more run: Mayer (14 points, seven rebounds) scored four points inside, and it was 47-43 at 11:00. But forward James Jensen (four points and four boards in a solid effort off the bench) converted an offensive board. Shortly afterward, Sharry blocked a shot and fed Wolfin for a fast-break hoop that made it 51-43 at 7:38 as the Middlebury students chanted Sharry’s name and the sold-out gym got even louder.
Williams got to within six points three times, the last time at 6:15 on an Epley drive. But Joey Kizel (14 points, five rebounds, three assists) sank two free throws at 6:01, the first of the Panthers’ 18-for-20 performance from the line down the stretch.
Another key contributor for the Panthers was reserve center Jack Roberts, who helped anchor the interior defense and blocked five shots.
“Jack Roberts gave us a great boost off the bench,” Brown said.
In all, Middlebury blocked 12 shots as the Panthers protected the basket well. The Panthers have not defended at the same level this year as the past couple, when they led the nation in field-goal percentage against and blocked shots, but Thompson said Saturday was a step in the right direction with the NESCAC final four looming this weekend at Amherst and the NCAA Division III tournament to follow.
“Defense wins games. That’s been our motto the whole time,” Thompson said. “We want to be starting the playoffs playing our best games offensively and defensively. So having a great show defensively tonight was really good for us.”
Sharry also pointed to the ballhandling and free-throw shooting at the end of the game as critical elements for tournament success, starting with Saturday’s NESCAC semifinal vs. Wesleyan and Sunday’s hoped-for rematch with No. 1 seed Amherst.
“We know we have a great team. And we have a couple losses, but we can only benefit from that. We’ve seen what it takes to win,” he said. “The execution today was much better than it was in those couple losses, so we’re ready.”
Andy Kirkaldy may be reached at andyk@addisonindependent.com.
Guest Editorial: The bigger picture
When Central Vermont Public Service was granted an emergency rate increase in 2001, the deal struck was that the utility would repay the difference to ratepayers when, and if, the utility was sold. The amount was an estimated $21 million.
CVPS is I the process of being acquired by Gaz Metro, the Quebec Company that owns Green Mountain Power and Vermont Gas. It took a nanosecond before the question of the $21 million took center stage.
Slideshow: Valentine's Day A cappella
Every Valentine's Day since 1999, the walls of Mount Abraham Union Middle and High School have resonated with love songs. In her then-second year teaching at Mount Abe, chorus teacher Megan LaRose urged the school's a cappella group to spice up the day of love with "singing valentines," as she calls them. Since then, the act of endearment, or embarrassment, has become a school tradition. Check out the sound slideshow, and look for the complete story in Thursday's edition.
Happy Valentine's Day!
Love strikes a chord at Mount Abe
BRISTOL — Every Valentine’s Day since 1999, the halls of Mount Abraham Union Middle and High School have resonated with love songs. The Mount Abe a cappella singing group has turned the day of love into a playful tradition of surprising, embarrassing and tickling their fellow students with tunes from the heart.
Leading up to Feb. 14 each year, Mount Abe students can pay a small fee to have the a cappella group belt out love songs to whoever the students like — whether it’s a significant other, a teacher, a friend, a sibling or a grandma. That fee funds the group’s annual tour, and from 8:20 a.m. until late on the Valentine’s Day evening, the a cappella singers turn hundreds of faces bright red. Clad in crimson hues, they sprint from room to room singing to designated valentines and making calls to beloved family members whom they can’t serenade in the middle of math class.
“It really has become a tradition,” said junior a cappella singer Taylor Allred, as he prepared to deliver a serenade this past Tuesday morning. “Everybody knows it’s Valentine’s Day. The a cappella group is going to go around singing to people and that’s just something that people look forward to, and everyone wants to be involved in. We all really enjoy it.”
Click here for the audio slideshow
The roots of this fabled Mount Abe ritual can be traced backed to Montana, where chorus teacher Megan LaRose grew up. When LaRose was in high school, she and her chorus group issued what she calls “singing valentines” to people around town.
“Half of the songs (the Mount Abe students sing today) are from the original set that I sang as a kid in Montana,” said LaRose.
In her second year at Mount Abe, in 1999, she decided to rekindle the melody, but she gave the singing valentines a little twist. She just couldn’t refrain from bringing the chorus into the classroom.
“I decided I really like what happens in the school when the kids go around and sing to the classes,” said LaRose “I think it’s school spirit, it’s excitement, it’s energy and it’s also a chance for the kids to interact with people they usually wouldn’t interact with. And it’s nice to put kids on the spot because kids receive valentines and they’re not sure what they’re supposed to do with themselves. So it’s kind of a fun way to let personality show.”
The a cappella students also look forward to the big day.
“We love it,” said sophomore Quinn Davis. “Right before Christmas break ends we get so excited to come back and learn these songs.”
In the name of love, they also look forward to a day of disrupting the schools’ regular routine.
“No one gets anything done today,” said senior Sarah Stratton with a big smile on her face, right before the first period bell rang.
But Valentine’s Day means more to LaRose and her students than just flowers and a cappella.
“Particularly in the school setting, Valentine’s Day is a day to just show this is a good place to be. This is a caring place to be,” said LaRose. “There’s a lot of positive people in this school and a lot of positive things that happen.”
To Stratton, Valentine’s Day isn’t just about kisses and candy, it’s about being thankful for the friends and family dear to her heart.
“I think it’s less about the relationships — the boyfriends and girlfriends — than it is about being appreciative of the people you have in your life,” she said.
Reporter Andrew Stein is at andrews@addisonindependent.com.
City chief questions Northlands' version of story
VERGENNES — Vergennes Police Chief George Merkel disagreed on Wednesday with a statement released through the U.S. Department of Labor that Northlands Job Corps officials notified his department in a timely manner of a Feb. 7 assault that sent a Northlands student to Porter Hospital.
Meanwhile, Northlands officials this week declined to comment directly on the on-campus assault that left a 17-year-old Northlands student with a broken neck and nose.
Vergennes police on Feb. 8 cited Northlands students Frederick Teal, 22, of Brooklyn, N.Y., and Eleanor Wilcox, 17, of Providence, R.I., for aggravated assault after an investigation that began 23 hours after the incident.
The Department of Labor, or DOL, oversees the national Job Corps program and contracts with private firms to operate the roughly 120 U.S. Job Corps vocational training centers for disadvantaged youth. Aluutiiq LLC, an Alaska company, has operated Northlands since June after winning the contract to run the city center for the second time.
DOL Regional Director for Public Affairs Ted Fitzgerald on Tuesday emailed a statement to the Independent that read, in part, “According to the Center, when the student came forward with the assault details the police were notified.”
Merkel, however, said this Wednesday that his department’s investigation showed the student gave conflicting statements on the evening of Feb. 7 to Northlands personnel.
Merkel said Northlands personnel told his officers that the student first maintained that his injuries — two cervical fractures, according to the victim’s mother, as well as the broken nose — were the result of a fall, and then later on the evening of Feb. 7 mentioned to Northlands personnel the possibility of an assault.
Merkel said as soon as the student’s story changed his department should have been called per a longstanding agreement between city and Northlands officials regarding serious incidents on the campus.
“They acknowledged the student gave them a different story from the initial story that night, and when they received a different story they should have called us,” he said.
Merkel also said the student felt well enough to walk around after the on-campus assault, which he acknowledged could have caused confusion among Northlands staff.
But Merkel also said that when it became clear that the victim needed medical attention that the Vergennes Area Rescue Squad was not called, and one of his officers confirmed a Northlands staff member drove the student to Porter Hospital.
Fitzgerald’s statement also indicated the two students have been expelled from Northlands, and that DOL officials are looking into the incident:
“Job Corp Center operators are responsible for managing student behavior in accordance with Job Corps policy, which includes a Zero Tolerance policy for drugs and violence. Each center is required to work with local law enforcement agencies regarding the management and jurisdiction of illegal activities. Federal staff conduct regular monitoring of Job Corps centers to ensure compliance with policy and, if applicable, require that corrective actions be taken. Job Corps is currently reviewing this situation with the center’s management.”
Northlands officials have remained silent. Northlands Center Director Dennis Lamberd and center business and community liaison Ian McGaughey were attending a conference in Washington, D.C., last week and did not respond last week to an email to McGaughey or messages left on his cell phone.
On Monday, McGaughey wrote in response to an Independent email seeking Northlands’ side of the story on the events of last week that “Mr. Lamberd is unable to comment at this time due to confidentiality issues and Department of Labor regulations.”
Fitzgerald did not immediately respond to the question of whether DOL regulations would prohibit Northlands officials from addressing last week’s incident.
AGREEMENT VIOLATED?
Merkel went on record last week as saying during his two-year-plus tenure that there have previously been serious incidents that have not been immediately reported to his department.
The city of Vergennes has a signed memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Northlands officials that police will be called after serious crimes. Merkel said he is not concerned with incidents like “shoving matches,” and in 2007, when such an MOU was first signed, it allowed Northlands security to handle cases that include those in which small amounts of marijuana are found.
Merkel said he has led three classes given to all levels of Northlands staff explaining the MOU and the importance of prompt reporting to police, something that he said makes cases much easier to handle and enhances public safety.
Merkel has yet to address Northlands officials directly about last week’s breach of protocol, nor has he looked into exactly why his department wasn’t notified.
“We concluded our investigation up there as far as the criminal aspect,” he said. “As far as the procedural aspect ... we haven’t done that yet because we have been busy with other incidents.”
Merkel hopes to press his point by meeting at some point with Northlands leadership in the company of city officials and a representative of the Addison County state’s attorney’s office.
“We need to have that conversation,” he said.
Vergennes Mayor Michael Daniels said he would like to attend that meeting, and would recommend that City Manager Mel Hawley also sit in. Daniels said Hawley has also contacted the DOL about an issue that he agreed has been a major topic of conversation in the Vergennes area both on the street and in online social media.
“We’re all sharing concerns about how the situation was addressed, and we are working with both the DOL and Northlands to try to rectify that situation so that it doesn’t happen again,” he said. “Mel has been in touch with the DOL because of our concern. We have had an MOU with Northlands, and they haven’t done well with it.”
LONG-RANGE ISSUES
The issue has come up as the DOL’s lease with the state of Vermont for the Northlands campus nears its final year — it is set to expire in mid-2013.
The DOL has been leasing the former Weeks School for troubled teens from the state since 1979, when Northlands was founded.
And when Northlands opened in the city, state and federal officials promised in writing to pay Vergennes to host the center an annual mount of money equal to about 10 percent of the city’s budget, exclusive of fee-based sewer spending. That figure was based on the ratio of students at Northlands — up to nearly 280 — to the city’s population — then around 2,800, now around 2,600 per the 2010 Census.
But in 2000 the DOL ruled those payments were illegal taxes on the federal government. Vermont’s Congressional delegation wrangled $585,000 to cover five more years, but no more money has come since then despite the 1979 promise.
Daniels said the city wants to be heard if Northlands is to remain in Vergennes.
“We want to sit down prior to that (lease expiration) and get things straightened out ... before the 11th hour,” he said.
The city will express two main concerns, Daniels said — finances and public safety.
“We want to look at the options because we know the lease is coming due,” he said. “We want to be at the table for a couple reasons.”
But Daniels is not of the mind that the city should simply lobby to have Northlands leave. He said the center’s 120 jobs matter, Northlands students do a lot of volunteer work in the community, and the center improves the lots in life of many students from around the Northeast and the state — typically between 25 to 30 percent of Northlands students are Vermonters.
“If they leave the city it will affect some of our citizens that are employed there. I cannot speak for the council. I can only speak for myself. They do a lot of good throughout the city,” Daniels said. “We’ve got to figure out how to work together to improve on some situations.”
Andy Kirkaldy may be reached at andyk@addisonindependent.com.
Mental health system faces major overhaul
BRISTOL — The restructuring of the state’s mental health system post-Irene was the hot topic at Monday’s legislative breakfast in Bristol, a timely discussion that gave lawmakers some food for thought as they weigh options on how to replace the Vermont State Hospital.
Tropical Storm Irene flooded the 54-bed state hospital in Waterbury last August, leaving state officials with the challenge of maintaining services for some of Vermont’s most vulnerable mentally ill patients. At the same time, the flooding presented the Shumlin Administration and human services providers with the opportunity to replace the Waterbury facility — which state officials acknowledge has been deficient on many levels.
“There is a broad consensus that the old way we (administered mental health services) was not working,” said Rep. Willem Jewett, D-Ripton, and House majority leader, at Monday’s breakfast. “The care wasn’t something we could be proud of, in a number of respects, nor were the bricks and mortar. The people who delivered that care did it earnestly and with the best intentions and they were trying. But the system they were working with just wasn’t up to the task.”
Gov. Peter Shumlin has proposed replacing the state hospital with a 16-bed facility in Berlin, along with six acute-care beds at the Rutland Regional Medical Center and 14 at the Brattleboro Retreat, along with five additional beds for the Corrections Department at a site not yet determined.
The broad intent, Shumlin has said, is to provide a more de-centralized, community-based mental health care system in Vermont.
Jewett agreed with the administration’s philosophy.
“We in Montpelier have to absorb the crisis and say … ‘What is going to work in the long run?’” Jewett said. “We need to make sure people are safe during this crisis period, but it is going to take some time to build our capacity back up.”
Jewett said it will take time to build a new facility, so community-based solutions will be imperative during the months ahead.
The Vermont House recently approved Shumlin’s plan, with one significant change — the Berlin facility would have 25 beds, not 16. That vote is not sitting well with some lawmakers, including Rep. David Sharpe, a Bristol Democrat and a longtime member of the House Ways and Means Committee.
“The federal government will pay for a 16-bed hospital; they will not pay for a 25-bed hospital,” Sharpe said. “It seems to be a no-brainer that we build a 16-bed facility that has the infrastructure in it … so that if we need 10 more beds in five or 10 years, we add 10 beds at that time. But to forego federal support for a mental health facility at this point in time is foolishness.”
Sen. Claire Ayer, D-Addison, is chairwoman of the Senate Health and Welfare Committee. She said she is more supportive of the original proposal for a 16-bed facility on Berlin because it is “not irreversible,” but warns that it will cost millions of dollars each year to manage the beds once they are in place. She explained the state hospital patients are currently being served in certified hospitals and are therefore eligible for federal Medicaid reimbursement. That will no longer be the case when they move into the new state facility with more than 16 beds, she said.
Ayer on Wednesday noted an offer by the Central Vermont Medical Center and Burlington’s Fletcher Allen Health Care to jointly operate a new mental health facility on CVMC grounds in Berlin. But Ayer said the plan calls for the state to help bankroll a new mental health facility over which it would not have oversight of patients. That, among other things, has prompted the Shumlin Administration to pan the proposal.
Robert Thorn is executive director of the Counseling Service of Addison County (CSAC). He — as well as the Vermont Council of Developmental and Mental Health Services (VCDMHS) — favors the notion of a 16-bed hospital for patients with acute mental health needs, while increasing support for community-based services.
According to Thorn, Vermont Mental Health Commissioner Patrick Flood hopes to secure around $8 million through this year’s budget adjustment act and the fiscal year 2013 general fund budget to help regional mental health agencies adapt to Shumlin’s proposal for a more decentralized mental health system. That number is somewhat smaller than the VCDMHS believes will be necessary to do the job, but Thorn is optimistic a plan can be worked out. He said CSAC estimates it will need at least $500,000 in additional state funding each year to adapt to the Shumlin plan, money that would be used for such purposes as hiring more staff to oversee local crisis beds and bringing on more case managers to keep track of an increased client load.
“The commissioner has been providing very strong leadership on this,” Thorn said.
Ayer said the Senate could vote on the mental health bill as soon as this week.
Reporter John Flowers is at johnf@addisonindependent.com.
Schools' results mixed on testing
ADDISON COUNTY — Last week’s release of the fall 2011 New England Common Assessment Program (NECAP) scores had state and local educators eyeing a decidedly mixed batch of results.
Locally, Vergennes Union High School was the only high school to post significant increases in proficiency in all four subjects tested over 2010 results. Others achieved proficiency levels that, for the most part, declined or stayed the same.
Statewide, results also remained fairly stable compared to 2010.
Tom O’Brien, superintendent of Addison Northwest Supervisory Union — which includes VUHS — said the numbers for his schools do tell him something about the levels of instruction, but he cautioned against reading too much into the scores.
“We always look for progress and growth ... but we wouldn’t only look at one test to draw conclusions,” he said. “These tests tend to be barometers, but I don’t think they’re the be all and end all of this discussion.”
Janice Willey, associate superintendent of Addison Central Supervisory Union, said Middlebury Union High School’s proficiency numbers — most of which are above the statewide average — are useful measurements of progress. One especially useful breakdown of the results is by socio-economic demographic.
“Vermont is a pretty homogenous state, but our real diversity is our poverty,” she said.
Students who receive support in paying for lunch consistently score lower on the NECAP tests, but Willey said knowing that enables schools to give those students extra attention in the classroom. And it’s yielding results, she said, as NECAP scores of students from low-income households have been drawing closer to those of the overall student population in a number of subjects and grade levels.
Increases in year-to-year scores aside, however, Vermont Education Commissioner Armando Vilaseca last week singled out high school math and science instruction as needing attention. In a press release he noted that proficiency levels are at 30 percent in science and 36 percent in math among Vermont’s 11th graders.
One concern is that not all students are receiving geometry and algebra instruction before they reach the 11th grade NECAP tests, which require knowledge of those subjects, according to Gail Taylor, director of the research, standards and assessment division at the Vermont Department of Education.
The state is conducting a survey of schools to find out whether high school students are reaching grade-level requirements before they reach the NECAP tests in order to evaluate whether schools are adequately teaching to these subjects.
STATE STANDARDS
Still, some questioned the validity of those state standards used to determine proficiency levels. Bill Mathis, managing director of the National Education Policy Center and Goshen resident, said the educational standards that the state uses to evaluate the NECAP tests don’t accurately reflect student learning.
Mathis cited results from the National Assessment of Educational Process (NAEP), which each year assesses randomly selected students in fourth through eighth grade in schools throughout the country. According to Department of Education statistics, Vermont students routinely score well above the national average in reading and math, the core subjects tested on the NAEP, performing within the top four or five states in the country most years.
Despite that, NECAP proficiency levels hover in the 30-40 percent range for math and science, and stand at 48 percent for writing and 73 percent for reading.
“When you do your comparisons over the years using a proficiency point that is set very high, there’s not very much improvement,” said Mathis, who was a Vermont superintendent for three decades.
For example, he said, take any given group of people and the majority would probably not be able to jump high enough to get over a four-foot hurdle. From year to year, results would be similar no matter how rigorously members of that group trained. Take a slightly lower hurdle, however, and Mathis said one would get a better picture of improvement over time.
“When NECAP says there’s no improvement, they’re looking at this very high point,” he said.
Taylor agreed that Vermont sets a high achievement bar when one looks at the NAEP testing, but she said it’s a choice that the state has made.
“It’s a balance between rigorous and achievable,” she said. “Some states have set standards that are very low. (The NAEP tests) give us some credibility that ours are rigorous.”
Still, the Department of Education, in collaboration with 30 other states, is preparing to transition its individual state standards to the “Common Core” standards, which Taylor said are even more rigorous. The full rollout in the 2014-2015 school year will replace NECAP math and reading tests with tests known as SMARTER Balanced Assessments, computer-based testing that will provide teachers with instant scores. The standards will also incorporate interim assessments that teachers can use to gauge student performance throughout the year.
Mathis said there are two very different discourses regarding education in the state. While there is a movement in the Legislature to increase hands-on and individualized learning options in secondary schools, and schools are still governed by independent, local school boards, the Department of Education is moving toward a more strictly defined curriculum along with the new testing standards.
“On the one hand you have the state saying we need to standardize curriculum,” he said. “On the other hand, the Legislature is saying we need to diversify.”
THE REAL GOALS
Mathis said too heavy a focus on testing puts educators in danger of losing sight of the real goals.
“As defined by the Vermont Constitution, the purpose of education is to encourage virtue and prevent vice,” said Mathis. “When we get focused on testing by itself, the curriculum gets very narrow.”
Taylor said the two separate movements don’t necessarily contradict each other — in fact, she said, the Common Core curriculum is more focused on applying knowledge and laying the foundation of skills that students will need, whether they are headed for college or career upon graduation.
“Our goal is to ensure that students have the best possible preparation for whatever they meet next,” said Taylor. “Standards are very important in supporting relevant education.”
Ultimately, however, all agreed that tests are only one measure of education, and don’t provide a comprehensive measure of the school or its students. For that, educators must take into account many other factors, many of which are difficult to sum up with one number.
“(NECAP) tells us how well our kids are performing on that particular test at that particular time,” said ANwSU’s O’Brien.
Reporter Andrea Suozzo is at andrea@addisonindependent.com.
Another ACSU executive leaves
MIDDLEBURY — The Addison Central Supervisory Union (ACSU) is in the market for yet another senior administrator. Associate Superintendent Jan Willey has tendered her resignation in a move she said was fueled by what she described as ongoing “turmoil” in the ACSU central office.
Willey’s departure, effective at the end of this academic year, is one of several administrative positions within the district that will be, or already have been, vacated during the past year under some strained circumstances.
