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Celebrations
We enjoy the opportunity to celebrate together as a school community. Each class establishes goals for cooperating with behavioral expectations and votes on a celebration when they meet their goal. We set aside time to celebrate student birthdays and
major holidays. We are inclusive in our celebrations and do not limit celebrations to those of one particular faith. Rather, we learn about how different cultures and religious traditions celebrate throughout the year. Holiday celebrations are limited in scope and aligned with our curriculum. We limit the amount of sweet treats served for celebrations in order to help our students make nutritional choices and follow our school nutrition policy. It is distracting for students to have flowers or balloons delivered during the school day. If you choose to have these items delivered, we will keep them in the main office and give them to your child at the end of the day. Several members of our school community are allergic to latex. Latex balloons are not allowed in school.
We begin the process of deciding class placement in March. Our goal is to make balanced classes, which reflect the rich diversity of the Swanton community. Typical factors considered in placement are: instructional level, gender, support needs, students who work well together and students who don’t work well together. Parents and/or guardians are asked to describe what each child enjoys about school, what motivates him or her, what concerns do they have about the next year or any other information that you think will be helpful when making class assignments. Parents will receive an input form
in March. Classroom teachers, guidance counselors, special services providers, and Unified Arts teachers all have input during the placement process, which is finalized at the end of May. Parents are notified in early June of their child’s assignment for the following school year, and students visit their new teacher each June during a brief “Step Up” activity.
Curriculum, Instruction, and Assessment
The State of Vermont’s Framework of Standards and Learning Opportunities and Grade Expectations guide our curriculum. These may be viewed here. These standards and grade expectations are interpreted at the local level through the Franklin Northwest Supervisory Union’s written curriculum.
Vermont schools are guided by an Action Plan. Action planning is the key to continuous school improvement. It ensures that the educational programs students receive provide the content, knowledge and skills to meet rigorous academic standards. Using student performance results as a guide, action planning helps educators focus on measurable goals for improvement. Swanton’s Action Plan for 2009-2010 may be viewed on our web page.
We know that high quality instruction is based on ongoing, authentic assessment of individual student progress. Our teachers work with content specialists to develop ongoing assessments. Instruction is designed to meet students where they are and bring them to new levels of
