Meeting Topic:  Parentally-Placed Students in Non-public Schools (including Home Study) and Proportionate Share Requirements

Audience:  Parents who have children enrolled in a non-public school (St. Francis Xavier) and/or in a home study program

When:  Thursday, October 9th, 2025 at 9:00 am

How to Join:

Please contact Katherine Blair at kblair@wsdvt.org or 802-829-5120 with your name and email address for the Google Meet link for this meeting.  You can also attend this meeting in person at:  60 Normand Street, ���ϳԹ���, VT  05404 in the support services conference room.  

Summary:

The IDEA requires local education agencies (LEAs) to provide special education services to eligible students who are enrolled by their parents in non-profit non-public schools for the purpose of delivering an elementary and/or secondary education.  Each LEA must use a proportionate share of their IDEA funds to provide special education services to non-profit non-public schools and home-schooled students with disabilities.  For the purposes of proportionate share requirement, Vermont defines non-public schools as:  independent (secular, and non-secular) schools, as well as home study programs.  

The meeting will be facilitated by the Office of Support Services. Katherine Blair will meet at 9 am via Google Meet and in person on 10/09/25 to review this process and answer any questions you may have.  

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The ���ϳԹ��� is seeking Instructional Assistants to work with students with disabilities to provide academic support as well as behavior/emotional support. There are multiple positions to fill across the District (preschool to high school). Responsibilities include providing support to students regarding emotional regulation, academics, and social skills. Other responsibilities include assisting with data collection and progress monitoring, as well as supporting students when they participate within the mainstream classroom.

The ���ϳԹ��� is a PreK through 12 system that is housed in one educational center. ���ϳԹ��� is one of the most diverse school districts in the state of Vermont. ���ϳԹ���’s teachers and staff are highly involved in professional development programs that help increase student achievement, address the needs of a diverse student population and allow students to thrive in an engaging environment with high expectations.

Position Type: Full-time

Positions Available: Multiple

If interested, please contact:  Katherine Blair at (802) 383-6085 or kblair@wsdvt.org

• When: Thursday, May 25th at 5:30 PM
• Where: Middle School East Commons
• Who: All current 5th-grade students and families

• Where: High School Classrooms
• When: June 9, 12, 13 (make-up day on June 14)
• Who: All high school students

Middle School Camp Abnaki Trip

• When: Friday, June 9, all-day
• Where:
• Who: All middle school students

JFK All-School Celebration

• When: POSTPONED TO Wednesday, June 14th, all-day
• Where: WSD, Landry Park, and Myers Memorial Pool
• Who: All JFK students
• Family volunteers are needed, see the linked to sign up

8th Grade Moving Up Ceremony

• When: Wednesday, June 14th at 6:00 PM, doors open at 5:45 PM
• Where: WSD Performing Arts Center
• Who: All current 8th-grade students and families

Middle School Dance

• When: Wednesday, June 14th, 6:45 PM – 8:15 PM
• Where: WSD Black Box Theater and Main Lobby
• Who: All current middle school students

Senior Lunch

• When: Friday, June 16th at 11:00 AM
• Where:
• Who: All seniors

Sports Awards Ceremony

• �³���:��Friday, June 16th at 6:30 PM
• Where: WSD Performing Arts Center
• Who: WHS student-athletes and families

High School Graduation

• When: Saturday, June 17th at 1:00 PM
• Where: WSD Main Gym
• Who: Graduating seniors, families, and supporters

*Updated 6/7/2023

WSD Necessity Store Summer Hours

WSD Veggie VanGo Summer Hours

 * School is in session, family and community members must wait until 10:00 am to go through the line.

On top of the Necessity Store and Veggie VanGo, there are lots of other food access resources available to families and community members in ���ϳԹ��� and the surrounding areas. These resources consist of food pantries and shelves, free prepared meals, and so much more. For more information including a full list and map of locations, follow this or scan the QR code.

The selection of Chavarria as superintendent comes after a nationwide search by the ���ϳԹ��� School Board in partnership with Hank Harris at . The search, which kicked off in January, started with a community survey and several school and community stakeholder focus groups that informed the creation of a profile of the next Superintendent for WSD. This profile drove the remainder of the process which included several rounds of applicant interviews involving the school board, school employees, students, and community stakeholders. Additional school and community involvement came through a public meet-and-greet event at the school. “I am very thankful to the community for their involvement in the process. We received very thoughtful feedback from those involved. I also cannot thank Hank Harris enough for his hard work and guidance in conducting this national search” said WSD Board Chair Allison Burlock.

Chavarria first began exploring education while he was in college through different projects and partnerships, including co-founding a study abroad program for language immersion in Nicaragua and working with refugee youth in Jordan and the West Bank on multimedia. He began his career in public education in 2015 at Espanola Valley High School in New Mexico. From there he served in multiple roles across that district and became the principal of its largest elementary school- a school with a large population of families experiencing poverty or who were first-generation migrants. Since moving to Vermont in 2020, Chavarria has worked as a school principal and district-level director, most recently with the Milton Town School District.

Chavarria earned a Bachelor of Arts in Cinematic Arts from Earlham College, followed by a Master of Arts in Education Leadership from the University of New Mexico and a Master of Education Policy and Management from Harvard Graduate School of Education, where he now coaches Master’s degree candidates.

“I am enthusiastic to begin my work in ���ϳԹ��� for many reasons, but especially because of the energy I witnessed during our community meet-and-greet portion of the selection process. I was impressed by the level of student engagement and by the type of questions I received. I particularly enjoyed when students pressed for specificity and boldness–when they didn’t settle for generic answers. I believe that this is the spirit and commitment that the community deserves, from students to legislators, and I am thrilled to begin to play a part in it. I look forward to students keeping me and our teams honest, humble, and innovative” said Chavarria when asked why he was excited to serve as WSD’s next superintendent.

Because representation matters, Chavarria introduces himself wearing some of his permanent and visible identities. Chavarria is a refugee, born inside a fenced camp during the Sandinista-Contra war in Nicaragua. He is a multilingual, multicultural learner, and “a migrant with an accent” who began learning English during his high school years. Chavarria expressed that his unique experiences and identities have and will continue to influence his leadership and decision-making styles.

Burlock continued, “I am extremely excited to begin working with Wilmer as the Superintendent of WSD. Not only does Wilmer bring a dynamic personality and shared experience with some of our most vulnerable students, he has a unique ability to absorb and analyze information of all kinds quickly. He has impressive policy and governance expertise that I believe will serve WSD students and the community well.”

Fox in Purple Shadow by Joyce Mampuya, grade 8

Artist’s Statement:  When I was four years old, my older cousin was a good artist. He would draw step by step as I copied. When I turned nine, I began to practice drawing on my own. I got better and better as I kept drawing. Now, as a middle schooler, I’ve discovered that I love drawing realistic images in great detail. I hope to one day be able to draw photorealistically.

For this drawing, I chose to draw a fox because the fox has many different shades of one color that you don’t really see or notice unless you look closely. It was challenging finding the right colors for the fur, and coloring the white part of the ear to make a realistic texture. I chose to create a winter setting because I felt like the colors of the fox would stand out against the snowy background and purple shadow. My favorite part of my artwork is the fox’s eye because it is a different texture than the fur and looks shiny.

When I see this fox, I think of a lone fox in snow and shadows. I imagine that the fox is experiencing a moment of calm in this quiet part of the forest.

Golden Eyes by Stella Irankunda, grade 7

Artist Statement: I have been drawing and doodling as long as I can remember. If I am given a piece of paper, I will always draw things from my mind. I use art as a way to have fun, and be smart. I can use art to show people my ideas, sometimes easier than I can use words. 

In creating this piece, I sketched out my plan, and then drew it on the nice paper once I was happy with my plan. Then I layered on Prismacolor pencils for the bobcat, and added watercolor for the background. I am most happy about the eyes of the bobcat. They are beautiful and expressive, and once I got them right, I knew it was going to be a good piece. I hope people look into this animal’s eyes, and see the beauty. I want people to see something worth taking care of, and to know we share our home state with them, so we have to take care of it.

The results help public health officials, educators, and community organizations to develop and evaluate health-related programs and secure future funding.

Should you decide to opt your child out of taking the survey, please complete the following form and return it to the WMHS main office by Tuesday, March 14th.

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