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Curriculum

Welcome to the Office of Curriculum, Instruction and Assessment.


On these pages you will find information and links regarding curriculum, instruction, and assessment at the Barre Supervisory Union, as well as links to resources outside the SU on topics such as proficiency based learning and grading; continuous improvement planning; teacher goal-setting, evaluation & supervision; and communications.

There is so much going on with regards to education in Vermont these days that it's sometimes hard to keep track of everything. If you don't find what you're looking for on these pages, please don't hesitate to contact my office directly. Either I, or my assistant, Ashley Dunlea, will get back to you as soon as possible.

Also, please take a few minutes to check out our Facebook and Twitter pages!

Jacquelyn Ramsay Tolman, M.Ed., CAGS

Director, Curriculum Instruction and Assessment.

Request for Contracted/Related Services Proposals


The Barre Unified Union School District is seeking proposals for contracted and related services for the 2019-20 school year. See our RFP here:

Request for Contracted/Related Services Proposals

Proficiency Based Learning

Proficiency-Based Learning


As we continue to move towards a Proficiency-Based Learning model of teaching, we encourage you to explore and ask questions along the way.

The grading/scoring system under a proficiency based learning model is different than what you may be used to, so we encourage you to contact your child's teacher if you have any questions regarding their progress.

To learn more about Act 77, Flexible Pathways, and Proficiency Based Learning, we encourage you to visit the links below. You may also find some helpful and interesting information through the Great Schools Partnership.

Great Schools Partnership 

Our partnership with Great Schools has allowed us to grow in our capacity to meet the needs of all of our students. Our Professional Learning Group leaders have the opportunity for in person and virtual support throughout the year, and our high school teachers are connecting with consultants on a monthly basis. You can read more about the work of Great Schools Partnership here:

Great Schools Partnership

Flexible Pathways / Act 77

Proficiency Based Learning

Continuous Improvement Planning

To learn more about our Continuous Improvement Planning efforts, I encourage you to take a look at the summary below, as well as a recent study/report published by the VT Agency of Education.

BUUSD Continuous Improvement Plan / Summary

Education Quality and Continuous Improvement Planning

 

Teacher Goal Setting, Supervision & Evaluation

Grants, Links, and Other Useful Information

BSU Curriculum Committee/Notes & Agendas

Assessments

Assessment Portal

The Vermont Agency of Education's comprehensive assessment portal  has a variety of information about the assessments that we use for our data analysis,continuous improvement planning and ongoing reflection . These include but are not limited to the Physical Education assessment, Science Assessments and Smarter Balanced assessments. You can access the portal here:  https://vt.portal.airast.org/ 

Understanding Your Child's Report Card

With the implementation of proficiency-based learning and assessment, we are now assessing and scoring your child's work a little differently. To better understand these differences - and what they mean - you may find the below pamphlet helpful:

Understanding Your Child's Report Card

Picture of Curriculum Director Jaquelyn Tolman

In Changing Times – Ensuring Our Students’ Success is Our Top Priority

Your Curriculum, Instruction and Assessment office has been busy this year – and always with your children’s best interests in mind. In addition to keeping the SU up to date and informed of local, state, and national initiatives and ensuring compliance with state and federal laws and accountability measures (which is no small task these days), we also:

  • monitor and coordinate local and state assessments;
  • measure the achievement of legislated standards;
  • prepare for monitoring visits;
  • review student achievement and monitor recordkeeping;
  • develop staff in-service program;
  • oversee, manage, and stay in compliance of grants;
  • administer the McKinnney Vento Homeless Act (and other ESSA requirements);
  • educate staff on current research affecting teaching and learning; and
  • guide the SU’s continuous improvement planning.

Working together as a multi-school community, we translate curriculum intentions into nuts-and bolts activities that produce positive outcomes for our students. We use a distributed leadership approach to tackle this work and we are proud of the progress we’ve made, especially in aligning proficiency based grading practices with Tier 1 instruction, continuous improvement and professional development. We continue to expand parent outreach through our math, literacy and forum nights, and we continue to focus on providing students with social and emotional supports, while strengthening our professional learning groups and Tier 2 and 3 supports. All of this work happens with the understanding that the best learning communities are built on trust, empathy, respect, innovative thinking, risk taking, and voice for all; and all of it geared towards fulfilling the mission statement of the Barre Supervisory Union, which is “doing whatever it takes to ensure success for every child.”