Three years ago the Vermont state Board of Education embarked on a very ambitious task — to develop a document that would serve as the basis for transforming the educational experience of K-12 learners in the state. In 2008, the board appointed a policy commission and charged them with making recommendations about how education in Vermont might be transformed.

The Policy Commission, in December of 2009, submitted to the board the Opportunities to Learn report — a report that is grounded in extensive research, reflection, and experiential knowledge about education in Vermont. In January of 2010, the board accepted the Opportunities to Learn report that was submitted by the Policy Commission (see http://education.vermont.gov/new/pdfdoc/dept/transformation/commission/transformation policy commission report 1209.pdf).

The board did not act immediately on the recommendations in the Opportunities to Learn report because many discussions were occurring around school redistricting. With the recent release of the Challenges to Change report, the board is now ready to begin anew the work necessary to transform education and the learning experiences of our children and youth.

In order to move forward, I believe that the action items, outlined in the Challenges to Change report recently released by Commissioner of Education Armando Vilaseca and his commission, are necessary for true transformation to occur. I believe that the state needs to merge schools districts. This is one way of ensuring that all children and youth in Vermont have a quality educational experience that is highly effective in preparing them for higher education or some other post-secondary experience, the world of work, and full participation in and an understanding of what it means to be part of a civil society. I also believe that it is necessary to create reasonable student-to-staff ratios, establish reasonable class sizes, and provide school choice options for students. I suspect that the proposed actions might lead to substantial savings for all Vermonters.

While the above comments are mine alone, the state Board of Education, in January of 2010, adopted the following resolution:

"That the state Board of Education support the creation of fewer education districts, each governed by a single board, which are large enough to incorporate the following four principles:

To expand choice and learning opportunities for learners.

To expand capacity for critical functions, such as professional development, coordination of curriculum, instruction and assessment, and other administrative functions.

To increase flexibility for use of staff and facilities.

To strengthen coherent implementation of education transformation.

In addition, the state board voted to appoint an education redistricting commission. The commission would solicit input from stakeholders. The charge to the Education Redistricting Commission, therefore, shall be to:

Review existing school choice proposals.

Discuss how to address current options for high school choice.

Review voluntary consolidation models (H.782; similar Senate bill).

Discuss school budgets adopted by April 1, 2010.

It is expected that the commission will provide recommendations for open learning opportunities, including school choice for high school-aged learners and within-district choices for K-8 learners. It is also expected that that the commission will address cost savings due to redistricting.

The following people have agreed to serve on the Education Redistricting Commission: Stephan Morse, state Board of Education member; John Hall, state Board of Education member; Alex Melville, student state Board of Education member; Laura Soares, Education Transformation Policy Commission member; Chris Koliba, Education Transformation Policy Commission member; Dan French, superintendent, Bennington Rutland Supervisory Union; Sean-Marie Oller, chairwoman, Mountain Anthony Union High School District Board; Rick Hilton, headmaster, Lyndon Institute.

The members of the state board are committed to ensuring that all children and youth in Vermont have a quality educational experience that allows them to generate new knowledge, think critically and creatively, and contribute to society. We believe that redistricting will open up opportunities to learn for all of our children and youth.



Fayneese Miller is chairwoman of the state Board of Education.