This edition features articles about:

• Effects of the new schedule
• Wildlife at U-32
• Graffiti in the boys bathroom
• Art displays and murals
• The power of a therapy dog
• Special education with the new schedule
• Student printing

On Thursday, September 25, U-32 principal Rebecca Tatistcheff sat down with the journalism class to answer questions about the most up-and-coming topics around U-32. This is the second article in an ongoing series called Principal’s Presser.

“A School Community That Values Inclusion”

By Allie Bourgeois

This year, Admin got rid of directed studies for ninth graders. Directed studies were a time for students to do whatever classwork they needed under the supervision of a teacher. 

Last year, some 90 out of 110 ninth graders had a directed study. While some students used this time to study, others used it to wander the halls. “We were seeing real variability in the effectiveness of its use,” said Becca.

One of the benefits of a directed study is that it teaches study skills. With directed studies being gone, Becca said that there is more work being done to teach study skills “in the context of class.” The focus is on making sure that “students are getting the support that they need inside the classes they’re taking,” she said. 

All teachers are being trained in Professional Development, which is “our own learning as professionals… to get better at… teaching,” Becca said. 

Teachers will also get trained for the Universal Design for Learning, the goal of which is to “reduce the barriers for students to be able to access education,” said Becca. In other words, teachers are being taught how to take into account the needs of every student when planning units. 

Becca emphasized that part of the plan is to help students manage their increased workload. However, this is still a downside of the change. Transitioning from lower-stakes middle school, “students are overwhelmed by the amount of work they have to do at home,” said Sarah Lund, a special educator at U-32. “The new schedule is not equitable for academic support classes,” she said. 

Giving every student equal access to education is a big priority. But many students receiving special education have had to sacrifice electives in order to take required academic support classes. 

This is also the case with freshmen that don’t have a band in their schedule filled with academic support. 

While it may be true that freshmen are having a harder time scheduling electives, Becca explained that this doesn’t mean they have less of an overall opportunity to take them. “High school is four years… you still have a lot of opportunity for electives,” said Becca. 

There are also ways to work around requirements to take electives. 

Four bands of U-32’s seven class schedule are taken up by core subjects, with three bands that could be open for electives. “Generally only one of those blocks is taken up with academic support,” said Becca. 

But outside of what’s covered in core subjects, other proficiencies need to be met. 

“While PE is required, it is not required in ninth grade. That could be taken at any point during your high school career,” she said. Becca also explained that world language is not a graduation requirement at U-32. However, many colleges require at least two years of a world language. 

“[U-32 is a] school community that values inclusion,” said Becca. “All students are all of our responsibility.

The Birds and Bees: Wildlife at U-32

By Inkwel Young

The U-32 forest is home to the likes of deer, ground hogs, skunks and foxes, as well as a variety of birds. Wasp nests can be found on the outside of the building as well. Most of these animals are beloved by the student body and staff. Becca’s favorite of these regular visitors is one animal she sees when she stays late. “There’s been a gray fox running around campus, and that is pretty nice,” she said. 

The U-32 campus has a variety of wildlife. The property has a forested area with trails surrounding the back of the campus. Sometimes the animals that live there can be found on the rest of the grounds.

The wildlife is welcomed on campus, as long as they aren’t being an issue. Good examples of these are the birds around campus and the wasps outside. However, sometimes it happens that animals get too close. 

Groundhogs dig burrows in the fields. Skunks also create problems. They create burrows under rocks and storage units on the grounds. The skunks sometimes spray, and stink up the school. 

There is a specific protocol for when something like this happens. One thing is almost always certain, that the school typically calls the Department of Fish and Wildlife for advice on their next course of action.

Instead of removing the wildlife, the school generally creates space for them. This could include advising students and staff to stay away from the animals, or even rearranging things so the animals are less in the way. Students and staff should never feed the wildlife.  

Even when the wildlife gets in the way, the school focuses on what is best for both the animals and the school.

Flushed: Graffiti in the Boys Bathroom

By Jackson Stevens

One of the biggest issues at U-32 is the consistent vandalism that U-32 endures every year. The most prominent places for vandalism are the boys’ restrooms. In recent years, holes have been put in walls, and entire paper towel rolls have been flushed down toilets. 

There have been many attempts to stop this problem. One of the ways the administration has tried to stop it is by removing access to the boys’ restrooms entirely for periods of time. But that still didn’t stop students from vandalising them as soon as they opened back up; it also removed access to the boys’ restrooms from everyone else, making it unfair to those uninvolved.

Becca was asked about what the solution to this problem is. “It’s about partnership with students. Tony and JB are working on it,” she stated. By creating student connections, the administration hopes that students will feel this is a place to have fun, rather than a place to rebel. 

“I don’t want kids hiding from me and thinking I’m a jerk,” JB said. He doesn’t want students to run away from him, but instead create a friendly relationship with everyone. He thinks that knowing the reason why the student did something, such as vandalising a bathroom or anywhere in the school, is more important than punishing them. “It’s about trying to find the root cause,” JB said. 

JB thinks that by giving the student a chance to create a greater connection to the custodians will help them realize the work they put in to fix what that student caused. “They can give back to the community to fix it,” JB stated. 

So far, making students feel like U-32 is a place to make connections with staff and other kids has made great improvements.

JB said, “We’re not seeing any of the typical things like soap dispensers being ripped off, stuff being flushed down toilets.”

Art Displays and Murals

By Adeline Cannella

Here at U-32, there have been new additions to art displayed on campus. There are jewelry pieces, pottery, photos and more student work being recently put up all around the building. “You all produce fabulous art and it should be displayed,” said Becca. 

There are welcoming displays on bulletin boards, cases, and in the atrium, exhibiting this work. “Really it’s about student work,” said Becca. Kristine Chartrand is involved in setting these mini art shows up. These presentations are not linked to our community event displaying student work from all art classes, the Art Show. They are just another way to highlight the art in the building.

Additionally, there is a new mural painted. It is in the bathroom hallway, close to the cafeteria. This project is run by Amy K and students are involved in helping her. The old splotches of paint had been in that location for a long time. They were originally used to show the colors of paint when picking the colors to paint rooms. They thought it was time for a change, thus the new addition of this mural. Instead of painting the wall one bland color, they painted a colorful, simple geometric pattern.

There are hopes for more murals in the future, and student involvement in these as well. “Students are the focus on deciding what they look like or what goes up.”

The Power of a Therapy Dog

By Kathryn Stauffer

“All of you lit up when you started talking about the therapy dog,” Becca said while speaking to the journalism class. 

Abby is a golden retriever and therapy dog that students have most likely seen throughout the U-32 building. Abby spends time monthly in the building through the Vermont Student Assistance Corporation (VSAC). VSAC helps students pay for college and plan through the difficulties surrounding those choices. In addition to this, VSAC works with schools to bring in a therapy dog. Every month U-32 has the golden retriever present. 

She can often be found in Student Services. “Students use therapy dogs…in lots of different ways. Generally it’s a regulation strategy,” Becca stated. 

While every person can be impacted by a therapy dog in different ways, the most common way Abby usually helps students is by reducing stress levels. “I’ve seen students going for a walk, taking the dog for a walk. Just sitting and spending time with [it]. Oftentimes we just see a lightening of stress, it’s a stress reliever,” Becca said. 

For students worried about allergies or fears of dogs, Becca explained that there will always be a note on the door in Student Services. Any students with concerns will be warned beforehand. 

Students and staff may wonder if it’s okay to go visit Abby. Becca said, “you can go visit. You should go visit.” 

Special Education with the New Schedule

By Bella Foster

Due to the switch from an eight class schedule to a seven class on for the 2025-26 school year there is a new practice that has been introduced to special education at U-32. This practice was introduced last year in which general ed classroom teachers are expected to teach a special education class. However, there is a question if this is an appropriate way for these students to receive special education. “I hope as a school community that values inclusion that we believe that all students are our responsibility” said Becca.

She stated that when it comes to special education, U-32 values having support in all classrooms no matter what a student needs personally, “We can support you inside a classroom… there’s a lot of ways that happens in this building,” said Becca.

A way that U-32 has implemented special education into general education classrooms is through co-teaching. Co-teaching is a collaborative model in which a special educator is present in the classroom to provide services alongside a general educator, who teaches the content to the entire class.

At U-32, Janine Griggs co-teaches in collaboration with English teacher, Alden Bird. Becca said “There’s an adult who knows what’s happening in their classroom and there’s an adult that’s supporting them access that same information”

Student Printing…Some Day?

By Donovan Murphy

After the retirement of Administrative Assistant Tucker Cruikshank, students have been unable to independently have documents printed. This is not only an inconvenience for students but also for teachers who now have to take on the responsibility of printing papers for students.

Becca said that Dave Rodgers, the new Tech Director for the district, has plans to implement a system for students to print independently. We don’t know what this will look like at this point, an independent printing system will allow students to print whatever they need without having to allocate staff hours to operate it.

Unfortunately for both students and teachers we might have to wait a while for kiosks, for now all we know is that David is working on a plan to implement printing kiosks for students to use. “Its in the works, I don’t have a timeline yet.” Said Becca

Since Tucker’s retirement his pencil machine has been left abandoned and empty, Tucker’s pencil machine has supplied writing utensils to many students. With the plans for the independent student printing kiosks there is no clear successor to inherit pencil machine duties. Becca is leaving it up to students to decide the fate of the pencil machine. “I’m open to suggestions on that one for students.”