The new school year begins at Charlotte Central School

The first week of school at Charlotte Central has been full of smiles, waves and small wins — students finding their way, classrooms settling into routines with both students and adults learning the choreography of a new year. The energy in the halls has been joyful and steady.

The start of the 2025-26 school year begins with the Charlotte Central School administration, faculty and staff sharpening their focus on engagement. Systems and experiences are being built for students, staff and families that reflect the four Champlain Valley School District pillars of engagement:

• Identity — Understanding and valuing self and others
• Connection — Building meaningful relationships and support systems
• Proficiency — Developing skills and knowledge with awareness of progress
• Direction — Gaining a sense of purpose through relevant learning experiences that connect to interests, goals and future pathways.

The goal of the four pillars is to help every student and staff member grow in identity, connection, proficiency and direction. The real excitement comes in designing experiences that bring these pillars to life.

This year Charlotte Central School is launching several school-wide initiatives that reflect these pillars and aims to shape experiences for staff, students and caregivers. Here’s some of what’s underway:

• Hiring an activities director to expand and organize more non-athletic clubs which will complement the athletics program and provide new after-school opportunities for younger students. More details will be shared in September.
• Weekly in-school and choice-based clubs for all middle school students.
• Morning movement opportunities during “ease in” time for K-4 students who want to start the day by moving their bodies to settle their minds.
• A second world language teacher this year will allow the school to offer Spanish language and culture instruction for students both in the middle school and beyond.
• Continued work to revitalize the light and sound equipment on the Charlotte Central School stage, ensuring the performance space supports student productions and community events with high-quality sound and lighting.
• A new partnership with Very Merry Theatre to produce the middle school musical and potentially build a long-term tradition.
• Personalized staff learning opportunities during some of the Wednesday professional learning time that will help center their ideas, strengthen relationships and benefit students.
• New staff working groups are poised to launch this year. One is a Rowland Foundation Fellowship committee exploring Project-Based Learning in upper elementary through middle school. Another begins with third to fifth grade math educators, with the potential to expand. Other groups will emerge from opportunities for more choice and collaboration during regular professional learning times.
• Monthly invitations for caregivers to come into Charlotte Central School when their child’s grade is leading an all-school meeting, helping to strengthen the home-school connection.
• Adding a new informational meeting, welcome to middle school, for caregivers of incoming fifth-grade students before school begins and exploring this fall how to expand this to other grades in the future.

All of these are ways Charlotte Central School is making adjustments to how engagement is built for students, staff and the community.

Donate movement equipment

Matt Kent, Charlotte Central School’s kindergarten-fourth grade physical education and wellness teacher, is reaching out to the community for donations of equipment which will benefit students across all grade levels.

The school is hoping to expand the movement opportunities provided for students and one way the community can help is by donating gently used equipment or sneakers that your family may no longer need, including:

• Scooters (flat ride-on boards with handles)
• Balance toys (balance boards, stepping stones)
• Wiggle boards or wobble cushions
• Pogo sticks or hop balls
• Small gymnastic equipment (tumbling mats, balance beams)
• Obstacle course components (tunnels, hoops, agility items)
• Helmets (if donating ride-on gear)
• Velcro catch sets
• Lightly used sneakers (clean and in good condition, a variety of youth sizes).

Donations can be placed in the labeled container located in the front vestibule of the school. This makes it easy for families to contribute without adding to the workload of our front office staff.

All items should be in good working condition and safe for student use. These donations will support our schoolwide focus on coordination, teamwork, creativity and a lifelong love of movement.