"One"Ce Upon a Region One in CT People We're Pulling Together Like Clockwork, Let's Revive that Spirit and Bring In more Enthusiasts..

The Lakeville Journal in Ct is covering important topics about the local public school system. A large group of parents and others have filled out an online survey and about three dozen people met to discuss future ways to make their concerns known, particularly the leadership of Superintendent Pam Vogel. Concerns about How things are done as well as What is being done are themes meriting more discussion. The budget will be voted on shortly so I am chiming in to encourage more people to learn more as soon as possible. If the budget does not pass, a retake is fairly costly (I think about $10K but I don't know for sure.)

Meanwhile the ABC All Board Chairs of the six towns in Region One meet and hopefully will discuss matters with the concerned school advocates, but due to rules and timing that may be limited. Anyone know how to Invent more time and Online forums? The few hundred high schoolers and roughly 100-200 in each grades school and those with special needs are counting on us.

Likely many more people could help recruit more families to the area or perhaps promote more home schooling so the few left in public schools could really get the attention they need. The state of CT could allow for more mixed classrooms and budgets to Go Down rather than always stay the same.

The towns could allow more students in by clarifying the criteria for being a qualified resident..perhaps one parent could live in the area and commute. Maybe more 'house parents' could be hired to care for the youth whose families want them to attend. The towns need to do the math and figure out how many people it takes to make a town and run it, to have a school and run it and so on.

Using one building for many purposes can help save on energy costs, perhaps having kids enter kindergarten at age 6 for their full day program would help. Then having kids in 7th and 8th grade turn 14 and 15 and go to the high school would likely be an option..Taking online classes and getting some college credit could help more students attend some college and see if its a good fit while in high school. Seniors would be more mature if going into their final year at age 18 or 19 in high school. More extra support could help students find hobbies and jobs to help them adjust to life in the real world, drive and do basic car maintenance, ride bikes and get healthy (even sleep more.) Okay likely we can all agree that everyone needs better food and more rest so I'll park this comment on that happy note.

I'd love to see a group of folks from near and far turn their attention to helping their local schools and maybe the one in the next town or state over. We have dwindling populations currently in the tri-corner areas, particularly in Falls Village and Cornwall CT.

These are gems of little towns. The cost of living, lack of community networking to assist people long term with trying out country living (rides and ways to learn to drive and car pool are important as is having sources of income whether sponsors, non-profits run programs --such as churches and Audubon and use the Appalachian Trail to let people camp legally, again with support to get their foot in the area.

Maybe churches could allow people to camp near them if not in them! Silver Lake Conference Center and actually all of the schools could be tapped to host groups of people, maybe some all summer.

That way more revenue would be brought in (again from sponsors or even as a way for the town to pay people to come stay and check things out, maybe barter skills and share their talents.) Permaculture offers new ways of thinking about 'problems'. One idea is to think of how the Solution to one problem may be embedded in said problem or another.

If a town needs more people, the solution may be to get more people to come to town and stay, shop or visit, work or give support to from afar or through sponsors. With a regional high school serving six towns such as Housatonic Valley Regional does, each with its own public elementary/junior high programs and most with private daycares (which get some public support) and many churches and lots of natural areas, parks, a nature center and so on, more networking could happen in each small town to help students succeed at each grade level.

A regional program for parents, teachers and others who want to help 1st -3rd graders, 4-6th,, and 7-9th and 10th-12 graders would be a big plus for instance. Same for those who would help with expectant parents and young children through age 7. Some crossover of care and outreach would be good for those needing to stay with a group for instance.

Each group could help invite more people to the area, focus on skills youth need to succeed in school and life and fundraise or do outreach to communicate their progress.

Every town with businesses and resources such as farms or places to gather or share info could offer some way for groups to connect. High schoolers could hopefully earn credits if not dollars for being accountable for their time in programs after school and on weekends to help them succeed. Even having host families who live closer to the high school could enrich the social and world scene for youth.

Clear agreements and short weekends or after school terms could be explored. Camping and day trips to places within reason could also be factored in to help students appreciate their wider economies and cultural resources. Of course more attention to what they are learning and how could be done. If students and parents want grades, ideally a way to provide that would be set up fairly easily with some online tests and other projects that could be assessed clearly.

Currently there is a fair amount of contention over having a proficiency kind of testing that is not based on grades.

I will have to review the list of cons about the grading and the way it was implemented (too much, too soon, without clear guidance for teachers and students nor parents..) Okay time to think more Summer thoughts before the School Train pulls out of the station.Maybe it's time to set up a Camp Housy and go over how the natives lived in this area, basic PC ideas, ways to plan for success and safety on all levels this school year. There is a sweat lodge being held an hour or so away in NY that would be a great thing for 1-2 adults and a few kids of various ages from each town to attend to create a positive sense of connection with that group and then share it with our area. The ideas from VT Wilderness School are also cool to tap into. Let me know if there's interest, email thinkingkapp@gmail.com and of course setting up a local set of day hikes and gatherings, maybe a camp out and so on would be cool too for summer and even into the fall. Check out programs offered for free at Vassar College and some for pay at BCC in Great Barrington MA or locally at the adult ed in Falls Village CT too to get inspired. Toastmasters speaking club is worth joining even if you can only get to a meeting now and then. That's a one time 30 dollar investment then you can learn more online about the program and visit clubs! There's a dynamo one in Great Barrington MA on Tuesdays from noon-1:15pm which I encourage all educators, parents, students and adults to attend at least once and ideally a few more times to see the magic of a planned respectful meeting among friendly people (even if some topics are dicey or very personal but there are some basic guidelines.) More voluntary clubs could be started following the techniques but not needing to register or call it an official club. All students would be ahead in life for checking it out.

Kids are extra smart these days and ready to talk..Let's listen before it's too late (which for many, including our late teen son Kaelan is the case, but learn more about his final day on earth and the wider backstory on Remembering Kaelan...and feel free to speak up about concerns raises and what a valiant person he was. Students Helping Students is an outreach I hope to put in motion soon too!