How a Merger Happens

Merging school districts is an incredibly complex job but students, teachers, and administrators
have been hard at work creating the new White River Valley Unified District.

Committees are meeting regularly to focus on topics such as curriculum, scheduling,
transportation, student voice, community engagement, and co-curricular activities. Each
committee includes an administrator and teachers from both Bethel and Royalton. Students,
members of the board, and community members also serve on a number of committees.

To oversee this process, a steering committee made of board members, SU staff, principals,
teachers, and students meets frequently. Their job is to put together the many merger “puzzle
pieces” by monitoring the progress of the subcommittees, providing feedback when necessary,
and facilitating communication between the subcommittees. You can find a diagram of the
committee structure below.

In addition to the hard work being undertaken by committee members, faculty from both
schools have begun meeting regularly to share information and plan our new programs. At the
high school level, work is focused on selecting and designing courses. Middle school staff is
working with the Tarrant Institute to design an innovative 6th through 8th grade program.
Elementary teachers are focused on sharing the best practices and unique approaches at each
school.

At this stage in the process, a great deal of work is ongoing but final decisions about programs
have not been made. Committees will continue their work over the next several months to fill in
all the details needed to get the schools ready for the transition this fall. Watch for this
newsletter to keep up to date on the work being done!