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Mount Vernon Intermediate principal outlines staff, schedule and student-life plans ahead of fall opening
Summary
Principal Ashley Guston presented the finalized schedule, staff recruitment status and student-life plans for the new Mount Vernon Intermediate School, including a 5th/6th grade house system and supports for special populations.
Ashley Guston, the district’s principal assigned to lead the new Mount Vernon Intermediate School, presented detailed plans for the building’s opening, staffing, schedule and student supports.
Guston told the board she spent a semester studying existing Mount Vernon processes and a second semester focused on planning. She described completed building updates (cafeteria painting, signage, door and lobby improvements) and said playground updates were informed by a survey of fourth- and fifth‑grade students.
On staffing, Guston said the district is transferring core teachers (fifth-grade teachers from elementary and sixth-grade teachers from middle school), has finished interviews for a reading and math specialist, is conducting interviews for a multilingual learning teacher, and is filling related-arts and support positions. She said some existing staff voluntarily transferred to support students with special education needs during the transition.
Guston described the proposed student schedule: the day will begin with a 30‑minute common “win time” for individual student interventions, fifth graders will have one passing period and recess and sixth graders will have two passing periods; sixth graders may choose band (a year‑long commitment) or rotate among STEM, art and extra PE. The schedule includes provisions for RTI/tiered interventions and “nurture groups” on early-release Wednesdays. Teachers created a building‑wide house system and finalized a behavioral acronym, CHARGE (Choose respect, Honor integrity, Actively focus, Redo/give effort, Embrace challenges), which Guston said will be taught during the first days of school.
Guston outlined transition events: a “meet the principal” event in May, a staff retreat on June 12 and a staff/PTO brunch in July ahead of the fall opening. She said many staffing interviews and case conferences are ongoing to ensure continuity of services for students with high needs.
