Exit Ticket

by Signe Daly

The 12th BCL semester ended with a day of sun and celebration at the Surf Club. It was my final day as a lead teacher of Burlington City & Lake Semester, and it felt like the right time and place for me to move on from this program. The day began with Layla arriving early, carrying the most delicious lemon and raspberry cake, topped with pink raspberry whipped cream delight. (She had done her research, and knew I love raspberries!) And the day ended with a student-led Closing Meeting, including many shout outs to me and a Thank You card signed by BCL12 students and BCL alumni.

When I think back over the past nearly ten years – including several years of planning and designing and six years of programming, with over 250 BCL students – there is a lot to reflect on. As I considered how to share some of those take aways, I found myself coming back to BCL’s core values.

In 2017, Dov, Peter, Andy and I were in the early stages of designing what would become The Burlington City & Lake Semester. It felt important to us to clarify the core principles that would guide the program. Each of us brainstormed essential values on post-it notes, and then placed them around the walls of Dov’s dining room. We then grouped them and tried to pare them down. In typical BCL ‘yes, and’ style, we kept them all. They are now prominently displayed on a poster that hangs on our classroom wall.

Thanks to BHS Librarian, Shannon Walters for her help with printing, and to Migmar Tsering for his help with the installation!

On the first day of each semester, we invite students to read through the values. We ask them to consider which values resonate with them and whether any might be missing. We revisit the values frequently. One place they show up is as a part of our daily Exit Tickets. These end-of-day surveys capture a variety of insights, but the question that is focused on values is always fascinating.

Gratitude to Anne Wang, of EDC, for her investments in BCL’s continuous improvement!

Now, at the end of my own BCL chapter, I’m completing my final Exit Ticket. Similar to students, I’ll consider each of our values – and “BCL style,” I’ll add some shoutouts and appreciations as well.

Equity

I appreciate the BCL students who have taught me so much about equity and belonging over the years. You have shown up for each other in ways that I didn’t imagine when creating this program. May you all continue to strive for justice in your lives and in our world, as I have witnessed you do in BCL.

BCL Students presenting at the State House

Inclusion

Shoutout to BHS School Counselors (Karen Prouty, Tony Settel, Lise Bruder, Allie O’Hara and KasCandra Dougherty), the Special Education team, and our Multilingual Liaison Office – Nijaza Semic and all the incredible ML team. You have helped create a truly inclusive program, focused on eliminating barriers and increasing access. Thank you from the bottom of my heart for your tireless work.

Community

Gratitude to our dozens and dozens of community partners; we mean it when we say we wouldn’t be here without you, and couldn’t do what we do without your participation and engagement.

Empathy

Thank you to those who have served on the BCL Steering Committee over the years – Walter Poleman, Miriam Estesham-Cating, Jocelyn Fletcher-Scheuch, Jen Cirillo, Simon Jorgensen, LeVar Barrino, Kate Stein, KasCandra Dougherty, Karen Prouty. As we have said many times, we could not stay on the path without you steering us towards our mission: To empower young people as citizens, students, and community members through authentic, collaborative real-world learning experiences in and around the city of Burlington.

Systems Thinking

In the words of my dearest friend and our BSD School Board Chair, Clare Wool, “Make it happen.” We made it happen–but we didn’t do it alone. Thank you Clare, for creating a collaborative culture in our school district that also allowed BCL to happen, while you kept track of so many pieces of the education system – always keeping students at the center. How lucky are we!

Clare and Signe – friends since college days in the 80’s

Sustainability

Appreciation for Jen Cirillo, Megan Camp and everyone at Shelburne Farms who have always made me feel welcome and included, from the Institute for Sustainable Schools Leadership Academy to farm shares and cheese, from visioning sessions to drinks at the Inn, and everything in between. You have helped sustain both me and BCL.

Deeper Learning

Thank you to Burlington School District and Burlington High School faculty and administrators who have supported us, especially Jocelyn Fletcher-Scheuch’s unwavering support for me on this journey.

BCL Steering Committee meeting, Summer 2021

Curiosity

BIG shout-out to my co-founders – Dov Stucker, Andy Barker and Peter McConville – for being curious about other approaches to what school could be. We logged over 100 meetings together, and increased each other’s curiosity about how to get students outside of the classroom, to learn in our community along with us, and to wonder about the world around them. Here is our mission from the start:

Students in BCL will deepen their sense of responsibility and care for themselves and the human and natural systems of Burlington by engaging in real-world collaborative learning, growing as individuals and building community.

BHS: BCL will embody and extend the innovative practices at Burlington High School; build connections between learners and the city they call home; facilitate real-world, collaborative project-based learning; and nurture community-building as an essential purpose of education.

Burlington: BCL will provide avenues for community partners to share in the education of our young people; create authentic pathways for youth to shape the present and future of our city; and build social capital and civic engagement across the city.

We did it! And we’re still doing it!

Signe Daly, Andy Barker, Dov Stucker, Peter McConville

Empowerment

Gratitude to BCL families and friends. You empowered me to do something that I love, and you believed in our ideas and vision from day one. Thank you for attending and participating in the dream, and for helping us make it real.

At the end of Signe’s surprise party, one of the prizes on the BCL Wheel was “A Group Hug.”

Humanity

Shout out and appreciation to the city of Burlington, and to Lake Champlain. My relationship with the land and the lake has deepened over the past eight years because, along with the students, I am learning to appreciate, listen to and respect this place we call home. And I feel closer to humanity, seven generations, because of my BCL journey.

Fun

I love all the fun we have had together in Burlington, every day and especially during Fun Blocks – sledding, roller skating, pictionary, potlucks, giant jenga, knockout, Danes, bike rides, paddle boarding, spike ball, pumpkin carving, Legos, yoga, talent shows, poker, volleyball, lip-synch battles, birthday wheel, improv, salad bowl, and of course Survival! (May we always take down the evil forces!)

Signe’s final spin of the wheel — appropriately facilitated by wheelwright, Andy Barker

Hope

To our guest teachers, Courtney Mulcahy and Peter Sloth, our Fellows, Annika Brinkley and Ivy Befeler, and to our intern, Andrew Banno — you give me hope that place-based education will continue to grow and help the next generation thrive.

Joy

Thank you to the BCL students from beginning to the end, all 250+ of you. You have brought me so much joy, and it has been my pleasure to be part of your journeys at BHS. Thank you for showing up and keeping in touch. Much love.

At our winter BCL reunion, 68 students showed up! — At our winter reunion, 67 alumni showed up, spanning BCL1 through BCL11,

Love

Shout out to my family – Jensen (BCL3), Karl (BCL7), Medea (BCL11) and John Daly (our behind the scenes BCL ‘plug’). We are closing our Seahorse Chapter, but we will always ‘bleed blue’.