Robert Millar

Wilmer Chavarria Is Leading — and Advocating for — Winooski Students The superintendent of schools shares similarities with his diverse student body. He’s using his platform to stand up for them.

“As a superintendent, I can’t stop standing for the things I stand for. I can’t stop speaking out for the rights of our families. I’m not going to be one more manager or bureaucrat,” Chavarria said. “This is where we’re tested.” 💚 www.sevendaysvt.com/news/educati...

Sept 24-30 2025 | Seven Days Wilmer Chavarria Is Leading — and Advocating for — Winooski Students; Burlington Seeks a Spot for an Overdose-Prevention Center; Vermont Textile Producers Eye a “Farm-to-Closet” Movement; Eating and…

Seven Days is back to school! ✏️ On the cover this week: Wilmer Chavarria Is Leading — and Advocating for — Winooski Students

Grab it where you get Seven Days or read it online:

Come join me on the WSD Board! We've had an unexpected vacancy we need to fill ASAP, before budget season starts. Contact me know if you're interested or have questions or send a resume or Letter of Interest to info@wsdvt.org by 9/26 to apply. 💚

h/t WSD Comms Director for the great image!

Convocation 2025. Credit: Miriam Greenfield

NOTICE Winooski Progressive Party City Caucus All Progressive voters of the City of Winooski, in the County of Chittenden, are hereby notified, in accordance with 17 V.S.A. § 2303, to meet in caucus on Saturday, September 20th, 2025, at 1:00 pm, at the O’Brien Community Center, 32 Malletts Bay Ave. The Agenda for this Caucus is as follows: I. Election of City Committee II. Election of Officers by the City Committee III. Election of County Committee Members IV. Discussion: 2026 Elections V. Discussion: Organizing in Winooski VI. New Business Robert Millar, City Chair For more information, email info@progressiveparty.org LEARN MORE ABOUT THE PROGRESSIVE PARTY AT WWW.PROGRESSIVEPARTY.ORG!

Yep, it's that time again! For the one hundred & eleventy time I am leading reorg in Winooski for the VT Progressive Party.

See you there? 💚

RSVP: vtprogressiveparty.nationbuilder.com/winooski_tow...

Hello Everyone! It’s an honor to once again have the opportunity to stand up here as Winooski’s School Board President and welcome you all to another new school year. I’m so consistently proud of the work all our teachers, staff, and administrators do here every day to make sure our City’s kids get the best education possible. You all are truly amazing. But I’m going to be honest with you. I can’t just stand up here like last time and try to claim this is going to be a great, wonderful year. I won’t sugarcoat what’s obvious to all of us. We all know these are difficult times, especially for anyone working in education. Especially for anyone working with students like ours. None of us can really say for sure what education is going to look like here in Winooski – or in Vermont – in the coming years. None of us knows for sure what the Legislature or the Federal government might throw at us next. On top of that, it feels like almost every day now brings some fresh attack from Washington on the basic humanity of our friends, our neighbors, our families, and ourselves. It’s exhausting. It’s overwhelming. And I don’t know about you, but it leaves me feeling unsure what to do next, what I can possibly do to make a real difference in the face of just so much… noise. So what I do want to talk about today are two things that have helped me keep my bearings and keep moving forward, even in the face of all of that. They aren’t solutions. But they help me and they might help you. The first is rest. That might sound strange, given the constancy of everything that’s going on. But the reality is, rest is revolutionary. You can’t take care of anyone else if you don’t take care of yourself first. If you burn out, if you push yourself too hard or too long, you won’t be of help to anyone.

But why is rest especially important right now? Because one of the main points of all the noise, all the chaos, all the consistent cruelty, is to keep us all off kilter and confused about where to focus next. Rest grounds us and brings us back to ourselves. Rest is necessary and human. So rest first and then deal with what you can – and never, ever feel like you have to do it all. Focus on the levers you can reach and let others take care of theirs. The second thing that has helped me is community. I was reminded of this a few months back at the District’s community Ishtar event. Hundreds of people from Winooski and well beyond came out to celebrate and support our Muslim community members, even in the face of so much hate in the larger world. It felt incredibly important and powerful to me. And the food was amazing. You might recall that community actually shows up in our District ENDS statement. There’s a reason for that. “WSD students will lead healthy, productive and successful lives and engage with their local and global community.” Think about that for a minute. Why is the ability to successfully engage with their communities a fundamental part of what we consider a successful graduate? So they can make a difference in those communities? Of course! But I’d also argue, community is one of our fundamental needs as human beings. We need our fellows. We need support. Being in community grounds us. It certainly grounds me. It reminds me I’m not alone, that it’s not just me versus the world, that we are all in this together. So those are my suggestions to you today. Find rest, when you can. Find community, wherever you can. And you know what, forget what I said earlier. This IS going to be a great year. Thank you.

Just finished giving my welcome speech at the Winooski School District 25/26 Convocation. Full text here, sans inevitable on the fly edits.

Thank you, teachers, staff, admin, & everyone, for inviting me to be a part of your celebration! 💚

What happened to Superintendent Chavarria was by no means an isolated incident. Enough is enough! We must not let this become the new normal. 💚

‘Psychological terror’: What happened when border agents detained this Vermont superintendent Wilmer Chavarria fears that student data may have been compromised during his detention.

Wilmer Chavarria fears that student data may have been compromised during his detention.

YouTube video by MSNBC ‘Praying for it to end’: Vermont superintendent speaks out after ICE interrogation

“I told them I was an American citizen. I questioned why they were using those tactics on me. I asked about my constitutional rights. An officer outright said out loud that I have no constitutional rights at a point of entry,” says Wilmer Chavarria, a school superintendent in Vermont.

On Monday, Winooski School District Superintendent Wilmer Chavarria was detained and interrogated for more than five hours by U.S. Customs and Border Protection after returning from Nicaragua.

Superintendent Chavarria is a U.S. citizen.

The actions of this Administration make (cont in image...)

Gay educator & U.S. citizen detained for hours at border: “The definition of psychological terror” - buff.ly/1WuHaXp

Opinion — Sen. Martine Larocque Gulick: I support Superintendent Wilmer Chavarria Condemnation of this act must be swift and unwavering in its support of one of our esteemed, caring and truly exceptional educational leaders.

OPINION — "Condemnation of this act must be swift and unwavering in its support of one of our esteemed, caring and truly exceptional educational leaders," Sen. Gulick writes.

Yesterday, Wilmer Chavarria, a Vermonter & US Citizen, was held and interrogated for hours in the Houston airport by CBP agents.

He's a school superintendent. So don’t try to tell us this is about removing violent criminals. This is how they use psychological terror to intimidate us into silence.

On Monday, Winooski School District Superintendent Wilmer Chavarria was detained and interrogated for more than five hours by U.S. Customs and Border Protection after returning from Nicaragua.

Superintendent Chavarria is a U.S. citizen.

Pay attention. This is not normal. This is not just. This is not acceptable.

Winooski stands with Wilmer. 💚

The Winooski School Board calls upon all Vermonters—and all Americans—to stand in solidarity with Superintendent Chavarria and his family. We urge our elected leaders and federal agencies to investigate this incident and take meaningful steps to prevent such abuses from continuing.

For whomever of my friends need to hear this today - Trans Lives Matter. Immigrant Lives Matter. Gender affirming care is healthcare. No one is illegal. You are loved. I am with you no matter what.

“The fight isn't over until you win.” 💚

School Leaders Urge Lawmakers to Reject Ed Reform Bill | Seven Days Some superintendents and school board members say that the bill is being rushed and fails to address the real cost drivers in education.

Some of the criticism asserted that the senators on the conference committee spent too much time fighting to protect the interests of independent schools, which only serve about 5 percent of publicly funded Vermont students.

📸: Jeb Wallace-Brodeur

Winooski Students Talk Money With State Officials Courtney Poquette has been teaching Winooski teens about saving and investing for 19 years. She wants to make personal finance a statewide graduation requirement.

On June 4, the Vermont state treasurer, the financial regulation commissioner and the deputy education secretary gathered in the same room — but not to talk policy. They'd come to Winooski High School to listen to students give their final presentations in a personal finance course.

The Winooski School District believes that this bill is deeply problematic as it stands, and it portends great pain for our Winooski Schools in less than two years.

Thank you for your continued support of our schools,

Robert Millar, WSD Board President
Wilmer Chavarria, WSD Superintendent

Representative Daisy Berbeco
Phone: (802) 828-2228
Email: dberbeco@leg.state.vt.us

Representative Chloe Tomlinson
Phone: (802) 828-2228
Email: ctomlinson@leg.state.vt.us

Senator Phil Baruth
Phone: (802) 503-5266
Email: pbaruth@leg.state.vt.us

Senator Martine Larocque Gulick
Phone: (802) 828-2228
Email: mgulick@leg.state.vt.us

Senator Tanya Vyhovsky
Phone: (802) 316-8329
Email: tvyhovsky@leg.state.vt.us

If you can, consider contacting our legislators, particularly our Senators, to make your voice heard as a constituent. For your convenience, their contact information is listed below:

- The arbitrary, politicized, and private-school-influenced redrawing of public school district boundary lines;
- Not addressing the real issues - healthcare costs, construction, rising student needs, etc.

- Additional tax-payer funded leverage for the advancement of private, for-profit, and religious schools at the expense of public schools;
- A significant number of cuts in programming for our most vulnerable students;

Among other things, for Winooski this version of the bill would mean:
- A significant number of staff and teacher layoffs over the next few years;
- An unsustainable increase in taxes for Winooski residents;
- The removal of local voters and residents from school budget decisions;

Yesterday, the Senate Finance Committee voted 5-2 to advance their version of the “Education Reform” bill (H.454). We commend our Senator Martine Larocque Gulick, who is a member of this committee, for her “NO” vote on this version.

Dear #Winooski Residents (A thread),

The Winooski School Board, in consultation with the Superintendent, has decided that it is time to inform you of concerning legislative developments and what it could mean for you and the young people of our community.

Sometimes fighting fascism means a crowd like this, sometimes it's a quiet meeting in a coffee shop. Sometimes, it's as simple as refusing to sign on a document normalizing it all. Sometimes it's all 3 in one day...

However you're fighting, keep going. I've got your back - and so does my mom! 💚✊

It was such a joy to attend tonight's Community Iftar at the Winooski Schools! The perfect contrast to the struggles of the larger world: a community coming together to share a meal, while lifting up & celebrating our diversity. 💚

Special thanks to Senator Peter Welch for stopping by to say hello!