Volume 16, Issue 50

December 14, 2022

Agency of Education, State of Vermont and Federal Updates
Courtesy Posts

Agency of Education, State of Vermont and Federal Updates

This section of the Weekly Field Memo contains posts from the Agency of Education, other State of Vermont agencies, federal agencies or Vermont's congressional delegation.

Course Offering: Develop a K-12 Emergency Operations Plan

Audience: Superintendents, Principals and School Safety Stakeholders
Save the date: The Vermont School Safety Center is pleased to announce that one of our federal school safety partners will provide a four-hour course on how to develop a K-12 Emergency Operations Plan (EOP) on April 5, 2023. Time and location is yet to be determined. Max Capacity is 100. Please ensure your school district has a number of representatives attend this training if the district does not already have a fully developed EOP.
Contact: Robert L. Evans at revans@margolishealy.com or (802) 839-0448

ARP ESSER GMS Application Available for Afterschool and Summer Grants-Due January 4, 2023

Audience: Education Technology Directors, IT Managers, Principals, Superintendents
The ARP-ESSER Afterschool Round Two Grant Application and ARP ESSER Summer Grant Application are now live in the GMS system. Additional information about both programs can be found in the ARP ESSER Set-Aside Fund Application Planning Guide. Through these two programs, $3.5 million is currently available as part of the AOE's larger education recovery and revitalization work. There are opportunities in both the afterschool and summer grants for program development, expansion and/or capacity building and for the development of new comprehensive programs. Summaries of programs funding in the first round of the ARP ESSER Afterschool Grant are available to guide your thinking. All LEAs will be eligible to apply. Applications will be due Jan. 4, 2023, and awards will be announced Feb. 1, 2022. Individuals interested in receiving additional training materials or asking questions about the applications are encouraged to reach out.
Contact: Johannes Haensch at johannes.haensch@vermont.gov or (802) 828-7135

Civic Literacy Grant Opportunity - Round Two

Audience: Superintendents, Curriculum Directors, Social Studies, ELA and/or Interdisciplinary Educators
The Agency of Education is re-offering an abbreviated, competitive Civic Literacy Grant opportunity to Supervisory Unions/Supervisory Districts (SUs/SDs). This is to complement and/or amplify their existing secondary school curricula through an innovative learning opportunity on the history and principles of U.S. constitutional democracy as evidenced through voting. Successful applicants will receive funds for the purchase of "Our Unfinished March" written by former United States Attorney General Eric Holder. The funds will also go to support student participation in an event at The Flynn Center for the Performing Arts on May 16, 2023, where they will hear from and talk with Mr. Holder. Educators can access a complimentary digital review copy of the book by contacting Cheryl Westberg at Penguin Random House at cwestberg@prh.com.
Contact: Martha Deiss at martha.deiss@vermont.gov

December Issue of Literary Learning: Vermont’s Newsletter for English Language Arts Educators

Audience: English Teachers, Literacy Coaches
The December issue of the bi-monthly newsletter, Literary Learning, is now available. This issue contains an article about creating a culturally responsive and sustaining classroom and resources educators can access to support this work. Also included is information about the State Summative Assessment as well as new professional learning opportunities. Be sure to subscribe to the Agency’s ELA listserv in order to stay informed about ELA and literacy in Vermont.
Contact: Emily Leute at emily.leute@vermont.gov

Request for Information to Compile an Updated List of Independent Reviewers of Harassment Determinations

Audience: All
The Agency of Education has posted a Request for Information (RFI) to compile an updated list of Independent Reviewers of Harassment Determinations. An Independent Reviewer is a neutral person who reviews a school's final determination as to whether harassment occurred and/or the adequacy of a school's response to correct the problem, pursuant to 16 V.S.A.§ 570a(b). Independent Reviewers on the current Independent Reviewers of Harassment Complaints list need to submit a response to this RFI to be considered for the updated list. The closing date for the receipt of RFI Responses is 10 p.m. on Dec. 27, 2022. Responses must be delivered electronically to Nancy Hellen at nancy.hellen@vermont.gov prior to that time. Any questions regarding this RFI must be received by 10 p.m. on Dec. 20, 2022.
Contact: Nancy Hellen at nancy.hellen@vermont.gov

Peer Review Panelists Wanted

Audience: Licensed Vermont Educators
The Agency of Education’s Peer Review program needs licensed educators to serve as panelists. Panelists receive $175 per interview. The work of a panelist involves evaluating a candidate’s portfolio (approximately 2 - 4 hours) and participating in the interview process (approximately 1 - 2 hours). Interviews are online and scheduled based on your convenience. If you are interested, complete the online Small Scale Education Contract Survey by Dec. 15, 2022. The areas of greatest need for panelists are theatre arts and driver education, but all are welcome to submit if interested.
Contact: Ryan Parkman at ryan.parkman@vermont.gov

Vermont Public: December Resources to Celebrate Persons with Disabilities and Enjoy Family Trips

Audience: Curriculum Directors, Principals, PreK-12 Teachers
Celebrate International Persons with Disabilities Day with resources from the Vermont Agency of Education and Vermont Public Partnership, including books that celebrate Disability Pride Month, Sesame Street in Communities and amazing resources for inclusive education from the STEM Innovation for Inclusion in Early Education Center (STEMIE). For co-viewing with students in grades PreK-2, access digital and downloadable content for family celebrations and trips. For number fun in grades K-3, check out Incorporating Odd Squad into Your Classroom, Odd Squad Resources and Episode-Specific Activities, Incorporating Peg + Cat into Your Classroom and Pet + Cat Resources with Episode-Specific Activities. Or, spend time with STEM heroes using Incorporating Hero Elementary into Your Classroom, Hero Elementary Resources with Episode-Specific Activities and the PBSLM Hero Elementary Collection. For older students, check out Becoming Helen Keller Collection (American Sign Language available). For a local connection, But Why has created standards-aligned learning guides to complement recent episodes. Visit the Vermont Public Kids and Education page for more information.
Contacts: Emily Leute at emily.leute@vermont.gov or Heather Duhamel at hduhamel@vermontpbs.org

Agency of Education Open Positions

Audience: All
The Vermont Agency of Education has open positions that are available to both state employees and external applicants. Positions are: Education Data Analyst II - Contact: David Kelley at david.kelley@vermont.gov, Education Programs Coordinator I - Math Specialist - Contact: Pat Fitzsimmons at pat.fitzsimmons@vermont.gov, Education Assistant Division Director - Student Pathways - Contact: Jess DeCarolis at jess.decarolis@vermont.gov, Assessment Coordinator for Special Populations - Contact: Chris Case at chris.case@vermont.gov and Education Child Nutrition Consultant - Contact: Rosie Krueger at mary.krueger@vermont.gov.
Contact: AOE Info at aoe.edinfo@vermont.gov

Courtesy Posts

The views, opinions and resources shared in this section of the WFM are solely those of the original contributors. The Agency of Education does not endorse the views expressed by these contributors and reserves the right to refuse submissions. Questions related to any of these resources should be directed to the organizations, people and opportunities as shared. Please refer to the Weekly Field Memo submission guidelines for additional information.

Webinar - Where Our School Milk Comes From: A conversation with a New England Dairy Farmer

The free webinar, Where Our School Milk Comes From: A conversation with a New England Dairy Farmer, will be held Thursday, Jan. 26, 2023, from 2-3 p.m. Have you been fielding questions or comments about the milk you serve? Bring your questions about farming practices to our conversation with dairy farmer Melissa Griffin. In addition to your questions, Melissa will discuss cow care, technology and milk safety on the farm. Participants will be entered for a chance to win a new cow spot wrapped milk cooler. For more registration information and official rules, go to New England Dairy’s webpage.
Contact: Jill Hussels at jhussels@NewEnglandDairy.com

All Learners Network Math Professional Development

The course, Supporting Students with Complex Needs Parts 1-3, is a three-part workshop series offered virtually, on Zoom, on Jan. 10, 17 and 24, 2023, from 3:30-4:30 p.m. Participants will walk away with an understanding of how to provide intervention and specialized instruction with evidence-based grade level aligned content. Each session will build on one another, so we encourage you to register for all three parts of this series.
Contact: TJ Jemison at communicationsdirector@alllearnersnetwork.com

New Fundations Launch Workshops Starting in January 2023

For teachers who are using Fundations or are planning to implement the program in the future, the Stern Center is offering a new schedule of Wilson Language Training workshops starting in Jan. 2023. Each Fundations level-specific launch workshop provides the practice and guidance you need to effectively begin teaching the Fundations curriculum. Sign up to attend the workshop that corresponds to the program level you’ll be implementing in your school. Fundations is a multisensory and systematic phonics, spelling and handwriting program that benefits all K–3 students.
Contact: Julia Caminiti at news@sterncenter.org

Nominations sought for Vermont's Health and Physical Education Teachers of the Year

The Society of Health and Physical Educators of Vermont (SHAPE VT) is seeking nominations for the 2022 SHAPE VT Awards. The nomination deadline is Dec. 31, 2022. Honorees will be recognized at the annual SHAPE VT conference March 23 and 24, 2023 in Killington, Vermont.
Contact: Dr. Lisa Pleban at lisa.pleban@castleton.edu or (802) 468-1254

Professional Learning - Consolidated Grants: Developing Your Consolidated Federal Programs

Registration is open for Consolidated Grants: Developing Your CFP (Consolidated Federal Programs) facilitated by veteran curriculum director, Gwen Carmolli. Join Gwen and her expert panel at the Hampton Inn in Colchester on March 15, 2023. The CFP is an application process for a set of federal funds that support instruction, materials, professional development, technology and more. In this workshop you will get a chance to preview the grant application, learn about different requirements of the grant, develop a planning timeline and have some time to practice filling in or writing parts of the grant.
Contact: Lauren Wooden at lauren@cvedcvt.org or (802) 497-1642