- Engaging your Students in the Crosscutting Concepts
- Flexible Pathways Implementation Tool Kit
- Vermont Assessment Vendor Changes Name
- VT Science Assessment Family Reporting Brochure is Posted
- VTmtss February Office Hour
- Spring 2020 Federal Food Service Equipment Grant Announcement
- Special Education General Supervision and Monitoring System Public Comment
- Courtesy Posts
Engaging your Students in the Crosscutting Concepts
Audience: K-12 Teachers, Curriculum Directors, Principals, Science Leaders
The Vermont Science Teachers Association (VSTA) will be offering a two-day workshop series by Peter McLaren, Executive Director of Next Gen Education, LLC on April 16, 2020, at Middlebury College. The series will focus on teacher implementation of the crosscutting concepts and the instructional shifts required as a result of the Next Generation Science Standards. This workshop series will be participant-centered, where attendees will engage in a number of activities designed to elevate their understand of, and how to implement, crosscutting concepts within their instructional environment. To register, please visit the VSTA’s website.
Contact: Margaret Carrera-Bly at margaret.carrera-bly@vermont.gov
Flexible Pathways Implementation Tool Kit
Audience: Superintendents, Principals, CTE Directors, School Counselors, Advisers, Educators
The AOE has made updates to the Flexible Pathways Implementation Kit, designed to support SU/SDs in developing, improving upon and communicating Flexible Pathway opportunities that are effective, equitable, compliant and safe. Over 100 educators and stakeholders from the field contributed to the development of this technical assistance. Recent updates include additional resources and links embedded throughout the tools.
Contact: Veronica Newton at veronica.newton@vermont.gov
Vermont Assessment Vendor Changes Name
On Jan. 6, 2020, it was announced that Cambium Learning Group completed its acquisition of the assessment division of American Institutes for Research (AIR). AIR Assessment is retaining its testing applications used in 26 states. Now called Cambium Assessment, Inc., the company anticipates no changes in staffing as part of the acquisition. State testing contracts with Vermont will be amended to reflect the change in ownership, however, the deliverables outlined in the contract and the terms of that contract remain unchanged. Vermont will continue to work directly with the same program management team, and there will be no impact on the ELA, Math, Science and Alt assessments delivered by Cambium Assessment. Furthermore, students and educators in schools and districts will continue to use the same testing applications with which they are familiar, and all URLs, e-mail addresses, user documentation and the like will remain unchanged throughout the spring administration.
Contact: Gabriel McGann at gabriel.mcgann@vermont.gov
VT Science Assessment Family Reporting Brochure is Posted
Audience: Leadership Teams, Science Teachers
The Science Assessment Family Guide has been posted on the VT Comprehensive Assessment Portal. This brochure acts as a family guide for the individual student score reports (ISRs) generated for the Vermont Science Assessments (VTSA). It is intended to be printed and sent home with test results. It may also be used by teachers or administrators to help interpret a student's assessment scores.
Contact: Gabriel McGann at gabriel.mcgann@vermont.gov
VTmtss February Office Hour
Audience: All Educators
Register for the Vermont Multi-tiered System of Supports (VTmtss) Team's Office Hour on Wednesday, Feb. 5, 2020, from 3-4 p.m. During this webinar, we will be interviewing Nancy Hellen about the AOE Family Engagement Toolkit and ways to strengthen collaboration with families and the community. We will highlight best practices and how this work is a vital aspect of strengthening your school system's VTmtss.
Contact: Nancy Hellen at nancy.hellen@vermont.gov or (802) 828-5035
Spring 2020 Federal Food Service Equipment Grant Announcement
Food Service Directors and Managers, Superintendents, Principals, Farm-to-School Coordinators
We are now accepting applications for Spring 2020 Federal Food Service Equipment Grants. Applications are due by 4:30 p.m. on Friday, February 28, 2020. Please note that there are a number of changes to the federal equipment grants this year. The allowable dollar value of the requested equipment has been lowered from $5,000 to $1,000. In addition, School Food Authorities may submit applications for sites with free and reduced percentages below 50% and for sites that have received a previous federal equipment grant, although those applications will be funded only after all other applications have been funded.
Contact: Ailynne Adams at ailynne.adams@vermont.gov
Special Education General Supervision and Monitoring System Public Comment
Audience: All, Special Education Administrators
Stakeholder input is being sought for the revised special education general supervision and monitoring system to be fully implemented beginning July 1, 2020. All comments are collected using a standard response form. Response forms should be sent to AOE.SpecialEd@vermont.gov. In addition to posting for public comment on the AOE website, the agency held multiple stakeholder meetings from September - December 2019. Notices for these meetings were published in the Agency’s weekly field memo. The Agency of Education is inviting public comment from Dec. 16, 2019, until Feb. 1, 2020.
Contact: Tonya Rutkowski at AOE.SpecialEd@vermont.gov or leave a message at (802) 828-1256
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.
Online Graduate Course Offered
The Center for Health and Learning is offering a 2-credit online graduate course Promoting Personal Health and Safety Through the Prevention of Injury and Violence beginning March 1, 2020. This course is designed to address concepts, knowledge and skills related to promoting personal health and safety through injury and violence prevention. It is offered as one of a series of courses by the Vermont Higher Education Collaborative toward health education endorsement.
Contact: Catherine Diduk at info@healthandlearning.org or (802) 254-6590
Early Childhood Educator Series: Understanding Trauma and Creating Trauma-Transformed Early Childhood Settings
A growing body of neuroscience research shows that, for children with trauma, crucial support and interventions before age 3 yield the best potential outcomes. Join Jennifer Auletta, Community Health Team Psychotherapist, in Rutland for a two-part workshop series that will help move trauma informed practices from theories and models into daily practice in our childcare classrooms and educational settings. Part One, Understanding Trauma in Early Childhood Settings, is for those who are newer to the study of trauma or who would like a refresh on this study, and will be held on Feb. 6, 2020. Part Two, Creating Trauma-Transformed Early Childhood Settings: Integration and Application, is for those who are practiced in the study of trauma or who have taken Part One, and takes place on March 11, 2020. Both workshops will be held at the Rutland-Killington Holiday Inn in Rutland, VT. Participants may register for both workshops, or either workshop individually.
Contact: Julie Medose julie.medose@vthec.org or (802) 498-3350
Professional Learning: Instructional Coaching
Registration is open for Coaching Seminar: Instructional Coaching - Clear Systems to Grow Internal Capacity. Instructional Coaches and administrators who support coaches will have a great day led by Ellen Dorsey to facilitate needed systems of support. Coaches and administrators will understand the six key issues that undermine instructional coaching partnerships and assess their own coaching system. All will develop action plans to improve support for coaching in their own context. Hampton Event Center in Colchester, VT on April 1, 2020.
Contact: Lauren Wooden at lauren@cvedcvt.org or (802) 497-1642
Teacher Workshop with Actors from the London Stage
Join the Actors from the London Stage, one of the most established Shakespeare theater companies in the world, on Tuesday, Feb. 18, 2020, from 4-6 p.m. for a workshop exploring the Bard's dramatic themes, as well as performance techniques to bring the words to life. "The work we did with the visiting artists provided many exercises to use with any age. The fact that we put them to use together and truly embodied them was powerful" (Alana Phinney, Independent Teaching Artist). Workshop fee is $20/participant; fee support and PD credit available; register on the Flynn Center website.
Contact: Lauren Genta at lgenta@flynncenter.org or (802) 652-4508
Making Schools Safer for Trans and Gender Diverse Youth
Vermont Association of School Psychologists is sponsoring a conference on Making Schools Safer for Trans and Gender Diverse Youth by Todd Savage on March 30, 2020, at the Delta by Marriott Hotel in Burlington, Vermont. More information and registration information on the VASP website.
Contact: Cindy Cole at (802) 871-6026
Professional Learning at the Teacher Center at Riverside
The Teacher Center at Riverside provides professional development opportunities for educators in the Northeast Kingdom of VT and North Country of NH. Educators are agents for change, and change is needed now. Introduced in the summer of 2018, the Center hopes to support area educational professionals with relevant, valuable and locally-sourced professional development opportunities in support of all levels of education. In 2020, we are offering two evening workshops (free to the public with certificate of PD hours) and three summer intensives (tuitioned, PD hours or graduate credit available through Antioch University New England). All courses are offered at Teacher Center at Riverside School in Lyndonville, VT.
Contact: Nelia Rath at nelia.rath@theriversideschool.org