- COVID-19 Updates and Guidance for Schools
- Other Agency of Education and State of Vermont Updates
- Courtesy Posts
COVID-19 Updates and Guidance for Schools
This section of the Weekly Field Memo contains updates to COVID-19 guidance from the Vermont Agency of Education released since the last Weekly Field Memo and other COVID-19-related updates. For a complete list of AOE-issued guidance, please visit our COVID-19 Guidance for Vermont Schools and Continuity of Learning websites. For the most comprehensive and up-to-date information on the COVID-19 response in Vermont, visit the Health Department's Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19) website.
Guidance: Strong and Healthy Year
Audience: Superintendents, Independent School Heads, Principals, Educators, School Staff
Since last week's Weekly Field Memo the Agency of Education has issued 2020-2021 End of School Year Gatherings and Graduations (4/23).
Contact: AOE COVID-19 Response Team at aoe.support@vermont.gov
Guidance: Continuity of Learning
Audience: All
Since last week's Weekly Field Memo the Agency of Education has updated Broadband Support and Resources for Families (Updated 4/22).
Contact: Lisa Helme at lisa.helme@vermont.gov
Vermont PBS: Resources for Spring and Summer Learning
Audience: Curriculum Directors, Principals, PreK-12 Teachers
In addition to the newly formatted schedule of Vermont PBS programs for the months of April and May, the AOE/PBS partnership would like to highlight some online and printable resources for spring and summer learning. The Summer of Possibilities provides children with opportunities to play and learn through hands-on activities, games, and tips that support literacy, math, science, and life skills. Both the Summer Learning Collection and the Science of Summer invite students in grades 6-12 to learn while exploring everyday summer activities. For more information about the partnership between the Vermont Agency of Education and Vermont PBS, visit the AOE’s Vermont PBS webpage or the Vermont PBS Distance Learning page.
Contacts: Emily Leute at emily.leute@vermont.gov or Heather Duhamel at hduhamel@vermontpbs.org
COVID-19 in Schools Data on Health Department Website
Audience: All
The Health Department has been posting data on COVID-19 in K-12 schools since mid-September. The table counts people with laboratory confirmed (by PCR test) COVID-19 who were at the school, attended a school-sanctioned event, or otherwise interacted with the school community during their infectious period. The counts represent cases by school, not individual person. So, if someone interacts with multiple school communities during their infectious period, they will appear in the table multiple times. Please read more about what information is presented in the table.
Contact: COVID19.DataEntryTeam@vermont.gov
Other Agency of Education and State of Vermont Updates
This section of the Weekly Field Memo contains posts from the Agency of Education and other State of Vermont agencies that are not specifically related to the COVID-19 response.
Regional Education CTE Centers School Calendars 2020-2021 School Year
Audience: All
State statute requires that superintendents of schools and headmasters of public schools not managed by school boards in an area meet annually, and, by majority vote, establish a uniform calendar within that area for the following school year. The summary of the 2020-2021 Regional School CTE Centers Calendars are submitted to the Agency and organized by technical center regions.
Contact: Allison Keating at allison.keating@vermont.gov or (802) 828-4855
2020-2021 Vermont Multi-Tiered System of Supports (VTmtss) Survey Opens April 30, 2021
Audience: Superintendents, Principals
Available: April 30, 2021; Deadline: May 31, 2021
As required by Act 117 – VSA Title 16, Section 2904, each superintendent shall annually provide to the Vermont Secretary of Education the status of the tiered system of supports in each school in the supervisory union or school district. The 2020-2021 Vermont Multi-Tiered System of Supports (VTmtss) Survey will be open on April 30, 2021. Please note that due to the pandemic, superintendents offered an Assurance in place of the VTmss Survey for the 2019-2020 school year. Past VTmtss Survey Summary Reports are available on the VTmtss webpage
. Contact: Nancy Hellen at nancy.hellen@vermont.gov
Mastery Transcript Consortium (MTC) Panel Discussion
Audience: K-12 Educators, Educational Leaders, School Counselors
Join members of the Agency of Education’s Proficiency-Based and Personalized Learning teams as we learn more about how Vermont schools are currently using the Mastery Transcript, an innovative digital transcript that showcases the whole student. Panelists include a representative from the Mastery Transcript Consortium as well as students and teachers from three Vermont schools who will share their experiences with the transcript that highlights students’ unique learning paths, interests and abilities. The panel discussion will be held on Monday, May 3, 2021, from 3 - 4:15 p.m. Register for Mastery Transcript Consortium (MTC) Panel Discussion to reserve your space.
Contact: Emily Leute at emily.leute@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.
Until further notice, the Courtesy Posts will only include posts related to in-person training, events or meetings that affirmatively comply with the Vermont Forward Plan.
Summer Program Health Guidance Webinar
Vermont Afterschool is hosting Dr. Breena Holmes of the Vermont Department of Health to share information about health guidance for summer and child care programs. All who are planning to run a summer program or work in one are welcome to attend. Thursday, April 29, 2021, 1 p.m.-2 p.m. Register online.
Contact: Nicole Miller at nicole@vermontafterschool.org or (802) 448-3464
April 28th Online Info Session for TAP's 8-month Path to Licensure at Champlain College
Champlain College's Teacher Apprenticeship Program supports career changers and those already working in the education field to earn a Level I Vermont teaching license for $12,000. We will hold our next interactive info session online on April 28, 2021, at 4 p.m. Visit the Teacher Apprenticeship Program website to RSVP and to access the TAP application and FAQ's. A new cohort will begin in August 2021 with seminars, followed by full-time student teaching through the fall 2021 semester. Applications are accepted on a rolling basis throughout the spring and we aim to place teachers close to home for their student teaching throughout the state of Vermont.
Contact: Caitlin Hollister at chollister@champlain.edu or (802) 383-6657
VSA Leadership Academy
The VSA Leadership Academy, a professional development program for education leaders, provides insights into the major responsibilities of the position of superintendent and supports skill development in those areas. All-day sessions are held once a month (except February), September 2021 – June 2022. The Academy is open to all Education Leaders who might consider becoming a superintendent. It is also very beneficial to first-year superintendents and to superintendents new to Vermont as they navigate their early tenure in the role.
Contact: Kristi Tate at ktate@vtvsa.org or (802) 229-5834
Professional Learning: PLCs and RTi at Work
Registration is open for Leading Vermont's PLCs and RTi at Work - a team-based series Oct. 1 and Dec. 3, 2021, and March 18, 2022. A virtual introduction to the work: Intro to PLC and RTI at Work on May 20, 2021, 3 - 4:15 p.m. is available. Both events are facilitated by Jackie Ramsay-Tolman of EWSD and Jack Baldermann - a nationally-recognized leader who worked collaboratively with teams to create innovative programs that produced amazing results in challenging urban schools. School and District Leaders and Improvement Teams will see how (PLCs) and RTi at Work models when used together, align to VTmtss, and provide a viable and research-based means of transforming schools to close achievement gaps for all students. Includes book: Every School, Every Team, Every Classroom.
Contact: Lauren Wooden at lauren@cvedcvt.org or (802) 497-1642
Free Virtual Keynote: Self-care, Healing, and Equity with Dr. Dena Simmons
In this free virtual professional development event hosted by Vermont Afterschool, Dr. Dena Simmons—a prominent researcher of social-emotional learning, equity and culturally responsive practices—will explore self-care strategies as a way to cope with isolation, uncertainty, and the collective traumas of COVID-19 and our country’s reckoning with race. She will also reflect on what is causing our burnout as a way to tackle it with relevant emotion regulation and self-care strategies. Dr. Simmons will discuss how best to meet the needs and demands of former and current students who expressed harm done at school/district/community, plans for creating systemic change, and anti-racist practices to ensure equity and to facilitate healing in the midst of multiple pandemics. Wednesday, May 5, 2021 (10-11 a.m.). Pre-register for the event online.
Contact: Nicole Miller at info@vermontafterschool.org or (802) 448-3464
Assessment Over Coffee: A Five-Part Webinar Series with Melissa Farrall
Registration is open for Assessment Over Coffee: A Five-Part Webinar Series with Melissa Farrall, offered by the Stern Center for Language and Learning. This webinar series is designed to add a little assessment excitement to your summer. Tune in to learn about why reading is so important, and why it is so hard for many students to become skilled readers and writers. Learn about the tools that literacy professionals use to identify dyslexia and dysgraphia, and how a comprehensive evaluation can be instrumental to providing effective, evidence-based instruction. Webinars run from 9-11 a.m. on Wednesdays from June 30 to July 28, 2021. Discounts available.
Contact: SJ Larkspur at slarkspur@sterncenter.org
2021 Vermont Literacy Conference
The 2021 Vermont Literacy Conference is happening Aug. 2-4, 2021. These three days will feature 10 different two-day strands, 7 Hot Topics to select from each day and two keynote speakers, Cornelius Minor and Jennifer Seravallo. Consider sending a team from your school or district to deepen their learning on supporting their students’ literacy success. Attendees of this conference can be a part of follow-up work for three credits from Saint Michael's College if desired.
Contact: Mary Grace at info@pllvt.org or (802) 828-0521
Power 2 Summit: Youth and Adults Reimagining and Transforming Education Together
A virtual gathering to connect, inspire and co-create action to transform learning Wednesday May 5, 2021, at 9 a.m. - 12:30 p.m. on Zoom. Sessions include: Lessons Learned During COVID; The importance of Being Engaged: Advocating for Yourself and Your Community; Shaping the Future; Reimagining the School Schedule with Students at the Center; LGBTQ Learners: What Is The Current School System Lacking? How can we build an education system that centers justice, equity and wellbeing in a white supremacy culture? What is the purpose of an education? Visit the summit website and register online.
Contact: Harry Frank at harry@upforlearning.org or (802) 989-4913
Fostering Anti-Racist Classrooms Professional Development
The Center for Community & Social Justice at Champlain College is offering credit-bearing professional development for all Vermont PreK-12 educators. The Summer Institute for Educators: Fostering Anti-Racists Classrooms will be offered online from 8:30 a.m.-5 p.m., June 21 through June 25, 2021. This professional development opportunity will be led by local and national experts who will provide attendees with actionable suggestions for creating inclusive classrooms and classroom resources. Details and registration information can be found at the Summer Institute for Educators: Fostering Anti-Racist Classrooms website.
Contact: Patti Aldredge at communitysocialjustice@champlain.edu
May 1-16 is the Transportation Challenge - Join in and be Entered to Win Prizes
Spring is here, a great time to Get Up and Go! walk, bike, roll, bus or carpool May 1-16, 2021, and be a part of the Way to Go! Spring Transportation Challenge. Whether you’re getting healthy, supporting a clean, green Vermont or doing your part to battle pollution, you can earn points to win awesome prizes. Teachers and staff can earn VEHI Path Points and more chances to win by logging individual green trips May 1-16, 2021.
Contact: Debra Sachs at deb@netzerovt.org
New Mister Chris and Friends Video Series from Vermont PBS
Each Monday this May, a new video will guide children and their families through special daily moments: waking up, brushing teeth, washing hands, cleaning up and going to bed. This video shorts series welcomes Elephant, a new friend who joins Mister Chris for these activities. Each video has a new original song and features a peek into lives and routines in our community thanks to participation from viewers. Videos will be available to watch on the Vermont PBS website, where families can also watch full episodes of seasons one and two of Mister Chris and Friends.
Contact: Heather Duhamel at hduhamel@vermontpbs.org