Agency of Education, State of Vermont and Federal Updates
This section of the Weekly Field Memo contains posts from the Agency of Education (AOE), other State of Vermont agencies, federal agencies or Vermont's congressional delegation.
Best Practice Documents to Help Schools Respond to “Swatting” Incidents
Audience: Superintendents, Principals and School Safety Stakeholders
The Vermont School Safety Center is pleased to share several best practice documents to help schools respond to “swatting” incidents. These documents can be found on the Vermont School Safety Center website. We encourage school leaders to share these resources with their teams.
Contact: Robert L. Evans at revans@margolishealy.com or (802) 839-0448
Vermont Finalists for the U.S. Presidential Scholars Program
Audience: All
The White House Commission on Presidential Scholars selects scholars annually based on their academic success, artistic and technical excellence, essays, school evaluations and transcripts, as well as a demonstrated commitment to community service and leadership. The finalists for each state were recently announced and the two recipients representing Vermont are Adowyn Mulligan Byrne of Essex High School and Samuel John Yager of Champlain Valley Union High School. The Vermont finalists and semi-finalists for the U.S. Presidential Scholars Program are provided on the AOE’s Awards and Recognition page. For more information on the federal program visit the U.S. Presidential Scholars Program’s webpage.
Contact: Ryan Parkman at ryan.parkman@vermont.gov
Peer Review Panelists Wanted
Audience: Currently Licensed Vermont Educators
The Agency of Education’s Peer Review program needs licensed educators to serve as panelists. Panelists receive $175.00 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 June 15, 2023. All endorsement areas are welcome to submit if interested.
Contact: Ryan McCormick at ryan.mccormick@vermont.gov
Vermont Public: But Why Adventures, Northeast Nature Video Series
Audience: Curriculum Directors, Principals, Grades 3-5 Teachers
The team behind Vermont Public’s But Why has created a series of short videos for 3rd-5th grades. In the first season, Northeast Nature, host Jane Lindholm helps kids explore the science behind what’s happening in the northeastern U.S. each month, offering educators and students an opportunity to find science in their own backyards. Additionally, we will provide teacher resources, project suggestions and fun activity guides to take learning off the screen and into the classroom. Visit the website to see the descriptions of all of our episodes and sign up for these free resources, co-developed by our Education Ambassadors.
Contacts: Emily Leute at emily.leute@vermont.gov or Heather Duhamel at hduhamel@vermontpublic.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. The open positions are: Education Programs Coordinator II - Contact: Josh Souliere at josh.souliere@vermont.gov, Education Assistant Division Director - Contact: Josh Souliere at josh.souliere@vermont.gov, State Director of Special Education - Contact: Heather Bouchey at heather.bouchey@vermont.gov and Education Programs Coordinator II - Inclusive Systems - Contact: Chris Kane at christopher.kane@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.
Vermont Family Network Free Workshop: Understanding and Building Youth Resilience
In the workshop, Understanding and Building Youth Resilience, presenters will begin with a brief introduction to trauma and trauma-responsive care. During the majority of the presentation, we will focus on defining resilience, understanding the current trends and statistics and how we build/increase resilience in children and youth. The presentation will also cover the care of self for the adults who care for or work with youth.
Contact: Sienna Tuinei at sienna.tuinei@vtfn.org
Partnerships for Literacy and Learning Offers the Patricia Gallant Scholarship
Partnerships for Literacy and Learning supports teacher professional development and offers one full scholarship for any event they are holding. This means this summer, if you have a teacher in any grade level interested in attending the three-day 2023 Vermont Literacy Conference (VLC) but have limited funds, they can apply simply by emailing Mary Grace at mkgrace@pllvt.org about the need. Details on the conference are on the VLC webpage.
Contact: Mary Grace at mkgrace@pllvt.org or (802) 828-0521
Professional Learning: Two-Day Workshop on Supporting Multilingual Learners
This two-day workshop led by English Language Learner trainers, Kayla Johnson, Marina Brzostoski and Christine Sealey, is on June 27-28 at The Hampton Inn, Colchester. Classroom Design Supporting Students' Cultural Backgrounds: Co-Planning for K-12 Classrooms supports accommodating the needs of multilingual students, considering their cultural backgrounds and other important factors for creating culturally-sensitive classroom environments.
Contact: Lauren Wooden at lauren@cvedcvt.org or (802) 497-1642
Course Registration Deadline June 16: Place-Based Science for Educators
There are a few spots remaining in the Place-Based Science for Educators professional development course this summer. This three-credit online graduate class is offered through Teach Local and Castleton University and is designed for teachers who are passionate about getting their students outside to learn science. Participants will study their local ecosystems, practice activities they can use with students and build a place-based mini-unit. The course will be on July 10-21, part-time and mostly asynchronous. Learn more and register on the Teach Local website. Please register by June 16.
Contact: Mike Blouin at mike@teachlocal.org
Professional Development: Fundations Levels K-3 Workshops
Gain the practice and guidance to effectively begin teaching the Fundations curriculum. Offered this July, the Stern Center for Language and Learning’s one-day Fundations Workshops are designed for classroom teachers, specialists, interventionists and paraprofessionals implementing Fundations in their K–3 classrooms or schools. Fundations makes learning to read fun while laying the groundwork for lifelong literacy. The program’s research-based approach and extensive materials allow K–3 teachers to confidently present a carefully structured reading, spelling and handwriting curriculum using engaging, multisensory techniques. When you register for the workshop, apply for grant funding—which can reduce tuition by 20%.
Contact: Julia Caminiti at news@sterncenter.org
Vermont Destination Imagination Summer 2023
Vermont Destination Imagination is a non-profit educational organization. We provide creative STEAM (Science, Technical, Engineering, Arts, Math) activities for kids and teens from kindergarten through high school, including homeschool and community-based groups. We can do a workshop at your summer program or bring creative activities to a community event. Make plans with us this summer to start Destination Imagination teams in the fall.
Contact: Jane Youngbaer at vtdicreativity@gmail.com