- COVID-19 Updates and Guidance for Schools
- Other Agency of Education and State of Vermont Updates
- Empowered Paraprofessionals: School Year Sessions -Session 2: IEP Overview
- State Board of Education to Hold Virtual Public Comment Hour on Rules Series 1300 and 2360
- Delayed Release - Ready for Kindergarten! Survey 2020-2021
- Non-Profit Organization Profile Request
- Register for Free Swank Streaming Service
- 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: A Strong and Healthy Start
Audience: Superintendents, Principals, Coaches, School Nurses, COVID-19 Coordinators
Since last week's Weekly Field Memo, the Vermont Agency of Education and the Vermont Agency of Natural Resources co-issued Winter Sports Programs for the 2020-2021 School Year (11/3) and the AOE updated Safety and Health FAQ 1: Physical Distancing (Updated 10/29).
Contact: Ted Fisher at ted.fisher@vermont.gov
Guidance: Special Education
Audience: Superintendents, Principals, Special Education Educators and Administrators
Since last week's Weekly Field Memo, the Vermont Agency of Education has issued FAQ: Clarification of Assessing COVID-19 Impact Guidance (11/3).
Contact: Jacqui Kelleher at jacqui.kelleher@vermont.gov
Vermont PBS: Distance Learning Monthly Schedule for November
Audience: Curriculum Directors, Principals, PreK-12 Teachers
The Schedule of Vermont PBS Programs for the month of November 2020 is now available, featuring brand new Incorporating PBS documents as well as PBS Teacher Planning Kits. The Vermont Agency of Education has expanded their partnership with PBS to support in-person, hybrid and remote learning models. Based on teacher feedback, resources for in-classroom and distance learning have shifted to a monthly overview using analog, digital and broadcast resources. Weekly thematic bundles, with specific episodes highlighted per week by content area and age-level, are available to stream on-demand. These episodes connect to specific resources on PBS LearningMedia and PBS Parents.
Contacts: Emily Leute at emily.leute@vermont.gov or Heather Duhamel at hduhamel@vermontpbs.org
Holiday Travel Toolkit for Schools
Audience: All
The Vermont Department of Health has developed a Holiday Travel Toolkit for Schools, containing social media posts with images, sample newsletter drop-in information and printable fact sheets for schools to share with staff and parents.
Contact: Shari Levine at shari.levine@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.
Empowered Paraprofessionals: School Year Sessions -Session 2: IEP Overview
Audience: Paraeducators
Empowered Paraprofessionals: School Year Session 1: Virtual Strategies will be held on Nov. 25, 2020, from 2 p.m. - 4 p.m. An Individualized Education Program (IEP) is a written statement of the educational program designed to meet a child’s individual needs. This session will help paraprofessionals understand the purpose, development and content in an IEP and how they can be part of the process. Please register online to receive your link to this meeting.
Contact: Ana Kolbach at ana.kolbach@vermont.gov
State Board of Education to Hold Virtual Public Comment Hour on Rules Series 1300 and 2360
Audience: Superintendents, Principals, Special Education Administrators, Educators, General Public
The State Board of Education will hold a virtual public comment hour on Rules Series 1300 and Rule Series 2360 during its monthly meeting on Nov. 18, 2020, from 12:45 p.m. – 1:45 p.m. If you would like to register to provide public comment on these two rules series, please email Maureen Gaidys at maureen.gaidys@vermont.gov. You can also email public comment related to these rule series to: SBE.PublicComment@vermont.gov or mail them to State Board of Education, 1 National Life Drive, Davis 5, Montpelier, VT 05620-2501.
Contact: Maureen Gaidys at maureen.gaidys@vermont.gov
Delayed Release - Ready for Kindergarten! Survey 2020-2021
Audience: Superintendents, Principals, Kindergarten Teachers
The 2020-2021 Ready for Kindergarten! Survey (R4K!S) anticipated release is mid-November. The delayed release is due to COVID-19 and the many challenges that school districts, administrators and teachers are facing to provide quality education (in-person/hybrid/remote) for each and every student. This delayed release also provides kindergarten teachers extra time to learn more about their students' learning as well as their health and social/emotional wellness. As in previous years, kindergarten teachers will have a six-week window to complete and submit the R4K!S for each student enrolled in their kindergarten class.
Contact: Kate Rogers at kate.rogers@vermont.gov
Non-Profit Organization Profile Request
Audience: Non-Profit Organizations
Non-profit organizations that operate as a non-profit in good standing in Vermont and have a minimum of five years of experience operating or delivering services to or within afterschool or summer programs in Vermont are invited to submit an external organization profile as required by federal statute under the Every Student Succeeds Act. Fully completed profiles, due Friday, Dec. 4, 2020, at 4:30 p.m., will result in inclusion on a list of organizations to be posted on the AOE’s 21st Century Community Learning Center’s page by Jan. 15, 2021. See the associated memo and profile online.
Contact: Emanuel Betz at emanuel.betz@vermont.gov
Register for Free Swank Streaming Service
Audience: Educators and Administrators
Registration is now open for free Swank streaming, as well as a discounted public performance license option via the Vermont Department of Libraries. Both are scheduled to be available to all Vermont public and approved independent schools for the next two years. The streaming option is free for all schools, regardless of whether they purchased the public performance license. The public performance license from Movie Licensing USA/Swank Motion Pictures allows schools to show films from several well-known studios for non-educational purposes and still comply with copyright law. The 2020-21 license will be valid from Oct. 1, 2020, to Sept. 30, 2021. The streaming option provides school librarians and teachers with resources students can access remotely. It is funded, in part, through a grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Services. If you are interested in free streaming services for your school and/or purchasing a discounted movie license, please complete this form by Nov. 20, 2020. Please visit the Swank page to review the difference between the regular Swank license and the streaming services. Contact: Jennifer Johnson at jennifer.johnson@vermont.gov or (802) 636-0023
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 current health guidance from the Vermont Department of Health, the Agency of Commerce and Community Development and/or the Vermont Agency of Education.
Professional Learning: Planning for Both or Either with Google Classroom
Registration is open for Planning for Both or Either: A Blended Learning Approach Virtual Series with Adam Seipel, Google Certified Trainer and Innovator. 2020 has its challenges! These four sessions in December from 3:30 - 4:30 p.m. are designed to reduce anxiety during these fluctuating times, introduce frameworks that are helpful in-person or during remote instruction, and support participants in creating a blended learning unit from inception through introduction. Google Classroom and Packaging Your Content, Hyperdocs, Choice boards, UDL considerations, Artifacts of Learning, and Feedback Strategies will be shared.
Contact: Lauren Wooden at lauren@cvedcvt.org or (802) 497-1642
Save the Dates: "We-Do" Writing
Partnerships for Literacy and Learning presents “We-Do” Writing: Maximizing Practice to Develop Independent Writers with Leah Mermelstein for five online sessions in 2021. The dates are Jan. 7, Jan. 21, Feb. 11, Feb. 18 and March 18, 2020 from 3:30-4:30 p.m. Cost is $45/session or $200 for the series. Teaching writing in K-4 just got simpler. Using her new book, Leah Mermelstein will show us how to focus instruction on the skills that matter most and how to deliver writing sessions that provide the explicit modeling and practice students need.
Contact: Mary Grace at info@pllvt.org or (802) 828-0521