- Prekindergarten Exclusionary Discipline Data Collection for the 2017-2018 School Year
- Fall Census Training Schedule
- Sample Music Graduation Requirements with Performance Indicators
- School Nutrition 2017-2018 Monitoring Schedule
- 21st Century Community Learning Centers Application Now Open
- VT Personalized Learning Plan Platform Fair
- September 2017 Newsletters for the Arts, English Language Arts, Health and Physical Education
- Registration for the Work-Based Learning Collaborative Learning Series Closes Soon
- Farm to School Grant Request for Applications Release Soon
- Courtesy Postings
Prekindergarten Exclusionary Discipline Data Collection for the 2017-2018 School Year
Audience: Superintendents, Elementary Principals, and PreK Providers
This week a memo was sent to Superintendents and Principals that included information about data collection of PreK exclusionary discipline. A separate memo with more detailed information was also sent to PreK providers. Read the Prekindergarten Exclusionary Discipline memos.
Contact: Tom Faris, Multi-tiered System of Supports Coordinator, at thomas.faris@vermont.gov, or Kate Rogers, Early Childhood Special Education Director, at kate.rogers@vermont.gov
Fall Census Training Schedule
Audience: Registrars, Administrative Support, Student Information Systems Support Persons, School Personnel Responsible for Completing Fall and/or Spring Student Census
The training schedule for the Fall Student Census has been set. Space is limited, so please register immediately. The trainings will be held from 10 a.m. to Noon on the following dates: October 2, 2017 at Burlington Electric in Burlington, VT; October 4, 2017 at Green Mountain Union High School in Chester, VT; and October 6, 2017 at the Pavilion Auditorium in Montpelier, VT.
Contact: Glenn Bouchard at (802) 479-1044 or glenn.bouchard@vermont.gov
Sample Music Graduation Requirements with Performance Indicators
Audience: All
Sample Graduation Requirements for Music Graduation Requirements with Performance Indicators and Dance Graduation Requirements with Performance Indicators are posted online. They are aligned with the National Core Arts Standards, and are the result of six months of work from dedicated music teachers from across the state.
Contact: Emily Titterton at emily.titterton@vermont.gov
School Nutrition 2017-2018 Monitoring Schedule
Audience: Superintendents, Business Managers, Food Service Directors and Managers, and Principals
Per federal regulations, the Child Nutrition Programs is responsible for annually monitoring one-third of the School Food Authorities (SFAs) participating in the school meals program. This is the second year of the new review cycle for the new Administrative Review (AR) format developed by USDA as part of the Healthy, Hunger Free Kids Act of 2010. This is also the second year of the separate Procurement Review that will cover some review sections previously included in the Resource Management area of the AR, including purchasing practices, Food Service Management Company contracts, and written procurement policies. The list of SFA’s that will be reviewed in School Year 2017-2018, the specific sites that will be visited, and the planned dates of the on-site portion of the review are available online. Dates are subject to change and additional sites may be visited.
Contact: Laurie Colgan at (802) 479-1187 or laurie.colgan@vermont.gov
21st Century Community Learning Centers Application Now Open
Audience: Principals, Non-Profit Organizations
The 21st Century Community Learning Centers (21st CCLC) Grant Application is open for the purpose of purpose of providing high-quality afterschool and summer learning opportunities. Applications are due February 5, 2018. Applicant workshops for teams will be held on October 11, 18, and 19, 2017 from 9 a.m. - 3 p.m. Read the significant 21CCLC funding update. View the 21st Century Community Learning Centergrant application.
Contact: 21C State Coordinator, Emanuel Betz, at (802) 479-1369 or emanuel.betz@vermont.gov
VT Personalized Learning Plan Platform Fair
Audience: Curriculum Coordinators, Technology Coordinators, PLP Coaches, Others Involved in PLP Programs
Registration for the Personalized Learning Plan (PLP) Platform Fair will close on Friday, September 22, 2017. If you are interested, multiple registrations per SU/SD are now allowed. Learn more and register for the PLP Platform Fair. The fair will be held October 3, 2017 at the Lake Morey Resort.
Contact: Peter Drescher, Education Technology Coordinator, at (802) 479-1169 or peter.drescher@vermont.gov
September 2017 Newsletters for the Arts, English Language Arts, Health and Physical Education
Audience: All
The AOE has posted the September 2017 Arts Newsletter, the English Language Arts Newsletter, and Linking Health and Learning Newsletter. These newsletters include pertinent news articles, announcements, upcoming professional learning events and resources.
Contact: Open individual newsletters for AOE content contact
Registration for the Work-Based Learning Collaborative Learning Series Closes Soon
Audience: WBL Coordinators, Educators Who Provide Various Types of WBL Experiences
Registration for the SY 2017 - 2018 Work-Based Learning Coordinators’ professional learning series is now open. The Series Kick-Off will take place on October 4, 2017 at Lake Morey Resort in Fairlee, VT. The first and final sessions of this four-day series invites WBL educators and coordinators statewide to convene for all day in-person collaborative working sessions. The second and third sessions are regional meetings to provide and support the continued work of these groups with local businesses to establish, build, and strengthen WBL partnerships and WBL programs to meet the goals of Act 77 and Education Quality Standards. The cost for this series is $150 per person. Register for the Work-Based Learning Coordinators' professional learning series with payment by September 28, 2017.
Registration Information Contact: Michael Brownstein or Allison Short at vtclg@ccebos.org; AOE contact: Veronica Newton at veronica.newton@vermont.gov
Farm to School Grant Request for Applications Release Soon
Audience: All
The Vermont Agency of Agriculture, Food and Markets will release the 2017 Request for Applications for the Vermont Farm to School and Child Nutrition Grant and the Farm to School Equipment Grant on October 2, 2017. Applications are due, and prospective applicants can join an informative webinar about the program on October 11, 2017. All schools and childcare providers come to the Vermont Farm to School Program with a different level of experience and familiarity with farm to school. The goal of this grant opportunity is to meet schools and childcare providers where they are and provide individualized coaching, technical assistance, professional development, and financial assistance to help them move forward in the development of their own, unique farm to school program. In many cases, schools or childcare providers jumpstart their farm to school program by first expanding and improving their food programs. Keep an eye on the VT Agency of Agriculture's website for more information.
Contact: Ali Zipparo, Agency of Agriculture, at alexandra.zipparo@vermont.gov
Courtesy Postings
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.
Free Vermont I-Team Workshop
This session is called "From Presence to Contribution: Strengthening the Inclusion of Students with Complex Needs in the Regular Classroom and Curriculum with Erin Sheldon." In this this interactive session, educators will learn how to anchor instruction in language and concept development and apply predictable and meaningful instructional strategies. We will focus on the elements of comprehensive literacy program and how to support emergent readers and writers of all ages. We will share examples and discuss harnessing the general education curriculum as a rich source of interest and variety. Learn more about this free Vermont I-Team Workshop. The workshop will be held October 18, 2017 at the Hampton Inn in Colchester.
Contact: Valerie LeClair at (802) 656-7122 or valerie.leclair@uvm.edu
Prudential Spirit of Community Awards
The Prudential Spirit of Community Awards Program will be soliciting applications from Vermonters in grades 5-12 through middle level and high schools, as well as through Girl Scout councils, county 4-H organizations, American Red Cross chapters, YMCAs and Affiliates of Points of Light's HandsOn Network. The Prudential Spirit of Community Awards Program is the nation's largest youth recognition program based exclusively on volunteer community service. Vermont's top middle level and high school youth volunteers for 2018 will be announced February 6, 2018 and brought to Washington D.C. next April for four days of special recognition events, along with the top two applicants from every other state and the District of Columbia. Learn more and apply for the Prudential Spirit of Community Awards.
Contact: The Prudential Spirit of Community Awards Program at (973) 802-4568
Vermont Humanities Council Fall Conference Scholarships
Thanks to a grant from the Bay and Paul Foundations, the Vermont Humanities Council is once again offering full scholarships to qualifying educators to attend our Fall Conference, to be held on November 17-18, 2017 at the University of Vermont. This conference will explore the ways that technology has shaped culture, society, and human interaction, and even affected our understanding of who we are. Vermont K-12 educators, as well as Adult Education and Literacy system educators, are eligible for these scholarships. This includes teachers as well as non-classroom instructional personnel such as curriculum coordinators or media specialists. Apply by October 27, 2017. Learn more about the Vermont Humanities Council Fall Conference.
Contact: Richelle Franzoni, Vermont Humanities Council, at (802) 262-1355 or community@vermonthumanities.org
Rowland Foundation Annual Conference
The Rowland Foundation has announced that it has just opened registrations for its October 26, 2017 conference at the University of Vermont. Our inspiring keynote speaker will be Princeton University's Ruha Benjamin, author, lecturer, and professor specializing in the interdisciplinary study of race-ethnicity, health, knowledge and power. The conference theme is "Schools as Laboratories for Social Change: Regenerating Empathy at the Heart of Education." Given the political climate in our country, this will perhaps be our most topical conference to date. Register now as this conference must be capped at 500 people, a number usually reached by the end of September. For conference details, workshop descriptions and registration.
Contact: Marge Malko, Administrative Assistant, at margemalko@gmail.com or (802) 824-6400
Webinar from Vermont Family Network
The Vermont Family Network (VTFN) will host the free webinar, "From Rowley to Endrew F.: What the Supreme Court Says about Special Education," on September 27, 2017 from 10 - 11 a.m. This webinar will provide some history of special education and other education laws leading up to the Supreme Court’s 2017 decision in Endrew F. We will also take a look at how this new Supreme Court ruling might impact special education services in Vermont. Presenters: Marilyn A. Mahusky, Staff Attorney, Vermont Legal Aid and Rachel Seelig, Staff Attorney, Vermont Legal Aid. All of VFN’s webinars are archived on their VFN YouTube channel and the VTFN website. Register for "From Rowley to Endrew F.: What the Supreme Court Says about Special Education."
Contact: Janice Sabett at (802) 876-5315 ext. 218 or janice.sabett@vtfn.org
National Center for Women and Information Technology Aspirations in Computing Awards Applications Open
Calling all hackers, coders, and 9 - 12 grade women, teachers, counselors, administrators, mentors, or other influencers who support 9 -12 grade women’s interest in technology. Applications are open for the National Center for Women & Information Technology (NCWIT) Award for Aspirations in Computing. Student recipients receive engraved awards, scholarship and internship opportunities, entry to a peer-network of technical women in the NCWIT AiC Community, various prizes, and more. Students can apply for the Student National Center for Women and Information Technology Award for Aspirations in Computing through November 6, 2017. Educators can apply for the Educator NCWIT Award for Aspirations in Computing online at through November 27, 2017.
Contact: Emily Kerr at (603) 641-4320 or emily.kerr@unh.edu
Managing Risk in Delivering Facility Services
In facility management, we don’t often think about risk. Our focus is usually on managing costs and delivering day-to-day services. These days, a facility manager should consider how well we are able to handle risks. Risk management can take on a lot of different looks – security risk, service delivery, emergency preparedness, business continuity, and even risk in contract management. This presentation will provide an overview of risk management in facilities and provide some basic tools for addressing and managing everyday risks that can have a huge impact on our organization’s ability to carry out its mission. The presentation will be done by Chris Hodges, P.E., CFM, LEED AP, IFMA Fellow, FRICS. Chris has over 35 years of engineering and consulting experience with clients on facility asset management, lifecycle management, and strategic planning to optimize facility performance
Contact: Chris Locarno at (802) 433-5818 or clocarno@onsu.org
Youth Risk Behavior Survey Data
Interested in supporting students as agents of change? Getting to Y: Youth Bring Meaning to the Youth Risk Behavior Survey brings together teams of eight youth and adult members for a day-long orientation where they learn tools and strategies to analyze their Youth Risk Behavior Survey data and identify strengths and concerns, host a dialogue event to engage their community, and frame and implement action steps to create a healthier community. The high school training day will be held October 18, 2017, and the middle school training day will be held October 23, 2017. Both trainings will be in Montpelier.
Contact: Sharon Koller at sharon@upforlearning.org
Maker Space Solutions to Supporting Portfolios, Proficiencies, and Personalized Learning Plans
This day-long, hands-on administrator workshop will be held at the Generator Maker Space in Burlington, VT on October 3, 2017. The workshop will provide a way for building and district leaders to experience learning design first-hand in a state-of-the-art Maker facility. You'll get "makey-makey" materials, learn the connections to developing transferable skills, proficiencies, personalized learning plans (PLPs), and more using a maker space in your school. Register soon for Maker Space Solutions to Supporting Portfolios, Proficiencies, and PLPs. The workshop will be facilitated by Lucie DeLaBruere.
Contact: Champlain Valley Educator Development Center at info@cvedcvt.org
The Why, What and How of Taking a Brain-Based Approach to Student-Centered, Proficiency-Based Learning
This popular WORKshop series has run for years in Montpelier, and now, due to popular demand, we’re heading south to Killington. Throughout the WORKshop series, participants will use their learning to practice and refine the fundamental skills of designing, orchestrating, and reporting student-centered, proficiency-based learning in our middle and high schools. Each WORKshop will begin with compelling activities and findings about the remarkable adolescent brain, followed by guided application devoted to participants accessing resources, ideas, and each other to draft and refine products they’ll use back in their settings with their learners. Bill Rich will begin this four-part series with a day on the Fundamentals of Brain-Based Learning Design, on October 4, 2017 at the Killington Mountain Lodge in Killington. Register for Brain-Based Learning Design.
Contact: Julie Medose at julie.medose@vthec.org
Open Hands Open Access: Deaf-Blind Intervener Learning Modules
The New York Deaf-Blind Collaborative (NYDBC) and the Vermont Sensory Access Project (VSAP) are collaborating to host the “Open Hands Open Access – Deaf-Blind Intervener Learning Modules” to facilitate the training of interveners and educational teams who work with children and youth with combined vision and hearing loss. The OHOA Modules were developed by the National Center on Deaf-Blindness (NCDB), ”to increase awareness, knowledge, and skills related to intervention for students who are deaf-blind and are being served in educational settings (ages 3 through 21). The module content was created by a diverse group of experts in the field of deaf-blindness including state and national deaf-blind project staff, parents of children who are deaf-blind, higher education faculty, teachers, educational interpreters, and interveners. Each includes a variety of accessible videos, photographs, slide presentations, and learning activities.”
Contact: Emma Nelson at (802) 656-1120 or emma.nelson.1@uvm.edu
Vermont Writing Collaborative Informative Benchmarks Workshop
What does it mean to be a proficient writer? The Vermont Writing Collaborative is giving a workshop for teachers on November 6 and 7, 2017 at the Lake Morey Resort in Fairlee. Vermont teachers from all grades are invited to attend this event, which is an overview of proficiency benchmarks for informative writing as well as time to collaboratively look at student work using the benchmarks. Register for the Informative Writing Benchmarks Workshop.
Contact: Vermont Writing Collaborative at info@vermontwritingcollaborative.org
VCTM Annual Conference 2017
The Vermont Council of Teachers of Mathematics (VCTM) Annual Conference, Math for Everyone, includes 30, 60, and 90 minute K-12 sessions focusing on equity, access, discourse, PBGRs, pedagogy, leadership, assessment and networking opportunities. Registration is $125 and includes a 1-year membership to VCTM. The conference will be held on October 16, 207 at St. Michael’s College in Colchester, VT. Register for the VCTM Annual Conference. If you register before September 29, 2017, you can save $10.
Contact: kwestby@wsesu.org or jkendrew@materchristischool.net