- Vermont Family Engagement Toolkit Now Available
- Reminder: Requirements for Vermont Schools under Vermont Summer Meals Law
- STEM/STEAM Resource Sharing Day
- Equity Literacy Grant Application
- Now Live: Vermont Early Learning Standards (Birth through Grade 3) Website
- What-if Wednesday: Schoool Emergency Preparedness
- Courtesy Posts
Vermont Family Engagement Toolkit Now Available
Audience: Everyone
The Vermont Family Engagement Toolkit and Self-Assessment is designed to be an easy-to-use, practical guide for educators seeking to develop and maintain growth of school, district or Supervisory Union (SU) family engagement work to support improved outcomes for all students. The Toolkit provides researched-based information, proven strategies, a Self-Assessment to reflect on your own practice and links to additional tools that can be customized to SU, district and school needs.
Contact: Nancy Hellen at nancy.hellen@vermont.gov or (802) 479-1399
Reminder: Requirements for Vermont Schools under Vermont Summer Meals Law
Audience: Superintendents, Business Managers, Principals, Food Service Directors, Food Service Managers
This is a reminder that 16 V.S.A. § 1264 requires public schools that operate the National School Lunch Program to operate a summer meals program if they have at least 50% or more students eligible for free and reduced price meals in any month in the preceding school year, and offer some kind of educational or recreational program or camp for 15 or more hours a week during the summer. You can read the full statute wording online. To find out your school’s eligibility percentage, please see the Free and Reduced Eligibility Report 2019.
Contact: Jamie Curley at jamie.curley@vermont.gov or (802) 479-1207
STEM/STEAM Resource Sharing Day
K-12 STEM/STEAM Educators, CTE Educators, Curriculum Directors, PLP Coordinators
Register for STEM/STEAM Sharing Day, a free, full-day professional learning opportunity for STEM/STEAM educators on Monday April 8, 2019, from 9 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. at the MINT Makerspace in Rutland. Participants at this STEM/STEAM sharing event will have the opportunity to learn about best practices in STEM/STEAM education, including the use of interdisciplinary performance assessments. Additionally, participants will learn from and network with other educators. Lastly the group will spend time designing future work and outcomes of a statewide STEM/STEAM network.
Contact: Greg Young at greg.young@vermont.gov or (802) 479-1448
Equity Literacy Grant Application
Audience: Superintendents, Curriculum Directors, Principals
The Agency of Education has engaged in multiple initiatives to develop an equity framework for education at the state level. One of those initiatives, Supporting Educational Equity (SEE), recommends that Vermont’s PK-12 educators have increased opportunities for professional learning as it relates to equity literacy. To support our schools and educators in this collective effort, the agency is providing competitive grants to support professional learning opportunities that will lay the foundation for educators to develop and implement strategies to improve equity literacy in their systems. Competitive awards will be granted to SU/SDs that show the greatest promise for positive change. Those that create partnerships regionally and through collaboration with other organizations will be prioritized.
Contact: Pat Fitzsimmons at pat.fitzsimmons@vermont.gov or (802) 479-1425
Now Live: Vermont Early Learning Standards (Birth through Grade 3) Website
Audience: Vermont Families, Educators, Related Service Staff
Early Experiences Matter--whether at home with family, childcare, preschool, kindergarten, primary grades, neighborhood community. Early childhood experiences are the foundation for school success and lifelong learning. The Vermont Early Learning Standards (VELS) Website is a tool for PreK - Grade 3 educators, early childhood professionals, related service staff and administrators to understand the common goals for each and every child’s learning and development from birth through grade 3. The VELS website provides information and resources to support opportunities and experiences for each and every child to make progress toward or achieve these goals.
Contact: Leslie Freedman, PreK Inclusion Coordinator at leslie.freedman@vermont.gov or (802) 479-1412
What-if Wednesday: School Emergency Preparedness
Audience: Superintendents, Principals, School Crisis Planning Team Members
The What if Wednesday for March 27th, 2019, is designed to for Superintendents, Principals and School Crisis Planning Team Members to facilitate a conversation about school emergency preparedness. Please complete the exercise and share with your faculty and staff as appropriate.
Contact: Robert L. Evans, VT School Safety Liaison Officer, at revans@margolishealy.com or (802) 839-0448
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.
Shelburne Farms Professional Learning Opportunities - All Programs have Scholarships
Education for Sustainability Leadership Academy: A year-long, residential, leadership academy that brings together education leaders to form a peer network committed to better aligning education towards the goals of ecological integrity, economic vitality and social justice. Project Seasons for Young Learners: Cultivating Joy & Wonder: A week-long exploration of hands-on activities, shared learning and facilitated discussions to engage and inspire curriculum for early learners. Education for Sustainability: Immersion: For those who already have a strong foundation in Education for Sustainability, our two-day Immersion will provide you with the opportunity to reflect, learn and collaborate with a small group of colleagues from across the country in a residential, retreat-like setting here at Shelburne Farms.
Contact: Jen Cirillo at jcirillo@shelburnefarms.org or (802) 985-0315
Eight-month Path to Licensure with TAP
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. Visit tapvt.org to access the TAP application and FAQs. A new cohort will bein in August 2019 with seminars followed by full-time student teaching through the fall 2019 semester.
Contact: Caitlin Hollister at chollister@champlain.edu or (802) 383-6657
Advancing Equity in the Middle Grades June 24-28
The Middle Grades Institute, a week-long professional development program for middle grades teachers, will be held June 24-28, 2019 at Champlain College in Burlington, Vermont. The theme at the Institute will be Advancing Equity in the Middle Grades, in light of the education reforms of Act 77 - personalized learning, proficiency based education and flexible pathways. During the week, participants will attend sessions held specifically for their pathway concentration, as well as sessions held for all institute participants. Participants can earn course credit toward their middle grades endorsement too. Small group discussions, one-on-one consultations and visiting teams and students round out the opportunities. Every effort is made to model best middle level practice throughout the institute. To register please visit Middle Grades Institute and for more information please see the Middle Grades Institute flyer.
Contact: James Nagle at jnagle2@smcvt.edu or (802) 654-2636
Dog Bite Prevention Program
The Vermont Veterinary Medical Association recently introduced a program geared to elementary school-aged children to teach them how to interact safely around dogs in order to avoid bites. Children are, by far, the most common victims of dog bites and are far more likely to be severely injured. Vermont veterinarians have volunteered to present this PowerPoint program at elementary schools. For information on the program and how schools can be involved, please visit the Public Information section at www.vtvets.org.
Contact: Kathy Finnie at kathy@vtvets.org or (802) 878-6888
Compassion and Motivational Interviewing Training
The Center for Health and Learning is offering a two-session Compassion and Motivational Interviewing Training for Health Care Clinicians and Staff. Session One (half day) takes place on April 12, 2019 in White River Junction, VT and Session Two (full day) takes place on either May 10 or June 28, 2019 in Barre, VT. Session one will introduce participants to the skills of motivational interviewing and clinical compassion and how they can be applied to patient care and Session two will provide in-depth opportunities to explore and practice. There is no charge to attend, CMEs are available.
Contact: Catherine Diduk at info@healthandlearning.org or (802) 254-6590
Equity Literacy for School Leaders with Paul Gorski, April 10, 2019 in Rutland
For Principals, CTE Directors, Assistant Principals, Superintendents, Curriculum and Special Ed Directors and others: The single most important factor when it comes to equity progress in school is leadership. Do you have the knowledge, skills and will to be a threat to inequity in your school or district? In this workshop we will explore what it means to lead for equity, to recognize and respond to inequity and to make schools equitable spaces for each student. We will work first on strengthening our understandings of why educational disparities persist across race, class and other identities. We will then apply these understandings to a discussion of critical equity practices for school leaders. Wednesday, April 10, 2019, 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., Room 105 at the College of St. Joseph, Rutland. $175 includes light breakfast, full lunch and one of Paul's books (Reaching & Teaching Students in Poverty OR Case Studies on Diversity and Social Justice Education).
Contact: Linda Wheatley at lwheatley@vpaonline.org
Pre-College at UVM
The University of Vermont offers more than one hundred courses—available both on-campus and online—to high school students who are interested in earning college credits, taking a course not available at their high school, exploring an area of career interest and demonstrating their ability to college recruiters. UVM offers entry-level courses year-round in a variety of subject areas. Learn more on UVM’s Pre-College program website.
Contact: Katie Albee at learn@uvm.edu or (802) 656-2085
Professional Development: Supporting Children through Trauma, Poverty and Adversity
Register by April 15, 2019 to save 20% on Supporting Children through Trauma, a summer professional development course by the Stern Center for Language and Learning. Participants in this course will gain an understanding of poverty-related stress and its impact on brain function. Participants will establish a framework for developing social and emotional learning competencies in their students.
Contact: SJ White at swhite@sterncenter.org or (802) 878-2332 ext. 320
Way to Go! to School Challenge
It’s Go! time. Congratulations to the 71 schools who registered and are participating in the Way to Go! to School Challenge encouraging all Vermont K-12 schools to walk, bike, bus and carpool more. Not yet signed up? There is still time. Sign-up by May 22, 2019, for a chance to win 25 pairs of Darn Tough Socks. Schools are battling the growing carbon pollution problem by demonstrating how active/sustainable transportation habits really add up to hundreds of thousands of pounds of greenhouse gas emission savings. Learn how it works, upcoming spring events and how to earn points at www.waytogovt.org.
Contact: Deb Sachs at deb@netzerovt.org or (802) 238-9807