- New Resource: Focused Interim Assessment Blocks from Smarter Balanced
- The Annual Technology Survey is Open
- What-if Wednesday: School Emergency Preparedness
- School Nurse Requirements Prior to Employment and Licensing
- Courtesy Posts
New Resource: Focused Interim Assessment Blocks from Smarter Balanced
Audience: All
A reminder that the Smarter Balanced Interim Assessment Blocks (IABs), offered for free to Vermont schools and educators, and available on the Vermont Comprehensive Assessment Portal, have gotten an update for the 2019-2020 school year. The new Focused IABs “measure smaller bundles of content…and provide teachers with precise next steps for instruction.” You can learn more about them from Smarter Balanced, and also get training from the Agency of Education on the IABs.
Contact: Sarah Birgé at sarah.birge@vermont.gov
The Annual Technology Survey is Open
Audience: Principals
Please be sure your school is counted in the Annual Technology Survey. All schools are asked to participate in this annual collection. The survey is open currently and can be found on the agency’s Education Technology page. At that link, you will find the survey itself, as well as a preview document that can (and should) be reviewed before submitting data in the survey. Questions range from broadband capabilities to professional development activities to Makerspace status. Your input is extremely valuable to legislators, the general public, and decision makers across the State. The due date is August 31, 2019.
Contact: Peter Drescher at peter.drescher@vermont.gov, or (802) 479-1169
What-if Wednesday: School Emergency Preparedness
Audience: Superintendents, Principals and School Crisis Planning Team Members
The What if Wednesday for July 24, 2019 is designed 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, revans@margolishealy.com or (802) 839-0448
School Nurse Requirements Prior to Employment and Licensing
Audience: Superintendents and Principals
Registered Nurses (RN) must complete the online New School Nurse Orientation in order to practice in Vermont Schools. To avoid licensure delays, RNs must complete the required orientation prior to beginning their Agency of Education application for a transcript review. This orientation may take as long as 12 hours. for some. Resources for Vermont School Health Services include those found in the Standards of Practice: School Health Services Manual and recommended job descriptions for Licensed School Nurse and Associate School Nurse (pg. 10). At your earliest convenience, please refer all new school nurses to: Sharonlee Trefry, State School Nurse Consultant, for the required online New School Nurse Orientation.
Contact: sharonlee.trefry@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.
Applications for Local Educational Agency School Climate Transformation Grants
The federal Department of Education is inviting applications for fiscal year (FY) 2019 for the School Climate Transformation Grant Program—Local Educational Agency Grants, Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance (CFDA) number 84.184G. Applications are available June 10, 2019, the submission deadline is July 22, 2019.
Contact: Carlette KyserPegram, (202) 453-6732 or LEA.SCTG19@ed.gov.
Education Professionals and Students Invited: Vermont Community Leadership Summit – Scholarships Available
Registration is now open for the 2nd Annual Vermont Community Leadership Summit on Aug. 12, 2019, at VT Technical College in Randolph. The Summit will provide skills workshops and leadership strategies, share community initiative success stories and engage participants of all ages, expertise and backgrounds in facilitated vision sessions on the future of community leadership in Vermont. Sessions include dialogues and panels on “youth driving change,” engaging youth in local decision-making and amplifying youth voice. Free student registration is available.
Contact Jenna Koloski at jenna@vtrural.org or (802) 225-6091
Literacy Champions Symposium with Louisa Moats & Nancy Mather
Registration is open for the Stern Center for Language and Learning’s Literacy Champions Symposium on Friday, September 27, 2019. Spend the day with literacy champions as we unpack decades of research and learn how we can grow strong readers and writers. Louisa Moats, Ed.D., kicks off the day busting myths about reading, discussing the state of literacy education, and showing us how spelling and reading are interconnected. Nancy Mather, Ph.D., will spend the afternoon focusing on effective interventions for children who struggle with reading, spelling, and written language. Registration due by September 12, 2019.
Contact: SJ White at swhite@sterncenter.org
Complex Trauma in Our Schools
The Center for Health and Learning is offering a Complex Trauma in Our Schools Using Non-verbal Communication and Intervention for Improved Classroom Outcomes workshop/course beginning August 14, 2019. Non-verbal Interventions that target self-regulation and executive function skill building from early childhood through high school will be examined and practiced through experiential methods including using art media and movement. 3 options available: One day workshop, full course with graduate credits or full course without graduate credits.
Contact Catherine Diduk at info@healthandlearning.org or (802) 254-6590.
VPA Welcomes Applications for their Equity Practitioners Network
The Equity Practitioners Network will consist of educators passionate about true equity in public education and committed to implementing structural systems change in their school and/or district. The program involves two full school years (2019-2021), and there are 28 to 30 slots available in the first EPN cohort. Principals, Assistant Principals, CTE Directors and Equity/Diversity Coordinators will be given priority, as well as applicants from traditionally marginalized groups. Teams of up to four individuals, with diverse roles, from one school or district, are encouraged to apply, as well. The Application Deadline is July 29, 2019.
Contact: Linda Wheatley at lwheatley@vpaonline.org