- Act 173 Technical Guidance: Educational Support Teams in School District Systems
- Endorsement Revision Group Members Wanted for Educational Speech Language Pathologist
- Proficiency-Based Grading and Transcripts
- 2019 Diesel Emissions Reduction Act School Bus Rebates
- Health Department Resources on E-cigarette or Vaping Product Use-Associated Lung Injury (EVALI)
- Courtesy Posts
Act 173 Technical Guidance: Educational Support Teams in School District Systems
Audience: Superintendents, Leadership Teams
Act 173 Technical Guidance: Educational Support Teams in School District Systems is one of a series of four supporting guidance documents the AOE has developed to provide supplemental information around the Education Quality Standards (EQS) rules and practices as they pertain to the change in practices necessary to implement Act 173. Together, these guidance documents provide coherence among the key systemic elements necessary as we then shift our work to identifying, supporting and scaling best practices across the entire educational system.
Contact: Meg Porcella at meg.porcella@vermont.gov
Endorsement Revision Group Members Wanted for Educational Speech Language Pathologist
Audience: AOE Licensed Educational Speech Language Pathologists, Speech Language Pathology Higher Education Teaching Faculty
The Vermont Standards Board for Professional Educators (VSBPE) has scheduled revision of the Educational Speech Language Pathologist endorsement. The process entails meeting for a day around early December 2019. At that time, through AOE facilitation, stakeholders from the field will draft a new Educational Speech Language Pathologist endorsement for VSBPE approval. If you are interested in participating in the revision group, please contact Terry Reilly.
Contact: Terry Reilly at (802) 497-1315 or terry.reilly@vermont.gov
Proficiency-Based Grading and Transcripts
Audience: Superintendents, Curriculum Directors, Principals, Teachers
Proficiency-based grading and transcripts are one part of a much larger proficiency-based learning system. Changes to traditional grading practices and transcripts are raising concerns among some students, parents and community members. The Proficiency-Based Learning webpage has a variety of resources related to grading and transcripts that educators may find helpful. Two documents, Research Brief: Proficiency-Based Grading Practices and Proficiency-Based Grading and Transcripts: Responding To Parent and Community Concerns, are particularly relevant at this time and provide accurate information regarding the Agency of Education’s role in supporting Vermont educators in these areas.
Contact: Pat Fitzsimmons at pat.fitzsimmons@vermont.gov or (802) 828-5896
2019 Diesel Emissions Reduction Act (DERA) School Bus Rebates
Audience: Superintendents
School buses travel over four billion miles each year, providing safe transportation to and from school for more than 25 million American children every day. However, diesel exhaust from these buses has a negative impact on human health, especially for children, who have a faster breathing rate than adults and whose lungs are not yet fully developed. The 2019 DERA School Bus Rebates will offer over $10 million for the replacement of old diesel school buses with new buses certified to EPA’s cleanest emission standards. Select applicants will be awarded $15,000-20,000 per bus replaced. Please see the 2019 DERA School Bus Rebates website for additional information. Applications are being accepted through Oct. 30, 2019, at 4 p.m.
Contact: Michelle Thompson at michelle.e.thompson@vermont.gov
Health Department Resources on E-cigarette or Vaping Product Use-Associated Lung Injury (EVALI)
Audience: All
Since June 2019, the Centers for Disease Control & Prevention (CDC), the U.S. Food & Drug Administration (FDA) and state and local health departments, including the Vermont Department of Health, have been investigating a multi-state outbreak of a severe lung injury associated with e-cigarette product use, or vaping (now being referred to as EVALI, which stands for E-cigarette, or Vaping, product use-Associated Lung Injury). This is a serious health emergency for people who use e-cigarettes or other vaping products. School personnel should be aware that symptoms of the flu are similar to symptoms of EVALI, and any student or staff who have recently used an e-cigarette or vaping product and develop the following symptoms associated with this outbreak should get medical help immediately: Cough, shortness of breath or chest pain; Nausea, vomiting or diarrhea; Fatigue, fever or abdominal pain. Please visit the Vermont Department of Health’s Vaping Injury website (updated weekly) for current information and resources.
Contact: Ben Truman at bennett.truman@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.
FAFSA, Vermont grant and VSAC Scholarship Applications Available
Did you know that financially eligible Vermonters could get as much as $8,000 by completing their FAFSA and Vermont grant applications? That's enough to go to the Community College of Vermont tuition-free, yet many students who are eligible for this money fail to apply. VSAC is offering financial aid incentives and application support to encourage students, adult learners and families to apply. Find the full listing on the VSAC FAFSA First website.
Contact: Sabina Haskell at haskell@vsac.org or (802) 542-2240
Professional Learning: Mindful Strategies
Registration is open for Using Restorative Circles and Play to Build Community and Resilience K-12. Annie O'Shaughnessy is teaming up with play expert, Howard Moody for a full day experiential workshop on Dec. 11, 2019, in Colchester, VT. Circles offer a structured and safe way for all voices to be heard, to practice listening and speaking, and build relational capacity, and well-led, socially engaged play is vital for students to learn social and emotional skills of self-regulation, cooperation, teamwork and solving problems. Two texts included: Annie's The Circle Process Guide and Howard's The Games Manual.
Contact: Lauren Wooden at lauren@cvedcvt.org or (802) 497-1642
2019 Vermont Youth Sex Education Summit
Planned Parenthood of Northern New England (PPNNE) is excited to announce that registration is open for the first-ever Youth Sex Education conference, co-sponsored by Main Street Landing and Vermont Department of Health - Maternal and Child Health Division. This new, one-day event will provide leadership training for high school age youth to expand access to sex education statewide, and to increase young people’s knowledge of and access to sexual and reproductive health care. This event is for youth by youth. PPNNE’s Advocates for Sexual Knowledge (A.S.K.) are playing a significant role in planning and leading the Summit. The day will include rotating workshops, lunch and a Youth Leadership Panel. Space is limited and youth attendance will be prioritized. The Summit takes place Wednesday, Dec. 11, 2019 (snow date Friday, Dec. 13), at Main Street Landing in Burlington, VT. The registration fee is $5 for youth with scholarships available. Educators and youth-serving professionals are invited to bring groups of students to the Summit. Adult registration fees are waived for anyone bringing a group of four or more youth. To register a group, please contact education@ppnne.org for the group registration form. Individual youth can register online now.
Contact: Planned Parenthood of Northern New England at education@ppnne.org or (802) 448-9726
Afro-Fusion Jam Class with Bonisiwe Green
Audience: Educators K-12 & students' families
Explore traditional African dance on Sundays from 10:30 a.m. to noon, Oct. 27 through Dec. 8 (no class Nov. 24), with powerhouse instructor Bonisiwe Green. From her ties with South Africa, Bonisiwe brings the value of all people, of all ages, dancing together. Therefore, this class is open to kids and adults of all ages. $150 for six weeks. Financial aid is available by contacting Sarah Caliendo. For more information and to register visit the Flynn Center website.
Contact: Sarah Caliendo at flynnarts@flynncenter.org or (802) 652-4537
Equity Conference: November 14 and 15, 2019
NFI Vermont and the Vermont NEA are co-sponsoring the Equity Conference, Nov. 14 and 15, 2019 at the Champlain Valley Expo Center. Learn more about the Equity Conference and register online.
Contact: Katie Ferguson at kferguson@vtnea.org