- New Leadership Blog Post - Freedom and Unity: Tackling Data Challenges Together
- Fall 2019 Equity Literacy Grant Application
- Linking Health & Learning Newsletter, December 2019
- Save the Date: Mathematics and MTSS EdCamp Series January Training
- We the People - Intent to Compete Form
- Updated: Special Education General Supervision and Monitoring System Stakeholder Meetings
- Courtesy Posts
New Leadership Blog Post - Freedom and Unity: Tackling Data Challenges Together
Audience: Superintendents, Data Managers, IT Staff, All
In the Agency of Education’s most recent Leadership Blog post, Director of Data Management and Analysis Wendy Geller explores the data management landscape in Vermont, the agency’s strategic priorities for improving data infrastructure and its commitment to working with SU/SDs to collect, manage, protect and report the data Vermont’s education system needs to thrive.
Contact: Wendy Geller at wendy.geller@vermont.gov
Fall 2019 Equity Literacy Grant Application Re-Opened
Audience: Superintendents, Curriculum Directors, Principals, Teacher Leaders
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 has re-opened the second round of competitive Equity Literacy grants. Competitive awards will be granted to SU/SDs that show the greatest promise for positive change. Grant applications are due on Jan. 15, 2020.
Contact: Pat Fitzsimmons at pat.fitzsimmons@vermont.gov
Linking Health & Learning Newsletter, December 2019
Audience: Health Educators, Physical Educators, School Nurses, Guidance Counselors, Curriculum Directors, Principals, Superintendents, Higher Education
The December 2019 Linking Health & Learning newsletter is now posted on the Vermont Agency of Education Health and Physical Education (PE) webpages. This newsletter communicates pertinent information about the Vermont PE Assessment, news from around the state, as well as professional learning events and resources to support Vermont’s health and physical educators.
Contact: Susan Yesalonia at susan.yesalonia@vermont.gov or (802) 828-6553
Save the Date: Mathematics and MTSS EdCamp Series January Training
Audience: Principals, Teachers, Special Educators, Special Education Administrators, Curriculum Directors
The EdCamp focus is on the integration of social, emotional and academic development and inclusive pedagogy and practices for all mathematics and how schools can create the highest quality mathematics instruction that is differentiated and responsive to the needs of diverse learners. Jan. 22, 2020 (North), and Jan. 24, 2020 (South). Location and registration to follow.
Contact: Betty Roy at betty.roy@vermont.gov
We the People - Intent to Compete Form
Audience: Principals, Social Studies Teachers
Vermont is once again participating in the Center for Civic Education’s We the People simulated congressional hearings. If your high school is intending to send a team to compete at the state-level We the People hearings this winter, please complete the class roster and submit to martha.deiss@vermont.gov no later than Dec. 13, 2019.
Contact: Martha Deiss at (802) 828-6597 or martha.deiss@vermont.gov
Updated: Special Education General Supervision and Monitoring System Stakeholder Meetings
Audience: All, Special Education Administrators
As part of obtaining stakeholder input for the new special education general supervision and monitoring system to be fully implemented next school year, the Agency of Education is holding several stakeholder meetings. We welcome you to join us on Dec. 16, 2019, from 9 a.m. - noon at the Center for Achievement in Public Service (CAPS) located at 32 College Street, Montpelier, Vermont. You may join virtually using our Skype for business link or for audio participation only you may call (802) 522-8456 using conference ID 473542397. Please note that you must complete this registration form prior to participation. A draft copy of the manual is available online and all comments will be collected using a standard response form. Response forms should be sent to AOE.SpecialEd@vermont.gov.
Contact: Tonya Rutkowski at AOE.SpecialEd@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.
10th Annual Teacher Conference: "Engaging Active Learners"
Join the Flynn Thursday, Dec. 12, 2019, from 8 a.m.-4 p.m. (followed by cash bar reception from 4-5 p.m.) for a full day of experiential workshops and conversations led by Flynn teaching artists and partner educators from Champlain Community Services, Addison County Parent/Child Center, Champlain Valley Head Start, and the Vermont Agency of Education and featuring a performance and workshop by Community Artist-in-Residence Daniel Bernard Roumain. Workshops center on the important role of imagination and storytelling as tools to create equitable, responsive, personalized learning environments in and outside the classroom. Conference fee is $70/participant; fee support & PD credit available; info and registration online.
Contact: Lauren Genta at lgenta@flynncenter.org or (802) 652-4508
Webinar 12/11 - Understanding the Role of Mediation in the IEP and 504 Planning Process and How to be Prepared
When families and school teams reach an impasse in the Individualized Education Program (IEP) or Section 504 planning process, entering mediation provides the opportunity to work through conflict to achieve a comfortable resolution. This webinar will offer professionals and families an overview of the mediation process, including what to expect in mediation and how it can be used as an advantage. Presenter: Matt Keister, a Vermont attorney practicing in the field of Special Education Law at the Law Office of Claudia I. Pringles, PLLC. Register online to listen to this webinar on Wednesday, Dec. 11, 2019, from noon – 1 p.m.
Contact: Janice Sabett at janice.sabett@vtfn.org
Professional Learning: Innovative Leadership
Registration is open for CVEDC Thought Partners Series 2019-20: Innovative Leadership: Merging Equity and Innovation into Schools that Transform Learning. Co-facilitated by authors and national experts Pam Moran and Ira Socol, this CVEDC-subsidized series is for district lead learning teams who are looking to bring pockets of innovation to the system level. Learn about how their Albemarle, VA school district (ranked among the most innovative) was able to create student-centered, personalized learning environments across schools that built environments that broke the traditional classroom mold and increased equity for a diverse student population. Opportunities available for cross-district consultancies and deeper looks into your students' user experience. Hampton Event Ctr., Colchester on Jan. 24, April 29 and Sept. 18, 2020.
Contact: Lauren Wooden at lauren@cvedcvt.org or (802) 497-1642
Diagnostic Assessment & Instruction for Intensive Intervention in Literacy (4-Workshop Series)
This series of four workshops will address the diagnostic assessment and remediation of learners with varied subtypes of reading difficulties who have not responded to a less intense, targeted level of intervention. The focus of the assessment/intervention will be on foundational skills for K-6, but is still appropriate for students in the upper grades who experience core deficits at the conceptual/perceptual level. Participants will learn how to use a combination of formal and informal assessment results to pinpoint not only the exact barrier and/or core deficit interfering with reading development (including subtypes of dyslexic profiles), but also the readers’ present levels of performance based on a Common Core State Standards (CCSS) learning progression. The series, presented by Jen Patenaude, begins on Jan. 16, 2020, at the Lake Morey Resort in Fairlee, Vermont. This first workshop, a prerequisite for the other workshops, will focus on Understanding Literacy Intervention within an MTSS Framework.
Contact: Julie Medose at julie.medose@vthec.org or (802) 498-3350