- Fall 2019 Equity Literacy Grant Application Re-Opened
- The 28th Annual Kindergarten Conference: A Focus on Children Ages 4, 5 and 6
- VTmtss January Office Hour
- Educational Benefit Training - Only Four Spots Left, Register Soon
- Courtesy Posts
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 AOE has re-opened the second round of competitive Equity Literacy grants. Competitive awards of up to $25,000 will be granted to SU/SDs that show the greatest promise for positive change. Educators who are interested in applying for this grant may find the Fall 2019 and Spring 2019 equity literacy resources helpful. Additionally, the 2019 List of Educational Equity and Diversity Professional Development Providers is available to support this work. Grant applications are due Jan. 15, 2020.
Contact: Pat Fitzsimmons at pat.fitzsimmons@vermont.gov
The 28th Annual Kindergarten Conference: A Focus on Children Ages 4, 5 and 6
Audience: Administrators, Early Educators
Play, Well-Being, and Academic Expectations: Creating the Balance is the title for the 28th Annual Kindergarten Conference. The conference will focus on the role of play in fostering well-being, wonder and intellectual growth. Keynote speakers include Christine Hertz, a Literacy Interventionist and author, who will share strategies for making traditional academic instruction more playful and joy-based. John Cohn, an IBM Fellow based at the MIT-IBM Watson AI Lab in Cambridge, will address the relationship between play and creativity. The conference will take place at the Hilton in Burlington on Friday, March 13, 2020. Watch for the registration link in January. For more information, please see the Save the Date flyer.
Contact: Pat Fitzsimmons at (802) 828-5896 or pat.fitzsimmons@vermont.gov
VTmtss January Office Hour
Audience: Superintendents, Principals
Register for the VTmtss Team's January Office Hour on Wednesday, Jan. 8, 2020 from 3-4 p.m. The webinar will include an interview with Pat Fitzsimmons and Sigrid Olson about how the VTmtss Framework can support work with Proficiency-based Learning and Flexible Pathways, with an eye on Local Comprehensive Assessment Systems, a key lever for carrying out Act 173.
Contact: Julia Scheier at julia.scheier@vermont.gov or (802) 828-5041
Educational Benefit Training - Only Four Spots Left, Register Soon
Audience: Special Education Administrators
The Vermont Agency of Education, in collaboration with the CT State Education Resource Center-SERC, is excited to announce a training opportunity for Vermont schools and supervisory unions. This reflective professional learning session will train SU/SD teams of educators on how to evaluate and improve the quality of their students’ individualized education programs (IEPs). This session will be held Jan. 21, 2020, at the VTrans Training Center, 1716 US Route 302, Berlin, VT 05602, from 9 a.m.-3 p.m. Details and information about the Educational Benefit Review Process are available online.
Contact: Betty Roy at betty.roy@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. Please refer to the Weekly Field Memo submission guidelines for additional information.
New VT-HEC Course: Legal and Safety Issues of Work-Based Learning
Not just for work-based learning coordinators - for anyone responsible for student learning outside the school walls (i.e. community-based learning coordinators, coop coordinators, job coaches, service-learning coordinators, those in charge of senior projects and ELOs), Legal and Safety Issues of Work-Based Learning Programs will provide a thorough examination of the legal and safety issues that affect work-based and community-based learning programs and experiences. Participants will develop a comprehensive understanding of federal and Vermont labor and safety requirements, consider how to effectively educate students about their own rights, safety, behaviors and responsibilities, and be able to provide effective systems to ensure safe and legal student experiences. Course Instructor: Ruth Durkee, Esq.,owner/consultant at Durkee-Reymore Consulting, adjunct faculty at Vermont Technical College). Jan. 11, Feb. 1, March 28 and May 4, 2020, from 9 a.m.- 3 p.m. at the Central VT Chamber of Commerce, Berlin VT and VPA Building, Montpelier, VT, with the remainder online.
Contact: Kim McKellar at kim.mckellar@vthec.org
Theater Educators Annual Meeting
As theater educators we rarely get to collaborate and support each other. The intention of this day is to connect, share educational resources, build community and have fun. The event will be hosted by The Flynn Center in Burlington and will take place on Feb. 7, 2020, from 9 a.m. -3 p.m. Contact Susan Palmer for more information or to receive an invitation.
Contact: Susan Palmer at spalmer@maplerun.org
Fostering Resilient Learners: Creating Trauma Sensitive School Communities
VT-HEC is continuing to offer workshops and courses on the topic of Trauma-informed Schools next semester. Dr. Joelle van Lent and Dr. Gillian Boudreau will begin the next series on Jan. 13, 2020, at Capitol Plaza in Montpelier. Participants have the option to attend this offering as a two-day workshop series, take all four workshops, or participate in all workshops plus a 5th day and receive three graduate credits. This training is designed from current research on the key components and protective factors that foster resilience in children who are contending with a wide variety of stressors including developmental trauma, mental health challenges, intellectual and learning variations, developmental disabilities and chronic adversity within their environment. Included in the training will be a comprehensive framework and set of skills in mindfulness techniques and their utility in increasing trauma sensitivity. The strategies and techniques presented in this course can be applied universally and as Tier I interventions to benefit all students in the school community.
Contact: Julie Medose at (802) 498-3350 or julie.medose@vthec.org
Orton-Gillingham for Intervention: Associate Level course
The Stern Center for Language and Learning is now accepting applications for the July 2020 Orton-Gillingham for Intervention: Associate Level course. The Orton-Gillingham (OG) Approach is the underlying foundation of all multisensory, structured literacy instruction. Participants will learn both the structure of the English language and how to teach it sequentially and systemically to students with dyslexia and struggling readers. Teachers may apply to further their OG training with a 100-hour practicum, which is required for OG Associate Level certification. Apply for the course online.
Contact: SJ Larkspur at slarkspur@sterncenter.org
Online Graduate Course Offered
The Center for Health and Learning is offering a 2-credit online graduate course Promoting Personal Health and Safety Through the Prevention of Injury and Violence beginning March 1, 2020. This course is designed to address concepts, knowledge and skills related to promoting personal health and safety through injury and violence prevention. It is offered as one of a series of courses by the Vermont Higher Education Collaborative toward health education endorsement.
Contact: Catherine Diduk at info@healthandlearning.org or (802) 254-6590