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Volume 14, Issue 11

Weekly Field Memo
March 18, 2020

Continuity of Education Guidance: School Nutrition Operations

Audience: Superintendents, Food Service Managers, Principals, Independent Heads of School
Please consult Guidance on Non-Congregate Feeding During School Closure or Dismissal due to a Novel Coronavirus Outbreak and an update memo New USDA Guidance on Delivery of Meals During COVID-19.
Contact: Rosie Krueger at mary.krueger@vermont.gov

Continuity of Education Guidance: Special Education

Audience: Superintendents, Special Education Administrators, Independent Heads of School, Special Educators
Please consult Free Appropriate Public Education for Students with Disabilities During School Closure Called for in Governor Scott’s Order.
Contact: Jacqui Kelleher at jacqui.kelleher@vermont.gov

Guidance: Childcare for Essential Personnel

Audience: Superintendents, Principals, Independent Heads of Schools, Educators
Please consult the Governor’s Directive: Provision of Services to Children of Essential Persons During Closure Period in Response to COVID-19 and guidance from The Agency of Education and the Agency of Human Services: Supporting the Childcare Needs of Essential Personnel During a Novel Coronavirus Outbreak.
Contact: Miranda Scott at miranda.scott@vermont.gov

Guidance: 21st Century Community Learning Centers Afterschool Programs

Audience: Superintendents, 21st CCLC Staff
Please consult Guidance for 21st Century Community Learning Centers Afterschool Programs in a Novel Coronavirus Outbreak.
Contact: Emanuel Betz at emanuel.betz@vermont.gov

Guidance: Adult Education and Literacy Programs

Audience: Superintendents, Adult Education Providers
Please consult Guidance for Adult Education and Literacy Program Implementation During a Novel Coronavirus Outbreak.
Contact: Robin Castle at robin.castle@vermont.gov

All AOE In-Person Trainings, Meetings and Events to be Held Online or Postponed

Audience: All
In order to support efforts to reduce the transmission of COVID-19, the Agency of Education will not be holding any in-person trainings, meetings, events, interviews or site visits until further notice. Where possible, these functions will be moved online. If you have questions, please contact the AOE staff member organizing your meeting or event.
Contact: Miranda Scott at miranda.scott@vermont.gov

Licensing Office Update

Audience: Educators with a license or endorsement expiring June 30, 2020
Beginning Monday, March 16, 2020, the Vermont Agency of Education Licensing Office will be teleworking for the foreseeable future. Please contact the licensing team by email, as our access to voice mail will be limited. For inquiries regarding pending 2020 licensing applications, please check the first option in your online menu – “Pending Online Applications”—for the application status. For questions regarding application types, please begin with resources on the AOE licensing webpage, including the tutorials, FAQs and flowcharts. For pending license applications requiring fingerprinted supported Criminal Record Checks, the Licensing Office WILL NOT enforce the 15 days requirement to upload a fingerprint receipt and will keep such applications open until further notice. For educators served by a Local/Regional Standards Board (L/RSB) please know that Boards are not required to meet while schools are closed. Educators may continue to submit complete application to their Board. Once school reopens, Boards will start to review the applications. For educators not served by a Local or Regional Standards Board, continue to submit renewal, reinstatement and retired educator applications directly to the Licensing Office. More information regarding the 2020 renewal season will be updated when the Agency has more specific information.
Contact: Amy Scalabrini at AOE.LicensingInfo@vermont.gov

Lead Testing Postponed Due to School Closures

Audience: Superintendents, Principals, Independent Heads of School, Facilities Managers
Due to COVID-19 response and resulting school dismissal, schools originally scheduled to collect their initial water samples for lead testing between March 16, 2020, and April 30, 2020, should not collect their water samples during their assigned week. The Health Department will reschedule sampling and sample pick up to occur during the 2020-2021 academic year. Schools originally scheduled to collect initial water samples for lead testing this May and June (between May 1, 2020, and June 12, 2020) will remain on the schedule for the time being. The Health Department will contact these schools before April 15, 2020, to let them know whether they should sample as originally scheduled or whether sampling will be postponed until the 2020-2021 academic year. Also, post-remediation follow-up, diagnostic and additional initial testing requests will also be postponed until May 1, 2020, at the earliest.
Contact: Meg Her at leadschool@vermont.gov

World Language Proficiencies

Audience: Superintendents, Curriculum Directors, High School Principals, High School Teachers
Over the past few months, a group of K-12 Vermont educators have developed sample World Language proficiencies and indicators at the novice, intermediate and advanced level. The goal of this document is to describe what language learners should be able to do at various proficiency levels. After vetting from the field, the sample is now available for use on the Agency of Education website.
Contact: Martha Deiss at martha.deiss@vermont.gov or (802) 828-6597

VTmtss Office Hours - Recording Available

Audience: Superintendents, Principals
The VTmtss Team has posted a closed captioned recording and the presentation slides for March's Office Hour, where we interviewed members of the Student Pathways Division about Flexible Pathways initiatives and Act 77. The discussion included how to utilize the Flexible Pathways Toolkit, common barriers to developing equitable opportunities and how the VTmtss Framework can support this work.
Contact: Julia Scheier at julia.scheier@vermont.gov

AOE Seeking Public Comment on Vermont’s FFY2020 IDEA Part B Application

Audience: Superintendents, Principals, Special Education Administrators, Educators, General Public
The Agency of Education is seeking comments from the public on the draft FFY20 IDEA Part B Application. The grant application provides assurances that Vermont has policies and procedures in place as required by Part B of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act. Further, Part B Interactive Spreadsheet provides an overview of how federal funds will be allocated for State Education Agency leadership, oversight, and support, in addition to the total award sought for the State’s Local Education Agencies. Comments should be submitted to AOE.SpecialEd@vermont.gov with the Subject header – IDEA Part B Public Comment. As required, the Agency of Education will be accepting public comments for 30 days from March 13, 2020 through April 13, 2020.
Contact: Jacqui Kelleher at jacqui.kelleher@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.

Until further notice, the Courtesy Posts will not include posts related to in-person training, events or meetings. This is to support social distancing strategies recommended by the Vermont Department of Health.

Online Professional Development from the Stern Center for Language and Learning

Join the Stern Center online this spring for professional development available from the comfort of your own home. Teachers looking to increase their students’ literacy skills can choose from a variety of online, self-paced courses and webinars. Choices include 2.5-hour presentations by Louisa Moats and Nancy Mather, 6-hour Orton-Gillingham webinars, Building Blocks online for early educators, and the 40-hour graduate level Comprehensive Reading course.
Contact: SJ Larkspur at slarkspur@sterncenter.org

Postponed: Start With Joy: Designing Literacy Learning for Student Success and Happiness

Start with Joy: Designing Literacy Learning for Student Success and Happiness, Gr K-8 with Katie Egan Cunningham has been postponed, with a new date to be determined.
Contact: Mary Grace at info@pllvt.org or (802) 828-0521

Subscribe Online

The field memo has time-sensitive and relevant information designed for students, teachers, and staff. The agency encourages principals, headmasters, and superintendents to share the memo with their education community. Additionally, individuals can subscribe or unsubscribe online.

Questions? Email aoe.edinfo@vermont.gov.