- COVID-19 Updates and Guidance for Schools
- Other Agency of Education and State of Vermont Updates
- State Board of Education Statement on Equity and Racism
- Child Count Exiting Collection Now Open
- Financial Literacy PBGRs: Seeking Comment
- Guidance: Single-Use Products Law
- Food Service Equipment Grants Open - Due July 20
- Follow-Up Testing for Lead in School Drinking Water Resumes
- Hiring School Nurses
- Courtesy Posts
COVID-19 Updates and Guidance for Schools
This section of the Weekly Field Memo contains updates to COVID-19 guidance from the Vermont Agency of Education released since the last Weekly Field Memo. For a complete list of AOE-issued guidance, please visit our COVID-19 Guidance for Vermont Schools and Continuity of Learning websites. For the most comprehensive and up-to-date information on the COVID-19 response in Vermont, visit the Health Department's Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19) website.
Guidance: Strong and Healthy Start
Audience: Superintendents
Since last week's Weekly Field Memo, the Agency of Education has issued A Strong and Healthy Start: Access to Career and Technical Education (6/18).
Contact: Ruth Durkee at ruth.durkee@vermont.gov
Guidance: Summer Food Service Program
Audience: Summer Food Service Program Sponsors and Sites
Since last week's Weekly Field Memo, the Agency of Education has issued Summer Food Service Program Desk Audit Guidance for Summer 2020 (6/24)
Contact: Jamie Curley at jamie.curley@vermont.gov
But Why Live: Music with Mr. Chris
Audience: Prek to 6th Grade Teachers
On Friday, June 26, 2020, at 1 p.m., enjoy music with Mister Chris. Children can explore music and write a song with Chris Dorman and other musicians. Get your instruments ready to play or sing along and send VPR your music! Kids can send their questions ahead of time to questions@vpr.org, or call in at 1-800-639-2211 while the program is live. Listen to VPR on-air in Vermont or listen to our live stream from anywhere in the world. Supplemental resources are also available on the AOE VPR webpage.
Contact: Pat Fitzsimmons at pat.fitzsimmons@vermont.gov
Vermont PBS: Program Schedule
Audience: Curriculum Directors, Principals, PreK-12 Teachers
The Vermont PBS Week-Ahead Program Schedule for the week of June 29, 2020 is now available. For the summer months, the schedule is focused on two channels. Please pass the information along to families.
Contacts: Pat Fitzsimmons at pat.fitzsimmons@vermont.org or Heather Duhamel at hduhamel@vermontpbs.org
Other Agency of Education and State of Vermont Updates
This section of the Weekly Field Memo contains posts from the Agency of Education and other State of Vermont agencies that are not specifically related to the COVID-19 Response.
State Board of Education Statement on Equity and Racism
Audience: All
At the June 17, 2020, meeting of the State Board of Education, the Board voted unanimously to adopt the State Board of Education Statement on Equity and Racism.
Contact: John Carroll at john.carroll@vermont.gov
Child Count Exiting Collection Now Open
Audience: Special Education Data Personnel, Special Education Administrators
The School Year 2019-2020 Child Count Exiting Collection is open from now until July 15, 2020. Submitted data must be accurate as of June 30, 2020. District and Supervisory Union personnel in charge of special education data can find Child Count Reporting instructions by logging into the secure AOE file transfer website (for the best experience, use MS Edge browser). Please also read the Early Childhood Outcomes Guidance for 2020.
Contact: Cassidy Canzani at cassidy.canzani@vermont.gov
Financial Literacy PBGRs: Seeking Comment
Audience: Superintendents, Principals, Curriculum Directors, Educators
The Agency of Education is seeking comment on K-8 and 9-12 Financial Literacy Proficiency-based Graduation Requirements and indicators that have been developed by fifteen K-12 content and special education teachers. This work is a result of a two-year partnership between the Center for Financial Literacy at Champlain College and the AOE following the State Board of Education’s adoption of the Jump$tart National K-12 Personal Finance Standards in 2018. This work supports the necessary teaching and learning identified by students, educators and the community in the Vermont Portrait of a Graduate. Comments should be submitted to martha.deiss@vermont.gov by June 30, 2020.
Contact: Martha Deiss at martha.deiss@vermont.gov
Guidance: Single-Use Products Law
Audience: School Food Service Staff, School Business Managers
The Vermont single-use products law will go into effect on July 1, 2020. It has just come to the attention of AOE that school meals programs will be impacted by this law. Meal programs will no longer be allowed to provide or sell food or beverages in containers made of expanded polystyrene (Styrofoam) including plates and cups, trays, egg cartons, and take-out containers. In addition, use of plastic bags is prohibited when foods are being sold. This will likely not impact summer meals operations, because generally meals are provided at no charge, not sold. In that case, plastic bags may continue to be used. However, this law may impact school year meal operations when meals and a la carte items may be sold to children and adults. The AOE is looking into this further and will provide additional information at a later date on how schools should handle this new law. For more information please refer to the Department of Environmental Conservation Single-Use Products Law webpage.
Contact: Jennifer Hutchinson at jennifer.hutchinson@vermont.gov
Food Service Equipment Grants Open – Due July 20
Audience: Food Service Directors, Business Managers, Farm to School Coordinators
State School Food Service Equipment Grants are now open. These grants provide a 50% match for school food service equipment or computer systems to operate the school food service program. Please see the grant memo and application for more information. The grant deadline is July 20, 2020.
Contact: Ailynne Adams at alynne.adams@vermont.gov
Follow-Up Testing for Lead in School Drinking Water Resumes
Audience: Superintendents, Principals, Facility Managers
Schools that have completed remediation of drinking and cooking taps for lead will soon be able to collect follow-up samples. Superintendents (public schools) and heads of school (independent schools) will receive an email from the Vermont Department of Health if their school is eligible to collect follow-up samples at this time. Instructions for flushing the taps prior to collecting samples will be provided. For more information, please visit Lead Testing in Drinking Water - What Schools Need to Do
Contact: Meg Her at leadschool@vermont.gov
Hiring School Nurses
Audience: Superintendents, Principals
All Registered Nurses (RN) must complete the online New School Nurse Orientation in order to be licensed for practice in Vermont Schools (EQS, pg. 11). The free orientation needs to be completed by the RN prior to completing the Agency of Education application for a transcript review to become endorsed as a School Nurse (3-65) or Associate School Nurse (3-65A). Resources, job descriptions and competencies can be found here: Standards of Practice: School Health Services Manual; Licensed School Nurse and Associate School Nurse (pg. 10), Competencies (pg. 176-185). For questions and a link to the New School Nurse Orientation, contact Sharonlee Trefry,
Contact: Sharonlee Trefry at 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. Please refer to the Weekly Field Memo submission guidelines for additional information.
Until further notice, the Courtesy Posts will only include posts related to in-person training, events or meetings that affirmatively comply with current health guidance from the Vermont Department of Health, the Agency of Commerce and Community Development and/or the Vermont Agency of Education.
Professional Learning: Innovative Leadership
Registration is open for Innovative Leadership: Lessons Learned from our Unplanned Remote Learning with Pam Moran and Ira Socol. This virtual Thought Partner series with a possible in-person session in March is a deep exploration of what we can learn from our unplanned remote learning experience this spring. How does it inform us in our quest for innovation and equity? How might a "blended design" benefit students now and into the future? How do we become hyper-learning organizations where we learn, unlearn and relearn at the speed of change? Includes the book: Timeless Learning. Begins Sept. 17, 2020.
Contact: Lauren Wooden at lauren@cvedcvt.org or (802) 497-1642
Summer Learning Connections for Families and Out-of-School Time from Vermont PBS and At-Home Learning
Since Vermont Public Broadcasting System (PBS), DISH Network and the Agency of Education (AOE) will continue to partner this summer to support continuity of learning for our students and school communities, please pass this information along to families. This partnership provides access to free educational programming and distance learning tutorials through Vermont PBS At-Home Learning. These family-friendly collections focus on summer enrichment for Preschool to Grade 5. All learning materials were created through the Ready to Learn Grant and by PBS Parents.
Contact: Heather Duhamel at hduhamel@vermontpbs.org
Tools for Anti-Racist Teaching from PBS
New Virtual Professional Lunch and Learn Series every Thursday from July 9 through July 30, 2020, at 12 p.m. ET. Find out more about the PBSLM Virtual Professional Learning Series created by teachers- for teachers on PBS LearningMedia.
Contact: Heather Duhamel at hduhamel@vermontpbs.org
Dyslexia, Dysgraphia, & Assessment: 90-minute Professional Development Webinars
Learning to read and write is complex. When difficulties arise, as they do for many children, effective intervention hinges on accurate, well-designed assessment. Join the Stern Center for a series of 90-minute webinars with Melissa Farrall, PhD, a renowned expert on reading, language and assessment. Dr. Farrall will unravel the complexity of reading and writing, unpack the components of an evaluation targeting these areas, and guide practitioners in assessing literacy and providing targeted recommendations for intervention. Register for two or more webinars and receive a discount. Recordings available.
Contact: SJ Larkspur at slarkspur@sterncenter.org