Volume 14, Issue 30

July 29, 2020

COVID-19 Updates and Guidance for Schools
Other Agency of Education and State of Vermont Updates
- What-if Wednesday: School Emergency Preparedness
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 and other COVID-19-related updates. 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

Since last week's Weekly Field Memo, the Agency of Education has released Decision-Making for School District Operations During the 2020-2021 School Year (7/23) and Independent Schools with Student Boarding Programs (7/23).
Contact: Ted Fisher at ted.fisher@vermont.gov

Guidance: School Safety

Since last week's Weekly Field Memo, the Agency of Education has released Memo: School Safety Drill Guidance for COVID-19 (Co-issued with Division of Fire Safety 7/28).
Contact: Robert Evans revans@margolishealy.com or (802) 839-0448

Guidance: Special Education

Since last week's Weekly Field Memo, the Agency of Education has released Considerations for Special Education Evaluations in a Remote or Hybrid Learning Environment (7/28) and Determining COVID-19 Recovery/Compensatory Education Services (7/28).
Contact: Jacqui Kelleher at jacqui.kelleher@vermont.gov

Vermont PBS: Summer Program Schedule

Audience: Curriculum Directors, Principals, PreK-12 Teachers
The Schedule of Vermont PBS Programs for the week of Aug. 3, 2020, is now available. For the summer months, the schedule is focused on two channels, the Main and Plus+. Since school is out, please pass this information along to families.
Contacts: Martha Deiss at martha.deiss@vermont.gov or Heather Duhamel at hduhamel@vermontpbs.org

Understanding Universal Screening for Social, Emotional, and Behavioral Risks and Strengths and Key Considerations for COVID-19

Audience: School/District Administrators, School Counselors, Mental Health Professionals
Vermont PBIS will be hosting a free webinar on Aug. 11, 2020, from 1 p.m.-2:30 p.m. This webinar will provide an overview of Universal Screening for social, emotional, behavioral risks and strengths. We will discuss the purpose of screening, characteristics of effective screeners, and the systems structures and procedures needed in order to initiate the use of formal screeners in a school. Given the different stressors to safety and well-being that students may be experiencing due to COVID-19, this session will also discuss the need to collect other relevant data to help connect students with the appropriate resources, supports and interventions.
Contact: Sherry Schoenberg at sherry.schoenberg@uvm.edu

Crisis Prevention Forum and Discussion: Returning to School In the COVID-19 Era

Audience: School/District Administrators, School Personnel Involved with Crisis Prevention and Response
Vermont PBIS will be hosting a free webinar on Aug. 12, 2020, from 10 a.m.- noon. As we plan to return to school in whatever form that may take, supporting our most vulnerable students who have impulse control issues and social, emotional and behavioral concerns will present educators with a variety of new challenges. How do we prepare to support these students and plan for and respond to those challenges in creative ways? How do we maintain a safe environment for staff and students? How do we meet the requirements of Rule 4500 when working with students whose behavior may require physical management or seclusion? This web-based forum will provide an opportunity for facilitated small group discussions. We will ask participants to share their thinking and plans. It will primarily be an opportunity for discussion, sharing of ideas and problem solving by educators from schools throughout Vermont.
Contact: Sherry Schoenberg at sherry.schoenberg@uvm.edu

Social Emotional Learning and Wellness Considerations for the Fall

Audience: School/District Administrators, Teachers, School Counselors, Mental Health Professionals
Vermont PBIS will be hosting a free webinar on August 14, 2020, from 9:30 a.m.-10:45 a.m. As schools are preparing for whatever the fall may bring, it will be important to keep social emotional learning (SEL) and wellness at the forefront of plans. This webinar will explore how to keep the focus on relationship building, key SEL skills for adults and youth, how to integrate SEL teaching into academic content, and how to build a culture of wellness. There will be an opportunity for participants to share how they are keeping the focus on SEL and wellness at their schools.
Contact: Amy Wheeler-Sutton at amy.wheeler-sutton@uvm.edu

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.

What-if Wednesday: School Emergency Preparedness

Audience: Superintendents, Principals, School Crisis Planning Team Members
The What-if Wednesday for July 29, 2020 is designed for Superintendents, Principals and School Crisis Planning Team Members to facilitate a conversation about school emergency preparedness. Please complete the exercise and share with your faculty and staff as appropriate.
Contact: Robert Evans revans@margolishealy.com or (802) 839-0448

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.

Vermont Mathematics Initiative Still Accepting Applications for Fall Enrollment

Due to the complications posed by the COVID-19 global pandemic, the Vermont Mathematics Initiative (VMI) postponed the start to the graduate program’s 2020 cohort to Sept. 25, 2020. Because of this postponement, applications are still being accepted. The VMI, now in its 22nd year, has graduated over 550 Vermont teachers representing all grade levels in all regions of Vermont. VMI graduates make considerable contributions to systemic improvement in mathematics in their schools, districts and statewide. Please consider submitting an application and joining the ranks of VMI graduates across Vermont. The VMI is open to all K-8 educators, including special educators, interventionists, administrators, mathematics coaches and specialists. More information about the VMI Master’s program, including an application, can be found on the VMI website.
Contact: Judil Laird at judi@vmimathematics.com

Virtual Vermont Suicide Prevention Symposium 2020

The Center for Health and Learning is offering a virtual Vermont Suicide Prevention Symposium 2020, Bringing Resiliency into Focus, Tuesday, Aug. 18, 2020, 8:45 a.m. - 4:30 p.m. with LIVE Virtual Keynotes Speakers and Workshops. The Symposium will engage a broad array of stakeholders to expand community based and cross sector approaches to suicide.
Contact: Catherine Diduk at info@healthandlearning.org

A Path Toward Reentry

In these unprecedented times, preparing your educators for reentry is critical. Whether you're considering in-person, hybrid and/or virtual learning this fall, you must balance learner engagement, rigor and trauma. 2Revolutions, a national education design lab, can partner with you to rapidly upskill your educators in these areas, with a flexible approach designed to meet your unique needs. Interested districts can learn more on the 2Revolutions website.
Contact: Rachel Lopkin at rachel@2revolutions.net

Designing Education Together

UP for Learning is launching a new opportunity for the 2020-2021 academic year and we hope you will join us: Designing Education Together. We know that everyone has a story about what they learned in school and what they hope for in an education. Through storytelling and dialogue, we will explore what’s possible in education today by inviting in all stakeholders— youth, adults, parents, family and community members — who care to work together. UP for Learning will guide youth-adult teams, working in genuine partnership, through participatory action research that allows teams to design and implement a plan of action based on community input and feedback. This journey employs a structured framework that will move the work forward quickly and efficiently.
Contact: Harry Frank at harry@upforlearning.org

Professional Development: Wilson Reading System® Introductory Course

Registration is open for the Wilson Reading System® (WRS) Introductory Course, a professional development course from the Stern Center for Language and Learning. This online course takes place Oct. 27-29, 2020, and provides participants with an overview of the WRS 4th Edition curriculum. Participants explore the standard 10-part Wilson Lesson Plan and practice planning and delivering a lesson while receiving modeling and feedback from a Wilson Credentialed Trainer during the workshop. For more information, visit the course webpage. Registration due by Oct. 6, 2020.
Contact: SJ Larkspur at slarkspur@sterncenter.org