- COVID-19 Updates and Guidance for Schools
- Other Agency of Education and State of Vermont Updates
- 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: Finance
Audience: Superintendents, Business Managers
Since last week's Weekly Field Memo, the Vermont Agency of Education has issued Memo: GEER Fund Application for CTE Centers (10/21).
Contact: Ruth Durkee at ruth.durkee@vermont.gov
Guidance: Prekindergarten
Audience: Prequalified Prekindergarten Education Programs, School District UPK Coordinators
Since last week's Weekly Field Memo, the Vermont Agency of Education has issued Loss of Licensed Educator Waiver for Prequalified Private PreK Education Programs (10/15).
Contact: Kate Rogers at kate.rogers@vermont.gov
Vermont PBS: New Distance Learning Monthly Schedule for November
Audience: Curriculum Directors, Principals, PreK-12 Teachers
The Schedule of Vermont PBS Programs for the month of November 2020 is now available, featuring brand new Incorporating PBS documents as well as PBS Teacher Planning Kits. The Vermont Agency of Education has expanded their partnership with PBS to support in-person, hybrid and remote learning models. Based on teacher feedback, resources for in-classroom and distance learning have shifted to a monthly overview using analog, digital and broadcast resources. Weekly thematic bundles, with specific episodes highlighted per week by content area and age-level, are available to stream on-demand. These episodes connect to specific resources on PBS LearningMedia and PBS Parents.
Contacts: Emily Leute at emily.leute@vermont.gov 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.
CACFP Training Opportunities
The Institute of Child Nutrition (ICN) is offering online trainings focused on Happy Mealtimes in Childcare, Food Safety in Child Care, and Norovirus in Child Care geared towards Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP) operators throughout October, November and December. These trainings may be taken to credit towards annual training requirements. CACFP organizations interested in taking ICN trainings should register on the Institute of Child Nutrition webpage.
Contact: Anastasia Tsekeris at anastasia.tsekeris@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.
TRY for the Environment - Accepting Applications for Teen Teachers
TRY stands for Teens Reaching Youth and is an environmental leadership opportunity for students in grades 7-12. It is an environmental education program taught by teens and designed to increase environmental literacy and responsibility in younger youth. TRY for the Environment connects young people to real-world environmental problems by allowing them to be key change agents contributing to real-world solutions. NEW for 2020-2021: Due to COVID-19 restrictions, the TRY program will be limited to two content areas - 4-H2O and Waste Solutions. Each content area will consist of three 45-minute lessons that are designed to be delivered virtually - either when students are in the classroom or at home. As in past years, teens will be required to teach the lessons to two different groups of students. We will offer the TRY teaching opportunity to teens twice - Session 1 (January - March with training in December) and Session 2 (March - May with training in February). All trainings and program delivery will be virtual. Session 1 applications are due no later than Nov. 2, 2020. Learn more at the 4-H Announcements page.
Contact: Lauren Traister at Lauren.Traister@uvm.edu or (802) 888-4972 x 402
4-H Speak Up Contest (Grades 3-12)
This November our country will vote and elect people to lead at all levels of government (i.e., local, state, national). While citizens younger than 18 do not have the right to vote, their voices matter. Part of civic engagement, a key mission of the 4-H program, is helping young people use their voice to drive change in their communities. The 4-H Speak Up contest asks youth to create a video (two minutes or less) and answer the question: What is one thing you would do to improve your community and why? Contest ends Nov. 30, 2020. A $50 gift certificate will be awarded to the winner in each age category. Learn more at the 4-H Announcements page.
Contact: Lauren Traister at Lauren.Traister@uvm.edu or (802) 888-4972 x 402
Reminder: There’s Still Time for Students to Register for Vermont Career Connect
The Vermont Career Connect live virtual event via Zoom takes place on Wednesday, Oct. 28, 10 a.m.- noon. During the first hour, students will work with Kathi Terami of Careers CLiC to explore their interests and think about how those interests might match up with promising careers. The second hour will provide students the opportunity to attend one of over a dozen breakout Q&A career panels. Students will choose their breakout session during the registration process.
Contact: Anna Telensky at telensky@vsac.org
VSAC Offers Virtual Financial Aid Events this Fall
Even in these remote times, VSAC is still here for Vermont students and families. VSAC has a variety of ways to help with the financial aid process: Financial Aid & Managing College Costs workshops, 1:1 meetings to file applications, resources and videos, and a toll-free helpline. Families can visit VSAC’s FAFSA-First page to learn more.
Contact: Sabina Haskell at haskell@vsac.org
Brain-Based Practices for Teaching and Learning: A Professional Learning Experience
To help meet the needs of our evolving educational landscape, UP for Learning is hosting a series of online training sessions for educators and those partnering with youth in learning experiences that focus on the impact of stress on learning, the power and impact of positive self-talk, and how the brain learns. The central goal of this series is to better understand how the brain learns and effective brain-based practices and strategies for teaching and learning. Following each live training, participants will be provided with a lesson and resources they can immediately implement with youth to help them become more effective learners in any setting. If you are unable to attend, you can register and a recording of the training will be sent to you.
Contact Amie Conger at amie@upforlearning.org
Save the Dates: "We-Do" Writing
Partnerships for Literacy and Learning presents “We-Do” Writing: Maximizing Practice to Develop Independent Writers with Leah Mermelstein for five online sessions in 2021. The dates are Jan. 7, Jan. 21, Feb. 11, Feb. 18 and March 18, 2020 from 3:30-4:30 p.m. Cost is $45/session or $200 for the series. Teaching writing in K-4 just got simpler. Using her new book, Leah Mermelstein will show us how to focus instruction on the skills that matter most and how to deliver writing sessions that provide the explicit modeling and practice students need.
Contact: Mary Grace at info@pllvt.org or (802) 828-0521
Creating a Caring Community Classroom Collection for Preschool Teachers from Vermont PBS
PBS LearningMedia has a new social-emotional enrichment collection to build healthy social and emotional skills by promoting kindness, being just and creating a caring classroom community. These activities, videos, tips, articles and guides offer thoughtful ways to demonstrate and encourage kind and fair behavior, celebrate diversity, and understand big feelings in the classroom. This collection is also great for distance learning days. To learn more go to Vermont PBS Distance Learning.
Contact: Heather Duhamel at hduhamel@vermontpbs.org
De-Colonizing Your Thanksgiving Curriculum (Encore Session)
What is Thanksgiving? How did it evolve into the holiday we observe today? Join the UVM Tarrant Institute for Innovative Education and Shelburne Farms as we dig into primary sources, multiple perspectives and regional resources to co-construct a fuller understanding of the myths and truths of the Thanksgiving story. Together we will take a critical look at what we know, don’t know and how we teach about Thanksgiving. Expect to leave this webinar-workshop with tools, resources and activities you can adapt for your classroom. Hosted by Judy Dow, Aimee Arandia Østensen, Jeanie Phillips and Emily Hoyler. The final session will be Tues., Nov. 4, 2020, 3-4:30 p.m. Register online.
Contact: Audrey Homan at events@tarrantinstitute.org or (802) 656-2641
Professional Development: Orton-Gillingham Workshops
Join the Orton-Gillingham Institute at the Stern Center for half-day and full-day workshops to review and expand your knowledge of the Orton-Gillingham Approach. “OG Update & Refresh” on Nov. 18, 2020, will refresh your knowledge of the OG Approach and address several important updates. “OG Focus on Level II, Vowel Teams, & Beyond” on Dec. 4, 2020, will answer your questions about teaching students who are advancing in Level II of the OG scope and sequence. Play with words in “OG Advanced Morphology” on Feb. 5, 2021, and grow your vocabulary in “OG Robust Vocabulary” on April 16, 2021. All workshops are available for live online or asynchronous attendance – attend online the day of or receive a recording. To enroll, you must have previous OG coursework (30 hours or more) through the Stern Center or another training program accredited by the OG Academy. Registration due one week before each workshop occurs.
Contact: SJ Larkspur at slarkspur@sterncenter.org