- 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: Strong and Healthy Year
Audience: Superintendents, Independent School Heads, Principals, Educators, School Staff
Since last week's Weekly Field Memo the Agency of Education has issued Memo: Clarification on Use of Public Health Guidance in Schools (4/16).
Contact: AOE COVID-19 Response Team at aoe.support@vermont.gov
Summer Ambassador Engagement Webinar
Audience: Administrators, Summer Program Leaders and Teachers
As individuals who are regularly engaged with children, youth and families, we know that you are hearing a lot of questions about summer and how best to engage youth in summertime opportunities while ensuring health and wellbeing. Please join us for a webinar hosted by Vermont After School with the Vermont Department of Health and the Vermont Department of Mental Health to discuss Summertime Engagement and how to support youth and families to connect this summer. This webinar will focus on updated summer health guidance for summer camps and programs; information on language and strategies for parents to reduce anxiety and trepidation as children begin to re-engage with their schools, their peers and their communities: and some highlights about the new Summer Matters website and the interactive map for families to identify summer programs and camps. We also want to hear from you. What questions and concerns are you hearing that we need to address as we plan for summer? You will receive the Zoom link for the webinar once you’ve completed your registration via a confirmation email.
Contact: AOE COVID-19 Response Team at aoe.support@vermont.gov
Vermont PBS: New Distance Learning Schedule Format for Spring and Summer
Audience: Curriculum Directors, Principals, PreK-12 Teachers
The Schedule of Vermont PBS Programs for the months of April and May is based on the PBS Teacher Planning Kit for March-May, which includes bundled media and materials that can be used during in-person or remote instruction, both with or without internet access. Each planning sheet for elementary and secondary education has been pulled out individually and linked to its corresponding week on the schedule with a different program highlighted weekly. Planning sheets are divided into three sections: “watch,” which includes the program; “teach,” which connects activities, games and lessons to the program; and “explore,” which provides additional resources about a specific topic or theme. Learn more about how to use the planning kits by viewing the screencast, How to Navigate PBS Teacher Planning Kits. For more information about the partnership between the Vermont Agency of Education and Vermont PBS, visit the AOE’s Vermont PBS webpage or the Vermont PBS Distance Learning page.
Contacts: Emily Leute at emily.leute@vermont.gov or Heather Duhamel at hduhamel@vermontpbs.org
COVID-19 in Schools Data on Health Department Website
Audience: All
The Health Department has been posting data on COVID-19 in K-12 schools since mid-September. The table counts people with laboratory confirmed (by PCR test) COVID-19 who were at the school, attended a school-sanctioned event, or otherwise interacted with the school community during their infectious period. The counts represent cases by school, not individual person. So, if someone interacts with multiple school communities during their infectious period, they will appear in the table multiple times. Please read more about what information is presented in the table.
Contact: COVID19.DataEntryTeam@vermont.gov
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.
Provisional Licensing Reports
Audience: Superintendents and Designees
Please submit your Provisional Progress Reports to Lisa Pierson by Friday, May 14, 2021. More detailed directions on how to create and complete the report using the ALiS online licensing system are posted on our website. Creating the Provisional Licensing Report includes a link to our video tutorial which demonstrates how to complete the report using your online ALiS account.
Contact: Amy Scalabrini at amy.scalabrini@vermont.gov
Registration Open for 2021 Virtual BEST/VTmtss Summer Institute
Audience: School Teams of Educators, Administrators, Support Staff, Family Members, Community Members
Registration is now open for the 2021 Virtual BEST/VTmtss Summer Institute: Here Comes the Sun: Celebrating and Strengthening Resilience for All! This year’s Summer Institute will take place virtually from June 21-24, 2021, and will provide approximately 23 direct contact hours. We are pleased to offer live online keynote presentations, strands and workshops that emphasize positive, research-based strategies to support all students. Individual or team-attended strands are intentionally designed to complement afternoon team action planning. Individuals must register as part of a school or SU/SD team. The registration fee is $250 per person.
Contact: Anne Dubie at anne.dubie@uvm.edu
Annual Licensing Spring Road Show Goes Remote
Audience: Superintendents, Designees, HR Directors
The AOE Licensing Team will be hosting its annual road show remotely this spring. These sessions are provided to help superintendents, their designees and HR directors with the latest licensing updates as well as allowing for able opportunities to ask specific questions. We will be hosting these hour-long sessions on four consecutive Wednesdays from 1 - 2 p.m. beginning on May 12, 2021. Each session will have a specific focus. May 12, 2021: Initial, Renewal and Retired Licenses; May 19, 2021: Temporary Licenses, Transcript Review and Peer Review; May 26, 2021: Criminal Record Checks and Fingerprints; June 2, 2021: R/LSBs, Rule Changes and Waiver Requests. You can register online for any sessions relevant to your needs.
Contact: Amy Scalabrini at amy.scalabrini@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 the Vermont Forward Plan.
Chill Out with Cold Milk Webinar and Toolkit
Drinking milk with school meals helps students get more key nutrients into their diets. Unfortunately, according to our recent consumer research, many students perceive school milk to be of lower quality than the milk they drink at home. Register for the Chill Out with Cold Milk Webinar on May 11, 2021, from 2-3 p.m. to learn about milk’s nutrients, where it comes from, and how to keep it tasting its best at school. Registrants will receive a Free Chill Out with Cold Milk Toolkit, and attendees will have two chances to win equipment to support cold milk at your school. Visit the New England Dairy website for more information and registration. This webinar is pending approval for one CEU from SNA and AND.
Contact: Jill Hussels at jhussels@newenglanddairy.com
Online Professional Learning Experience: CREST 2.0 - Champlain Research Experience for Secondary Teachers
Includes free registration and three graduate credits. Applications are due May 3, 2021. We are currently recruiting grade 7-12 teachers (any subject area) for the CREST 2.0 Online Professional Learning Program from June 21 – to July 1, 2021. Teachers interested in learning about project and place-based education within the context of the Lake Champlain Basin are encouraged to apply. This program is fully funded by VSAC GEAR-UP Grant and is led by UVM scientists, STEM educators and STEM graduate students. Participation gives you access to a variety of STEM resources, project templates, and data applicable to your curriculum and teaching. For more information, see the CREST 2.0 website. If interested, apply online.
Contact: Regina Toolin at Rtoolin@uvm.edu
Maximize Your Milk Handout
Sometimes families end up with more milk in their fridge than they can drink. New England Dairy’s new Maximize Your Milk at Home resource shares ten great ways to use up extra milk and boost nutrition at the same time. Order an unlimited quantity of our free printed handout to distribute to your families today.
Contact: Jill Hussels at jhussels@newenglanddairy.com
Registrations Open: Dynamic Landscapes Conference
Registrations are still open for Dynamic Landscapes hosted by Vita-Learn and VSLA. This year’s event is scheduled so that teachers should not need classroom coverage. The All School Pass can provide registration for an entire school (teachers, library, administrators, paraprofessional, etc.) for as low as $299. Please visit the Dynamic Landscapes website for workshop descriptions, keynote speakers and registration details.
Contact: Jeff Mao at jeff@vita-learn.org or (207) 798-2460
Middle Grades Institute
This summer’s fully online Institute prepares individuals, teams and schools to continue to create learning environments that respond to students’ needs, particularly in light of the COVID-19 pandemic. The focus for this summer’s Institute will be creating equitable learning recovery plans and implementation for schools for fall 2021. The Institute provides educators time to collaborate and plan to address learners’ needs in relation to equity, trauma-informed practice and social-emotional learning. Graduate credit and middle grades endorsement credit available. The Institute will be held June 28 - July 2, 2021, with optional work time with consultation available July 6-July 8, 2021. If you are interested in attending, please review this flyer, the Middle Grades Collaborative website, and register online.
Contact: James Nagle at jnagle2@smcvt.edu
Register Today for the 16th Annual Transition and Career Conference
This year’s conference, “A Time for Gratitude and Appreciation”, will be held via Zoom on Thursday, April 29, 2021, and Thursday, May 13, 2021. On the morning of April 29, Luis Ortega from Storytellers for Change will deliver the keynote presentation on storytelling and story-listening. Luis will return on May 13 for a brief check-in with participants before the afternoon workshop sessions begin. The conference is structured to strengthen the transferable skills of empathy, inclusion and equity. There are a variety of workshop choices available in a wide range of career and education topics. There are also some offerings for personal rejuvenation. Visit the conference event page for full details and to register.
Contact: Cathy Printon at printon@vsac.org
Fostering Anti-Racist Classrooms Professional Development
The Center for Community & Social Justice at Champlain College is offering credit-bearing professional development for all Vermont K-12 educators. The Summer Institute for Educators: Fostering Anti-Racists Classrooms will be offered online from 8:30 a.m. –5 p.m., June 21 through June 25, 2021. This professional development opportunity will be led by local and national experts who will provide attendees with actionable suggestions for creating inclusive classrooms and classroom resources. More information about the Institute can be found at the Summer Institute for Educators: Fostering Anti-Racist Classrooms website. To register, or for additional information, please contact Jean-Marie Severance.
Contact: Jean-Marie Severance at severance@champlain.edu
NGSS Instructional Toolkit Training Workshops
Vermont Energy Education Program (VEEP) added spring and summer dates for their NGSS Instructional Toolkit Training Workshops. The virtual professional development workshops are free for all Vermont educators. Over three 2.5-hour sessions they will focus on anchoring phenomena and instructional routines that support student sense-making, and share curriculum ideas that work in the classroom. Educators will get support from one another and the instructor with planning time for curriculum development.
Contact Laura MacLachlan at Laura@veep.org
Virtual Learning Social Studies: Preparing Students For College, Careers, Civic Responsibility (C3)
VLS is an online American history digital experiential textbook aligned with state and federal inquiry based standards and objectives teaching our students history, geography, government and economics. Helping students become more active learners, VLS included a wide spectrum of tools and deliverables, videos hosted by students, extensive primary and secondary resources for grades 4-12, and numerous additional resource links at the teacher’s fingertips. Visit the VLS website for much more information on VLS content rich chapter/units available.
Contact: Kathleen Rivera at Kathy@vlseducation.com or (708) 606-0450
Partnerships for Literacy and Learning
Partnerships for Literacy and Learning is working with PreK-12 schools and districts across the state on literacy improvement at the classroom and system level. If your school or district is considering focused efforts in supporting student success in reading, writing and critical thinking and are looking for ways to support those priorities, we can help. This is What We Do and these are some of our current or previous Partner Schools.
Contact: Mary Grace at info@pllvt.org or (802) 828-0521
Professional Development: Lindamood Phoneme Sequencing® (LiPS®) Course
Registration is open for Lindamood Phoneme Sequencing® (LiPS®) Course, a professional development course from Commonwealth Learning Center, hosted by the Stern Center for Language and Learning. This course prepares teachers to help students develop phonemic awareness for reading and spelling using the LiPS® Program for Reading, Spelling, and Speech methodology and materials. Participants will gain knowledge of current research in phonemic awareness and reading development and become familiar with assessment instruments, including the Lindamood® Auditory Conceptualization (LAC-3) Test. This virtual course takes place July 26-29, 2021.
Contact: SJ Larkspur at slarkspur@sterncenter.org
Exciting Summer Course Offerings at Saint Michael’s College Including our One-Year Master’s and Licensure/Endorsement Program
Registration is now open for summer courses. Take advantage of the 25% summer tuition discount. Classes begin mid-May and are filling quickly. Innovative and diverse offerings in a variety of formats (in-person, remote, and hybrid) such as Antiracism: Theory and Praxis; Creating an Equity-Focused, Healing Centered Classroom and School; Beyond Mindfulness: Supporting the Inner Lives of Educators and Students; Becoming a Literacy Leader; and many others! SMC offers M.Ed. and post-master’s programs in five concentrations, a certificate in Holistic Restorative Education, a MATESOL program, and additional endorsements in Principal, Director of Curriculum, Director of Special Education, Reading Specialist, and ELL. There’s also still time to apply for our one-year Master of Arts in Teaching program. Earn a master’s degree and licensure or a master’s and an additional endorsement. Classes for our next one-year MAT cohort begin on May 24, 2021. Apply soon as space is limited. For more information, please see the Saint Michael’s College website.
Contact: Amy Saks Pavese at asakspavese@smcvt.edu or (802) 654-2826
May 1-16 is the Transportation Challenge - Join in and be Entered to Win Prizes
Spring is here, a great time to Get Up and Go! walk, bike, roll, bus or carpool May 1-16, 2021, and be a part of the Way to Go! Spring Transportation Challenge. Whether you’re getting healthy, supporting a clean, green Vermont, or doing your part to battle pollution, you can earn points to win awesome prizes. Teachers and staff can earn more chances to win by logging individual green trips May 1-16, 2021.
Contact: Debra Sachs at deb@netzerovt.org