- COVID-19 Updates and Guidance for Schools
- Other Agency of Education and State of Vermont Updates
- Registration Open for 2021 Virtual BEST/VTmtss Summer Institute
- AOE to Issue RFP for Statewide Summative Assessments
- Equitable Education Systems Grant
- Members Sought for School Nurse Advisory Committee (SNAC)
- Endorsement Revision Group Members Wanted for Teacher of the Visually Impaired
- Endorsement Revision Group Members Wanted for School Social Worker
- 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: Federal Funding
Audience: Superintendents, Business Managers
Since last week's Weekly Field Memo, the Agency of Education has released Memo: ARP ESSER Phase 1 Application for SU/SDs (5/24), American Rescue Plan Homeless Children and Youth (ARP-HCY) Program (5/25), and updated Memo: Alternatives to Prepaid Store Cards (Updated 5/25)
Contact: Jill Briggs-Campbell at jill.briggscampbell@vermont.gov
Vermont PBS: Kids and Education Summer Resources
Audience: Curriculum Directors, Principals, PreK-12 Teachers
In lieu of a schedule for June, the Vermont Agency of Education and Vermont PBS have compiled Vermont PBS Kids and Education: June 2021, a resource based on the End of Year Teacher Planning Kit. This kit includes resources and lessons teachers can use with students at all grade levels through the end of the school year as well as free professional learning opportunities and activities to engage families in learning over the summer. Also, check out these online and printable resources for spring and summer learning. The Summer of Possibilities provides children with opportunities to play and learn through hands-on activities, games, and tips that support literacy, math, science, and life skills. Both the Summer Learning Collection and the Science of Summer invite students in grades 6-12 to learn while exploring everyday summer activities. 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.
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
AOE to Issue RFP for Statewide Summative Assessments
Audience: All
The Agency of Education is required to go out to bid for our statewide summative assessments of ELA, Math, and Science, currently supported by Cambium Assessments Inc. and the Smarter Balanced Assessment Consortium. The AOE will be issuing an RFP for these assessments in June and the process will conclude this summer. The new contracts will be implemented for the first time in the 2022-2023 school year.
Contact: Amanda Gorham at amanda.gorham@vermont.gov
Equitable Education Systems Grant
Audience: Supervisory Unions/Districts, Superintendents, Principals, Curriculum Directors, Education Leaders
The Agency of Education is pleased to announce that the following Supervisory Unions/Supervisory Districts (SU/SDs) are recipients of Equitable Education Systems grant awards for the 2021-2022 academic year: Franklin Northeast SU, Hartford SD, Lamoille South Unified Union SD, Mount Abraham Unified SD, Washington Central Unified Union SD and Windsor Central SU. This grant will support Vermont schools to continue their efforts in guiding students, staff, faculty and administrators to appreciate diversity, honor multiple perspectives, respect diverse backgrounds, engage their communities, and engender civic and equity literacy.
Contact: Jess DeCarolis at jess.decarolis@vermont.gov
Members sought for School Nurse Advisory Committee (SNAC)
Audience: School Nurses
The goal of SNAC is to promote evidence-informed standards of school nursing practice designed to improve health outcomes for students through the empowerment of school nurses as leaders and in collaboration with partners. SNAC aims to represent school nurses with an array of experience from throughout Vermont who work in a diverse assortment of schools. Further information about SNAC may be found in the Memorandum of Understanding: School Health Services. Interested School Nurses should contact Kaitlyn Kodzis, State School Nurse Consultant.
Contact: Kaitlyn Kodzis at kaitlyn.kodzis@vermont.gov
Endorsement Revision Group Members Wanted for Teacher of the Visually Impaired
Audience: AOE-licensed Teachers of the Deaf and Hard of Hearing, higher education teaching faculty and other stakeholders in the field
The Vermont Standards Board for Professional Educators (VSBPE) has scheduled to revise the Teacher of the Deaf and Hard of Hearing endorsement. The process entails meeting virtually for one full day. The meeting will occur in the coming weeks contingent on group member availability. During the meeting, through AOE facilitation, stakeholders from the field will draft a new Teacher of the Visually Impaired endorsement for VSBPE approval. Participants are eligible for a certificate of professional contribution for use toward relicensing. If you are interested in participating in the revision group, please contact Terry Reilly.
Contact: Terry Reilly at or terry.reilly@vermont.gov
Endorsement Revision Group Members Wanted for School Social Worker
Audience: AOE licensed School Social Workers, Higher education teaching faculty, and other stakeholders in the field
The Vermont Standards Board for Professional Educators (VSBPE) has scheduled to revise the School Social Worker endorsement. The process entails meeting virtually for one full day. The meeting will occur in the coming weeks contingent on group member availability. During the meeting, through AOE facilitation, stakeholders from the field will draft a new Teacher of the Visually Impaired endorsement for VSBPE approval. Participants are eligible for a certificate of professional contribution for use toward relicensing. If you are interested in participating in the revision group, please contact Terry Reilly.
Contact: Terry Reilly at or terry.reilly@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.
Announcing “Green Mountain Grad” for 2020 & 2021 High School Graduates.
The state of Vermont, the Vermont State Colleges System, and VSAC are teaming up to provide one tuition-free college class to high school graduates of the classes of 2020 and 2021. Students from either of these graduating classes simply need to enroll in the course of their choice at any school in the Vermont State Colleges System: Castleton University, Community College of Vermont, Northern Vermont University (Johnson or Lyndon), or Vermont Technical College. VSAC will pay the tuition. VSAC has created a toolkit of materials to get the word out to students and families. Learn more on the VSAC website.
Contact: Marilyn Cargill at cargill@vsac.org
Nominate a Humanities Educator for the Swenson Award by August 1
The $1,000 Victor R. Swenson Humanities Educator Award recognizes a Vermont educator in grades 6 through 12 who exemplifies excellence in the teaching of the humanities. This year, we’re asking nominators to tell us how teachers have excelled in working under the difficult circumstances presented by the twin pandemics of COVID-19 and structural racism. The award is named after the founding Executive Director of Vermont Humanities. Learn more about the award and nominations on the Vermont Humanities website.
Contact: Linda Wrazen at (802) 262-1357 or LWrazen@vermonthumanities.org
Virtual Computer Science Professional Development Opportunities Available
During the week of August 9-13, 2021, Educate Maine will offer virtual Computer Science Professional Development opportunities for middle and high school teachers using curriculum from Code.org. Educate Maine is the Code.org partner for Northern New England. For more information please visit the Project Login website
Contact: Angela Oechslie at angela@educatemaine.org
Partnerships for Literacy and Learning Summer Coursework
Do you need coursework or recertification hours this summer? Partnerships for Literacy and Learning is offering a 2-credit course: The Power of a Literate Life, a 3-credit course: Reading Instruction: A Vital Balancing Act, K-8, and an open rolling enrollment course: Explorations in Literacy Instruction. Course offering information is available on the PLL website. Additionally, the Vermont Literacy Conference provides relicensure credit for attending. One day = 6.5 hours or three days = 18.5 hours. Also, those attending the three days, can use that time and take a 3-credit course: The Power of a Literate Life & VT Literacy Conference.
Contact: Mary Grace at info@pllvt.org or (802) 828-0521
Professional Learning: UDL Universal Design for Learning
Registration is open for The UDL Approach: Design & Deliver: Planning & Teaching using Universal Design for Learning, 2-year hybrid series with Loui Lord Nelson, Ph.D. This UDL series is designed for teacher teams and building-based teams to build capacity throughout schools and enhance other leadership UDL training. In addition to two full day in-person sessions each year, there will be asynchronous virtual sessions and a 45-minute consult with Dr. Nelson. A book study with Dr Nelson and the book are included. Year One focuses on understanding and applying from the roots of UDL, taking initial or continued steps with the three principles, and the forces that support or inhibit UDL implementation. Year Two will focus on UDL to Reach all Learners and designing culturally responsive environments. Year One begins Sept. 23, 2021, at the Delta Hotel.
Contact: Lauren Wooden at lauren@cvedcvt.org or (802) 497-1642
Professional Development: Fundations® K-3
Registration is open for Fundations Levels K-3, Wilson Language Training® workshops offered by the Stern Center for Language and Learning. Fundations’ research-based approach and extensive program materials allow K-3 teachers to present a carefully structured reading and spelling curriculum using multisensory techniques. These four online workshops provide a practical application of reading research that will prepare teachers to teach Fundations Levels K-3 in Tiers 1 and 2. Level K is presented on June 24, 2021; Level 1 on July 15, 2021; Level 2 on August 10, 2021; and Level 3 on August 12, 2021. Registration due 1-2 weeks before each workshop.
Contact: SJ Larkspur at slarkspur@sterncenter.org