Volume 15, Issue 40

October 13, 2021

Agency of Education and State of Vermont Updates
Courtesy Posts

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.

AOE Bid Waiver and Sole Source Requests

Audience: Business Managers, Grant Managers and LEA Business Office Personnel
Please use the appropriate AOE webform to submit sole source and/or bid waiver requests. The AOE Non-competitive Procurement Request with Federal Funds Webform is intended for those seeking AOE approval to use the Federal Non-competitive (sole source) method of procurement per 2 CFR § 200.320(c)(4). The AOE Bid Waiver Request Webform is intended for those seeking a bid waiver per 16 V.S.A. § 559 (f). Waivers will only be granted where a school board, through no fault of its own per State Board Rules series 9000, is unable to comply with the public bidding law 16 V.S.A. §559
Contact: Abby Houle at abby.houle@vermont.gov

2021 Red Clover Book Award Conference

Audience: All
The 2021 Red Clover Book Award Conference will be held on Friday, Oct. 15, 2021, from 9 a.m.-noon It will be virtual, and all portions of the conference will be recorded. Please visit our registration page to register. The conference will begin with a keynote presentation by 2021 Red Clover Book Award winner Andrea Tsurumi (Crab Cake), followed by a presentation by the Red Clover Book Award committee about the 2021-2022 nominees and books that almost made the list. Additional information can be found on the Vermont Department of Libraries’ Red Clover Book Award page.
Contact: Jonathan Clark at jonathan.l.clark@vermont.gov

Parent, Family and Community Engagement Web Page

Audience: Administrators, Home School Liaisons
The Windham Southeast Supervisory Union and Oak Grove School website is featured as a Family and Community Engagement Highlight. Check out features that build strong family and community engagement through two-way communication, sharing power and responsibility, and community engagement. Additional new resources for educators and families on the AOE Parent, Family, and Community Engagement web page include an English Learners section and Vermont Family Network Family Support resources. In addition, resources from multiple organizations outside Vermont include a video focused on Equity in Education Through Family Engagement and an article, “Creating Authentic Partnerships with Historically Marginalized Families and Other Stakeholders.”
Contact: Nancy Hellen at Nancy.Hellen@vermont.gov

VTmtss, Early MTSS and Special Education: How VTmtss and Early MTSS Can Help LEAs Meet Federal and State Requirements for Special Education

Audience: Principals, Superintendents, Curriculum Coordinators, Everyone, Special Ed Administrators, and Educators
The second Fall kick off series supporting the upcoming Special Education Rule changes will focus on how to effectively use VTmtss and Early MTSS to enhance the implementation of state and federal requirements for special education. To learn more and access the released content please check our Rule Changes web page and join in the virtual meeting on Oct. 18, 2021, from 9-11:30 a.m.
Contact: Chris Kane at christopher.kane@vermont.gov

Vermont PBS: Website Refresh for October and Resources to Celebrate Fall

Audience: Curriculum Directors, Principals, PreK-12 Teachers
The Vermont Agency of Education has updated our Vermont PBS webpage to include more resources for educators, organized by grade band and subject area. We will be updating this webpage monthly, so check back often to find new featured resources related to monthly themes. Also, visit the Vermont PBS Kids and Education page to find more online and printable resources. To share resources and network with colleagues, join the Vermont PBS Educational Resources group on Edmodo. Activate your Edmodo account and join the VTED Learns community by filling out this form.
Contacts: Emily Leute at emily.leute@vermont.gov or Heather Duhamel at hduhamel@vermontpbs.org

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.

Vermont Career Connect 2021

Vermont schools that serve 7th and 8th graders are invited to join VSAC for a virtual career exploration panel on Wednesday, Oct. 20, 2021, from 10-11:15 a.m. The session will take place over Zoom and will kick off with an "Intro to Career Exploration in Middle School" from Careers CLiC, followed by a facilitated Q&A with panelists. Students will engage with panel members to learn about the four categories of Vermont’s Most Promising Jobs. Visit the VSAC Vermont Career Connect page for details and to register your school.
Contact: Anna Telensky at telensky@vsac.org

All Learners Network: Games to Get at the Math in Intervention, Grades K-3

The Games to Get at the Math in Intervention workshop will be held on Oct. 27, 2021, from 4-6 p.m. both in-person and virtually on Zoom. Games are a wonderful tool for math intervention. Besides creating interest and engagement, they put students into the proper mind-state (relaxed curiosity) for new learning. In this workshop, John Trapper will share a variety of effective analog and digital games for helping students learn concepts that are tricky for them. He'll also discuss why games are so important for intervention and offer some resources for participants.
Contact: TJ Jemison at communicationsdirector@alllearnersnetwork.com

All Learners Network: PreK Workshop

The PreK Workshop will be held on Nov. 5, 2021, from 9 a.m.-3:30 p.m. It is supported by the Vermont AOE and free for participants. This workshop is designed for teachers, special educators and math specialists who are interested in identifying and creating meaningful learning opportunities for mathematics in Preschool and PreK settings.
Contact: TJ Jemison at communicationsdirector@alllearnersnetwork.com

STEAM on a Team with Vermont Destination Imagination!

Start teams now in school, after school, homeschool and community groups. Children and youth from Kindergarten-college work together on a variety of Challenges using 4 Cs: creativity, collaboration, communication and critical thinking. Please join us and get more kids involved. Can you help start a team, be a Team Manager or be a Tournament Appraiser? Can you host our State Tournament in March 2022? Host us at a large school or community venue and you will qualify for free team registration. We are a 501.c.3 non-profit. Visit the Vermont Destination Imagination web page and the national/global web page for Destination Imagination to learn more about what we do, and to get some free STEAM activities and other educational resources.
Contact: Jane Youngbaer at (802) 272-2766 or vtdicreativity@gmail.com

Additional Section Added of “Implementing VTmtss for Student and School Success”

Partnerships for Literacy and Learning has had such high demand for our “Implementing VTmtss for Student and School Success NEXIS'' that we’ve added a new section. We’ll start the new 6-session series on Oct. 27, 2021, using Vermont AOE tools and resources. This is intended to support Vermont’s multi-tiered system of support (VTmtss) coordinators and/or team members from across the state as they work to implement the VTmtss framework in their schools and districts. To learn more about this second section visit the registration page.
Contact: Mary Grace at (802) 828-0521 or info@pllvt.org

Professional Development: Wilson Reading System® Level 1 Certification Program

Registration is open for Wilson Reading System® Level 1 Certification Program, which begins Nov. 2, 2021, a professional development workshop by the Stern Center for Language and Learning. The course provides practical application of reading research, with particular emphasis on phonological awareness, phonics and spelling at the beginning levels of decoding and encoding. Visit our registration page to register.
Contact: SJ Larkspur at slarkspur@sterncenter.org

Youth and Adults Transforming Schools Together: Remote Cohort with UP for Learning

You and Adults Transforming Schools Together (YATST) fosters engagement in learning by increasing rigor, relevance, relationships and shared responsibility (4Rs). Based on the 4Rs framework, student and teacher teams use Participatory Action Research to understand issues that impact learning from multiple perspectives and then become agents of change. This year, YATST teams will work together as a remote cohort to build a collaborative community as we share our experience with participatory action research. The first session - an Orientation to Youth Participatory Action Research - will be Friday, Oct. 22, 2021 from 9 a.m.-noon. on Zoom. Upcoming discussions are: December - Develop a Critical Awareness and Create a Research Design, February - Collect and Analyze Data and Engage the Community and April - Reflect on the Work and Refine the Next Steps.
Contact Harry Frank at harry@upforlearning.org or (802) 989-4913