- COVID-19 Updates and Guidance for Schools
- 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.
Free Rapid Test Kits Available for Vermont Students in Grades K-12
Governor Phil Scott announced that parents and caregivers of Vermont’s K-12 children will be able to pick up one free rapid antigen test kit per student this week at sites around Vermont. The state is encouraging parents to use these kits to test kids before they return to school next week, but a test is not a requirement for returning to school. Families with children in kindergarten through grade 12 will be able to pick up one kit per child at one of 51 Agency of Transportation sites around the state on Thursday, Dec. 30 or Friday, Dec. 31, 2021. The pick-up sites will be open both days from 7-10 a.m. and 3-6 p.m. Name and school of the student(s) will be required to pick up the tests. Starting today, Wednesday, Dec. 29, families can complete the registration for a time to pick up their child’s (or children’s) kit. Registration to pick up the tests is necessary to ensure supply can be distributed equitably across sites. Registration is now open at healthvermont.gov/student-testing.
Contact: AOE COVID-19 Response Team at AOE.COVID19Testing@vermont.gov
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.
ServSafe Food Protection Manager Class - Registration Open Now
Audience: Business Managers and Food Service Directors
AOE Child Nutrition Programs will be offering two ServSafe courses in January. These free classes are only open to those working in one of the federal Child Nutrition Programs. The deadline to register for one of these classes is Jan. 10, 2022. The Jan. 26, 2022, class will be a virtual class only. After attending this virtual class you must attend, and pass, an in-person exam in order to become certified. The Jan. 27, 2022, class will be an in-person class and exam held in the AOE Offices in the National Life Building in Montpelier. Visitors to the National Life Building must be vaccinated. Registration for this in-person class and exam is very limited. For more information and to register for one of these classes, visit the ServSafe® Food Protection Manager Class Registration Form.
Contact: Ailynne Adams at ailynne.adams@vermont.gov
Public Comment Period: Vermont School Counseling Framework
Audience: Superintendents, Principals/CTE Directors, School Counselors, School-Based Clinicians, Work-Based Learning Coordinators, Flexible Pathways Coordinators, Special Education Administrators, General Public
The Agency of Education (AOE) and the Vermont School Counselor Association (VTSCA) are requesting public comments on the proposed “Vermont School Counseling Framework.” The framework was developed by VTSCA. Comments will be used to inform modifications to the framework which will then be considered for adoption by the AOE. Commenters are directed to this form to submit comments. The comment period is open from Dec. 15, 2021, to Jan. 15, 2022.
Contact: Jay Ramsey at jay.ramsey@vermont.gov
Vermont PBS: December Resources to Celebrate Winter and School Vacation
Audience: Curriculum Directors, Principals, PreK-12 Teachers
The Vermont Agency of Education has updated our Vermont PBS webpage for December. This month, celebrate winter and school vacation with activities and resources to send home with students. Other topics of interest include social-emotional learning, VPR podcasts about Latin American music, recycling laws and Abenaki people in Vermont today. We will be updating this webpage monthly, so check back often to find new featured resources related to monthly themes and organized by grade band and subject area. 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.
Professional Learning: Orton-Gillingham: Focus on Morphology
Registration is open for Orton-Gillingham: Focus on Morphology, beginning on Jan. 21, 2022, a professional development workshop by the Stern Center for Language and Learning. This one-day workshop will teach morphology from basic prefixes and suffixes to Latin grid endings and Greek combining forms. Participants will leave with a greater understanding of free and bound morphemes, Anglo-Saxon, Latin and Greek derivations, and how to explicitly teach morphological awareness while also teaching vocabulary and grammar. Visit the course page to register.
Contact: SJ Larkspur at slarkspur@sterncenter.org
Host a Fully-Funded Mandarin or Arabic Teacher through the Teachers of Critical Languages Program
The Teachers of Critical Languages Program (TCLP), sponsored by the U.S. Department of State, places highly qualified foreign language teachers from China, Taiwan, Egypt and Morocco in U.S. K-12 schools for an academic year, where they teach Mandarin Chinese or Arabic language and culture. Through TCLP, American students develop proficiency in the critical languages of Mandarin Chinese and Arabic; exchange teachers improve their English; American and exchange teachers develop partnerships; and all students and teachers form deeper understanding of others’ cultures. Visit our application page to apply by Jan. 7, 2022.
Contact: Evangelista Barylski at tclp@americancouncils.org or (202) 833-7522