Agency of Education, State of Vermont and Federal Updates
This section of the Weekly Field Memo contains posts from the Agency of Education, other State of Vermont agencies, federal agencies or Vermont's congressional delegation.
Updates and FAQs for Special Education Rule Changes
Audience: Superintendents, Special Education Administrators, Special Educators, General Education Teachers and Interventionists, MTSS coordinators
Session notes including updates and FAQS for special education rule changes related to functional skills, adverse effects and specific learning disabilities have been uploaded to the Special Education Rule Changes website. Each can be found under its corresponding title in the April 2022 and May 2022 releases section. Please contact Chris Kane with any questions.
Contact: Chris Kane at christohper.kane@vermont.gov
Department of Justice’s School Violence Prevention Program
Audience: Superintendents, Principals and School Crisis Planning Team Members
The Vermont School Safety Center is pleased to provide information on the School Violence Prevention Program, from the Department of Justice. This program offers $53 million in grant funding for school safety programs and initiatives.
Contact: Robert Evans at revans@margolishealy.com or (802) 839-0448
Family Engagement Networking Session
Audience: Family Engagement Personnel, Administrators
Please join the AOE Vermont Multi-tiered System of Supports Team for this month’s Family Engagement Networking Session. The next Family Engagement Networking Session is May 25, 2022, from 1-2 p.m. These are informal, monthly, one-hour virtual sessions for family engagement colleagues to connect, hear updates, bring ideas and discuss problems of practice regarding family engagement. Partnering with the Community will be the focus for May. This will be the last session for the school year with plans to restart in the fall.
Contact: Nancy Hellen at Nancy.Hellen@vermont.gov
State-Placed Students Data Collection for the 2021-2022 School Year - Updated Links
Audience: Superintendents, Principals, Special Education Coordinators, Business Managers
Every public school must report the number of state-placed students they educated in the 2021-2022 school year by July 1, 2022. The count of state-placed students data report for the 2021-2022 school year will be used in finalizing the average daily membership census report this fall. For more information, see the Memo: Count of State Placed Students Data Collection. The Count of State Placed Students Form is also available.
Contact: Cathy Scott at cathy.scott@vermont.gov
Vermont PBS: May Resources to Celebrate Storytelling and Poetry
Audience: Curriculum Directors, Principals, PreK-12 Teachers
The Vermont Agency of Education has updated our Vermont PBS webpage for May 2022. Celebrate the art of storytelling and the power of poetry with resources from PBS Learning Media as well as local connections such as Clemmons Family Farm Storytelling Room. Other topics of interest include social emotional learning, music, STEAM and the Summer of Possibilities. We will continue to update 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 the VTED Learns Network 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.
6th Annual Early Childhood Educators Institute
Registration is now live for Castleton University’s 6th Annual Early Childhood Educators Institute, happening this summer. The format is a bit different than previous years, so please check our website for details on dates, hours and the one very special on-campus day (August 4, 2022) we have planned. Thirteen strands with aligned graduate or undergraduate credit opportunities on a variety of topics of critical importance in the early childhood field.
Contact: Dr. Ric Reardon at Richard.Reardon@castleton.edu or (802)-468-1234
Reminder That National 529 Day is Approaching
National 529 Day highlights the advantages of 529 plans in helping families prepare for the costs of education after high school. VT529, Vermont’s official 529 plan, is the only savings plan that offers both a Vermont tax credit and tax-free savings. Choose from four easy ways to get started with your education savings at vsac.org/save and learn more about all the benefits and flexibility of the VT529 plan.
Contact: Rich Westman at info@vsac.org
Vermont Family Network Free Workshop: “Vermont Career Advancement Project”
The workshop, Vermont Career Advancement Project, will take place from 10-11 a.m. on June 8, 2022. Join the Vermont Family Network to learn how HireAbility’s new Vermont Career Advancement Project (VCAP) creates quality career pathways for Vermonters. Youth and adults with disabilities in Vermont are greatly underrepresented in ‘earn & learn’ programs that lead to high-wage, high-quality career paths. VCAP provides an exciting new five-year investment in changing that paradigm. Learn about how this effort will be implemented across the state, incorporating a range of access points or on-ramps to progressive education options including paid credentialed training, post-secondary courses and programs, internships, and apprenticeships. The presenter is Rich Tulikangas, Career Advancement Director at HireAbility Vermont. Please register on the Vermont Career Advancement Project registration webpage.
Contact: Rachel Boyers at rachel.boyers@vtfn.org
What Do You Wish School Were Like? Collecting Ideas from Kids and Families
University of Vermont’s Center for Disability and Community Inclusion and All Brains Belong VT, a non-profit primary care and community organization in Montpelier that uses the principles of inclusive design to offer healthcare and community connection, is holding a community forum on inclusive education that centers student voices. Educators, caregivers and students/youth are encouraged to attend. This virtual event will take place Thursday, May 19, 2022, from 6-7 p.m., and it will be recorded. Visit the What Do You Wish School Was Like? event webpage to register.
Contact: Mel Houser, MD, at community@allbrainsbelong.org
All Learners Network Course: Critical Interviews
The All Learners Network Course, Critical Interviews, is a three-credit course on Aug 15-16, 2022, with three follow-up dates in the fall of 2022, from 9 a.m. - 4 p.m., in-person, at the All Learners Network Learning Center in Burlington. This course will allow teachers to investigate how students learn and collaboratively design instruction to meet the needs of individual students. Teachers will receive three graduate credits upon completion as well as All Learners Network Clinical Interview Certification.
Contact: TJ Jemison at communicationsdirector@alllearnersnetwork.com
Call for Social Studies Workshop Proposals
The Vermont Alliance for the Social Studies (VASS) will host its 2022-23 conference on Wednesday, Dec 7. 2022, at the Capitol Plaza Hotel and Conference Center and Vermont Historical Society in Montpelier, Vermont. Educational tours of the Vermont State House will be available as well. VASS is soliciting proposals for the numerous breakout sessions which will be held throughout the day. All are encouraged to submit a workshop proposal. For more information visit the VASS website or Facebook page.
Contact: Ron Eisenman at VTAllianceSS@gmail.com
Professional Learning: Trauma-Informed Social Learning Course
Registration is open for the Trauma-Informed Social Learning course that begins June 27, 2022. This course focuses on defining, identifying and understanding children’s developmental experiences – such as early adversity or autism – that negatively impact typical social development. The objective is to help teachers and leaders develop a trauma and autism-informed practice for teaching social emotional learning in schools. Participants will integrate emerging findings from psychology and brain research showing the impacts of autism and trauma on learning and behavior. Visit the Trauma-Informed Social Learning page to register. Grant funding is available through the Application for Grant Funding form.
Contact: SJ Larkspur at slarkspur@sterncenter.org
Young Adult Literature: Bringing Relevant Texts Into Our Classrooms
Partnerships for Literacy and Learning (PLL) is excited to present this new three-credit course through Saint Michael’s College, June 23 - August 11, 2022. This course taught by Sarah Miller, M.Ed. is for teachers of students in grades 7-10. Participants will read and analyze a wide range of relevant texts for young adult readers. There will be books in verse, graphic novels, prose and text. Some books may include discussions of race, sexuality, gender and addiction. More details can be found on the PLL Professional Learning website.
Contact: Mary Grace at info@pllvt.org or (802) 828-0521
Vermont Destination Imagination advocates for Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Belonging
Vermont will have a presence on the world stage this week, as the Affiliate Director represents the state at the Destination Imagination Global Finals, in-person, for the first time since 2019. In addition to interacting with leaders from nearly every state and a dozen countries, and seeing a wide range of creative inventions, art and performances, Vermont is participating in an international discussion that seeks to improve diversity, equity, inclusion and Belonging (DEIB) in our organization. Destination Imagination strives to welcome and include everyone!
Contact: Jane Youngbaer at vtdicreativity@gmail.com or (802) 272-2766
Equity-Focused Summer Courses at Saint Michael’s College
Saint Michael’s College summer courses begin May 23, 2022, for professional development and degree-seeking students. Over twenty diverse offerings starting at various times throughout the summer (in-person, online and hybrid) include GED 535: Fostering Equity through Children’s Literature; GED 526: African American History for Teachers; GED 530: Literacy in Middle and Secondary Schools; GED 571 Antiracism: Theory and Praxis; and many others. Saint Michael’s College offers masters degrees, initial licensure, leadership endorsement and certificate programs, including a new Racial Equity and Educational Justice certificate. Take advantage of the 25% summer tuition discount and register today for summer courses while space is still available.
Contact: Amy Saks Pavese at asakspavese@smcvt.edu or (802) 654-2826
Professional Learning: Summer English Language Learners Equity Workshop
Registration is open for Classroom Design Supporting Students' Cultural Backgrounds: Co-Planning for Informed English Language Learners (ELL) Instruction in K-12 Classrooms. This two-day workshop on August 8-9, 2022, is now being held in our Champlain Valley Educator Development Center classroom in South Burlington, with virtual or in-person options. The focus is on accommodating the needs of ELL students while considering their cultural backgrounds and other important factors for creating culturally-sensitive classroom environments. Facilitated by Kayla Johnson, Marina Brzostoski and Christine Sealey, EWSD ELL Teachers. More information can be found online on the Champlain Valley Educator Development Center webpage.
Contact: Lauren Wooden at lauren@cvedcvt.org or (802) 497-1642