Volume 16, Issue 24

June 15, 2022

Agency of Education, State of Vermont and Federal Updates
Courtesy Posts

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.

Model Educational Support Team Plan Templates

Audience: SU/SD Leadership Teams
In response to several requests from schools for model Educational Support Team (EST) plan forms, the Agency of Education (AOE) has developed forms that facilitate the process of developing a focused, data-informed EST plan. Included are an initial planning form and a form for follow-up and decision-making. The AOE recommends that districts use these forms as the basis for effective and uniform EST practices across schools. Consistent use of the forms will also provide much of the data needed for completion of the EST questions on the annual Vermont Multi-tiered System of Supports (VTmtss) Survey. For more information or support in using this guidance, please contact Tom Faris, VTmtss Coordinator.
Contact: Tom Faris at thomas.faris@vermont.gov

 Supporting School Nurse Leadership in Vermont Schools- Grant Opportunity

Audience: School Nurses, Superintendents, Principals
The Vermont Department of Health is pleased to announce a ten-month grant opportunity beginning in the 2022-2023 academic school year. The Health Department's Division of Maternal and Child Health is seeking proposals from eligible Vermont-based Local Education Agencies (LEAs) to provide funds to be used to support school nurse leadership and high-quality school health services. Up to twelve LEA proposals will be awarded. The selected LEAs will receive $79,000 each. The anticipated grant period will be Sept. 1, 2022, through June 30, 2023. Proposals must be submitted by end of the day on June 30, 2022. Please see the Electronic Bulletin Board posting for more details. All communications concerning this solicitation are to be addressed in writing to AHS.VDHMCHGrantsandContracts@vermont.gov.
Contact: Kaitlyn Kodzis at Kaitlyn.Kodzis@vermont.gov

Recognition Ceremony for the 2022 Vermont Presidential Scholars

Audience: All
The Vermont Presidential Scholars Program is a statewide recognition of student citizenship, academic, artistic and leadership excellence. In addition to receiving this statewide award, Vermont students are invited to apply to be National Presidential Scholars. The 2022 Vermont Presidential Scholars Recognition Ceremony video highlights and celebrates each scholar’s unique contributions to their school and community, and includes welcoming remarks by Secretary of Education, Dan French.
Contact: Ryan Parkman at Ryan.Parkman@vermont.gov

Notice of Grant Funding Pending for Cybersecurity Planning

Audience: Education Technology Directors, IT Managers, Principals, Superintendents
Later this summer, the AOE will officially announce that $250,000 in ARP ESSER funding will be made available to support the development of comprehensive data breach response plans and provide assistance in purchasing needed equipment and software. The pandemic forced schools to rely heavily on their networks to ensure accessibility for instruction for students, teachers and staff. Establishing a cybersecurity framework and data breach response plan for a SU/SD will help schools manage their cybersecurity risk and ensure continuous student access to the technology needed to maintain fidelity in instruction. All LEAs are eligible to apply for grants of up to $30,000. It is anticipated that the full application will be released by early July. Grant applications will be due in August for a fall program initiation. Major communications related to this grant will be included in email updates to superintendents but interested staff may sign up for the summer application email list to receive ongoing, detailed information about this initiative over the next two months.
Contact: Lisa Helme at lisa.helme@vermont.gov

Act 112 Mental Health and Well-being Service to Youth Grant - Intent to Apply

Audience: Audience: Schools, SU/SDs, and relevant community partners interested in the mental health and well-being of children
To support an efficient application process, the Agency of Education and the Department of Mental Health are seeking an Intent to Apply for Act 112 grants. Completing this form does not commit you to apply, nor do you need to complete this form to apply. Please submit the Intent to Apply by June 30, 2022. This grant opportunity is a two-year allocation of unexpended ESSER III funds, beginning in the fiscal year 2023. Year 1 will be a competitive grant (Oct. 1, 2022 - Sept. 30, 2023), with a second-year continuation grant available (Oct. 1, 2023 - Sept. 30, 2024). We expect to have the Year 1 grant application available in August 2022.
Contact: Tracy Watterson, VTmtss Program Manager, tracy.watterson@vermont.gov

New Advisory on School Data Security Breaches and Vermont Law

Audience: Audience: Education Technology Directors, IT Managers, Principals, Superintendents
The AOE has prepared an advisory to provide Vermont SU/SD with information on the State of Vermont requirements regarding a data security breach. The School Data Security Breaches and Vermont Law advisory covers the Vermont Security Breach Notice Act and directs SU/SD to the specific notification requirements. This advisory builds off previous cybersecurity work by AOE. Please view the School Cybersecurity advisory and the Cybersecurity Breach Planning Rubric that AOE released in March 2022. Please note, AOE does not govern security breach notifications. The Vermont Office of the Attorney General provides guidance on all laws.
Contact: Lisa Helme at lisa.helme@vermont.gov

ARP ESSER Planning Guide with Application Components Now Available for Upcoming Afterschool Grant Opportunity

Audience: Education Technology Directors, IT Managers, Principals, Superintendents
The ARP ESSER Set-Aside Fund for Application Planning Guide, including detailed application components, is now available to support and kick-start planning for the development or expansion of comprehensive afterschool programs. This $2.8 million grant program will be part of the Agency's larger education recovery and revitalization work. There will be two funding pathways, one for program development, expansion and/or capacity building and one to develop a new comprehensive afterschool center. All LEAs will be eligible to apply. The live application will be available in the Grant Management System in early July 2022. There will be an overview training on July 13, 2022, from 1-2.30 p.m. Applications will be due August 15, 2022, and awards will be announced Sep. 1, 2022. There will be rolling application periods beyond the summer application period if needed. Interested staff can sign up for the summer application email list to receive on-going, detailed information about this initiative over the next two months.
Contact: Emanuel Betz, 21C State Coordinator, at Emanuel.Betz@vermont.gov or (802) 881-4426

Vermont PBS: Summer of Possibilities

Audience: Curriculum Directors, Principals, PreK-12 Teachers
The Vermont Agency of Education and Vermont PBS continue our partnership to meet the anywhere, anytime, educational, social and emotional needs of Vermont students. Visit the Vermont PBS Kids and Education page to find online and printable resources connected to Montshire Museum’s Leonardo da Vinci Machines in Motion Exhibit, Seven Days’ Good Citizen Challenge and more. 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.

Support Teachers on Provisional Licenses with the Champlain College Teacher Apprenticeship Program

Champlain College's Teacher Apprenticeship Program (TAP) supports career changers and those already working in the education field to earn a Level I Vermont teaching license for $12,000. The next TAP cohort begins in-person, on August 10, 2022, followed by full-time student teaching through the Fall 2022 semester. Visit champlain.edu/tap to sign up for an online info session and to access the TAP application and FAQ's.
Contact: Caitlin Hollister at chollister@champlain.edu or (802) 383-6657

Racial Trauma and Pro Equity Systems: Building Awareness and Challenging Oppressive Structures

The Vermont Higher Education Collaborative (VT-HEC) is offering a two-day, in-person, workshop series, Racial Trauma and Pro Equity Systems: Building Awareness and Challenging Oppressive Structures. This course is offered with a graduate course option, beginning July 26, 2022, with Zachary Key, MA, LMHC. The workshop days will provide insight into racial trauma, its origins and causes, and the individual acts and systemic mechanisms that perpetuate it. Participants will learn what steps they can take toward building equitable classrooms, schools and systems. Students in the graduate course will be designing plans for how to create pro-equity systems within their own sphere of influence and will develop and implement their plans at their work sites, then share the outcomes with course colleagues.
Contact: Julie Medose at info@vthec.org or (802) 498-3350

Next Generation Science Exemplar Teacher Professional Development Course

Interested in shifting your instruction from a place where students are just “learning about” to one where they are “figuring out” the how and why? Join the Vermont Institute of Natural Science for the Becoming a Next Generation Science Teacher professional development course. Participants will explore how to use phenomena (things that happen in the world) to drive instruction, motivate learning and help learners drive where to go next. Course schedule: Monday, August 8 - Friday, August 12, 2022; 9 a.m.-noon. and 1-3 p.m. Relicensing or graduate credits are available.
Contact: Hannah Gelroth at hgelroth@vinsweb.org or (802) 359-5000

Professional Learning: Fall English Language Learners - Equity Workshop

Registration is open for Classroom Design Supporting Students' Cultural Backgrounds: Co-Planning for Informed English Language Learners Instruction in K-12 Classrooms. This two-day workshop (previously scheduled for summer) is now being held in our Champlain Valley Educator Development Center classroom on Nov. 8-9, 2022, in South Burlington, with virtual or in-person options. The focus is on accommodating the needs of English Language Learner (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, ELL trainers. More info online at the Champlain Valley Educational Development Center's webpage.
Contact: Lauren Wooden at lauren@cvedcvt.org or (802) 497-1642

Summer Professional Learning: Autism Spectrum Disorder

Starting on June 27, 2022, the Castleton Center for Schools will offer the online course Autism Spectrum Disorder with Dr. Lauren Weiss. This course provides an overview of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and focuses on the use of evidence-based instructional practices to educate learners with ASD from preschool through early adulthood. This is an ideal course for in-service teachers, special educators and professionals providing related services who want to build a knowledge base regarding students with ASD. Dr. Lauren Weiss is a full-time Education Department faculty member at Castleton University.
Contact: Tara Lidstone at cfs@castleton.edu or (802) 345-0092

Professional Learning: Wilson Language Training Courses and Workshops Available This Summer, Including Fundations and Just Words

Registration is now open for Wilson Training courses and workshops offered through the Stern Center for Language and Learning. Fundations® Levels K-3 Workshops cover the five main areas of reading instruction with an emphasis on systematic phonics and word structure. Just Words® is a highly explicit, multisensory decoding and spelling program for students in grades 4–12. Wilson Reading System® Introductory Course provides educators with an overview of the Wilson Reading System (WRS) 4th Edition curriculum and serves as the prerequisite for WRS Level I Certification. Visit the Wilson Language Training course webpage to register. Please note, if a course date doesn't work for you, we can be flexible with our schedule. Just drop us a line. Grant funding is available through the Application for Grant Funding form.
Contact: Peter McDonald at pmcdonald@sterncenter.org

Creativity and Innovation Course - Fall 2022

The Creativity and Innovation course is for Vermont 8-12 secondary, career technical center educators and workforce professionals. The course is offered Oct. 17-18, 2022, at the Lake Morey Resort (overnight) with six monthly, 2-hour follow-on sessions. The course provides educators with fun, engaging, interactive entrepreneurial mindset learning experiences and lesson plans that can be easily integrated into any program of study or academic discipline. No matter what a person’s career pathway, the entrepreneurial process/mindset crosses all disciplines/fields and helps individuals be more successful in creating their own ventures, be more successful in school, and/or become a more focused and knowledgeable employee. Earn three graduate or undergraduate credits through Castleton University or professional development hours.
Contact: Laurel Butler at lbutler@vtsbdc.org or (802) 922-3692