Weekly Field Memo

May 24, 2023

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 (AOE), other State of Vermont agencies, federal agencies or Vermont's congressional delegation.

The 2022-2023 Vermont Multi-tiered System of Supports Survey Deadline Extended to June 7, 2023

Audience: Superintendents and Principals
As required by Act 117 – VSA Title 16, Section 2904 each superintendent shall annually provide a status update on the tiered system of supports in their supervisory union or district. The VTmtss Survey collects school level data and is often delegated to principals. This year, the survey window opened a day later than intended, so we will be extending the survey window by one week to June 7, 2023. We aim for 100% response rate, so please reach out if you are a principal or superintendent and cannot locate the survey link.
Contact: Caitlin Chisholm at caitlin.chisholm@vermont.gov

Social Studies Newsletter

Audience: K-12 Social Studies Educators, CTE Educators, AEL Educators
Please see the Spring Social Studies newsletter for resources, educator and student opportunities, as well as updates from the Vermont Alliance for Social Studies and the Vermont 250th Outreach and Education Committee. Contact Martha Deiss if you would like to be added to a distribution list for timely social studies and financial literacy-focused updates and opportunities.
Contact: Martha Deiss at martha.deiss@vermont.gov

Computer Science Professional Learning Program

Audience: STEM Educators, Computer Science Teachers, Curriculum Directors, School Librarians, Principals, Educators
The AOE is encouraging Vermont educators to apply to attend a week-long Computer Science (CS) Summer Institute July 24-28, 2023, at the University of New England in Beddeford, Maine. Code.org and Educate Maine are partnering to offer three options for educators who want to bring computer science to their students. CS Discoveries, CS Principles and CS Advanced workshops are free for educators who meet the scholarship criteria and plan to teach the course in 2023-24. Apply now for the CS Summer Institute.
Contact: Lisa Helme at lisa.helme@vermont.gov

Vermont Public: Culturally Responsive Math

Audience: Curriculum Directors, Principals, PreK-12 Teachers
Join the Vermont Agency of Education and Vermont Public as we celebrate the summer of possibilities with PBS Kids! Looking for culturally responsive grade 6-8 math for classrooms and living rooms? Check out Math at the Core and explore the collection by Common Core Domain or by grade level. Visit the Vermont Public Kids and Education page for more recommendations for high-quality resources.
Contacts: Emily Leute at emily.leute@vermont.gov or Heather Duhamel at hduhamel@vermontpublic.org

May is Mental Health Awareness Month - Third Newsletter

Audience: School Administrators, School Healthcare Providers
The Vermont Department of Mental Health (DMH) is releasing newsletters on various mental health topics each week throughout May. All newsletters are available on the DMH site under May is Mental Health Awareness Month. This third newsletter focuses on strengthening your mental health and resiliency as well as when and where to seek supports. Please share with staff, community partners and families in your districts as feasible.
Contact: Marianna Donnally at Marianna.Donnally@vermont.gov

Vermont Days at Vermont State Parks on June 10-11

Audience: All Vermont Students and Educators
On June 10-11, 2023, there is no admission fee to visit Vermont State Parks and state-owned historic sites. There is also free fishing on Saturday, June 10. There are special events happening at Groton Nature Center, President Calvin Coolidge State Historic Site and a Free Family Fishing Festival in Grand Isle for Vermont Days. For more information visit the Vermont Days webpage.
Contact: Rebecca Roy at rebecca.roy@vermont.gov or (802) 522-0780

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.

Continuing Education Summer Courses with Dave Melnick - Transforming Trauma: The School as a Healing Community

The Vermont Higher Education Collaborative (VT-HEC) is offering multiple online courses this summer with Dave Melnick, LICSW. Students will study the harmful effects of trauma on students, their families and the workforce. They will examine how their own beliefs, biases and mindsets can cause harm and are often the driving force of actions and interventions with children. Students will then learn the 5 Key Practices for Trauma Transformation to be more successful with students. There are 4 cohorts; one begins on July 11 and the others begin on August 23, with an additional option to only participate in a one-day workshop.
Contact: Julie Medose at info@vthec.org or (802) 498-3350

Introduction to Essential Math for College and Careers (EMC2)

Space is still available for the week-long, in-person workshop, “Best Practices in Secondary Math Teaching”, being held at Vermont Student Assistance Corporation (VSAC) in Winooski from July 31 to August 4, 2023. Topics will include using formative assessment effectively, crafting instructional strategies to engage students fully, sharing ideas for building a rich learning environment and utilizing performance-based assessment throughout the course. Attendees will earn 30 professional learning hours for the week. Visit the VSAC EMC2 webpage for more information.
Contact: Anita Long at long@vsac.org

UVM Extension 2023 Teacher Workshop: Science in Agriculture

University of Vermont Extension Northwest Crops and Soils program (NWCS) is hosting a 2.5 day Science in Agriculture Teacher Workshop for secondary school teachers in July and August 2023. Teachers will be introduced to a curriculum designed by NWCS and will engage with new agriculture and science learning technology tools. Time will be provided for teachers to integrate the curriculum and tools into their own lesson plans. This workshop is free and teachers can earn up to 14.5 professional development hours.
Contact: Lindsey Ruhl at lindsey.ruhl@uvm.edu or (802) 656-7622

Teaching for Transfer - Sticky and Relevant Word Study Practices

Join Partnership for Literacy (PLL) for the three-credit graduate summer course, Teaching for Transfer - Sticky and Relevant Word Study Practices, with Ellen A. Thompson, addressing the vital components of teaching word study with diverse learners. Participants will consider the brain research and the research as they look closely at their pedagogy used for teaching word study using the book Word Study that Sticks Best Practices, K-6, by Pamela Koutrakos. This asynchronous course runs from July 10 - August 23, 2023. Find details on the PLL’s course webpage.
Contact: Mary Grace at info@pllvt.org or (802) 828-0521

Electric School Bus Peer Exchange Meeting

Vermont Clean Cities Coalition will be hosting a virtual peer exchange focused on school bus electrification on Thursday, June 1 from 9:30-10:30 a.m. Participants include representatives from South Burlington School District, Champlain Valley School District, Vermont Energy Investment Corporation and others who will share their experiences around procuring and using electric school buses to transport Vermont’s students. Information about financial incentive programs for purchasing electric school buses will also be provided.
Contact: Peggy O’Neill-Vivanco at poneillv@uvm.edu

Registration Open: Place-Based Science for Educators

There are a few spots remaining in the Place-based Science for Educators professional development course this summer. This three-credit online graduate class is offered through Teach Local and Castleton University and is designed for teachers who are passionate about getting their students outside to learn science. Participants will study their local ecosystems, practice activities they can use with students and build a place-based mini-unit. The class will be from July 10-21, 2023, part-time and mostly asynchronous. Learn more and register on the Teach Local website.
Contact: Mike Blouin at mike@teachlocal.org

Orton-Gillingham: Diagnostic Assessment Workshop Series

Registration is open for the Orton-Gillingham: Diagnostic Assessment Workshop Series, beginning August 18, 2023. In this series, you will be given a detailed Orton-Gillingham (OG) scope and sequence for grades K–2 and a copy of our 300+ page Orton-Gillingham for the K–2 Classroom: Weekly Guide and Universal Assessment. Learn how to administer a comprehensive diagnostic assessment to report student data, measure student progress, and identify struggling readers. Any educator with a background in OG or Structured Literacy looking for a tool to measure student progress will love this series. Visit the course page for more info.
Contact: Julia Caminiti at news@sterncenter.org

Weekly Field Memo - Volume 17, Issue 21