Weekly Field Memo

June 21, 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.

Press Release: Agency of Education Announces Summer Food Service Program

Audience: All
The Agency of Education is announcing the availability of summer meal sites providing meals to children, 18 and under, through the Summer Food Service Program (SFSP). This vital initiative ensures that children across the state have access to nutritious meals throughout the summer. Families are encouraged to access these meals to help support children's growth, health, and academic success. This program bridges the gap between school years, giving children the fuel they need to play and grow throughout the summer months and return to school ready to learn. Read the full Press Release: Agency of Education Announces Summer Food Service Program.
Contact: Lindsey Hedges at aoe.publicinformation@vermont.gov

Memo: Early Warning Systems Professional Learning Opportunity

Audience: Superintendents
The Vermont Agency of Education is pleased to announce a new professional learning opportunity to assist supervisory unions/districts in the development and implementation of Early Warning Systems to better identify student and school/district data patterns, inform team decision-making and student interventions, and further the development of existing systems of support. After an open and competitive bid process, the AOE has contracted with Resultant, LLC to provide this professional learning. Read the full Memo: Early Warning Systems Professional Learning Opportunity.
Contact: Jess DeCarolis at AOE.StudentPathwaysGroup@vermont.gov

Memo: Count of State-Placed Students Data Collection

Audience: Superintendents, Principals, Special Education Coordinators, Business Managers
State-placed students generate their average daily membership through state-placed student data reporting. The State-Placed Students Count Form FY-2023 is due Friday, July 28. Every public school must submit a report. Read the full Memo: Count of State-Placed Students Data Collection.
Contact: Cathy Scott at cathy.scott@vermont.gov

Professional Learning and Coaching for the Effective Use of Local Assessment Data

Audience: Superintendents, Curriculum Directors, Principals, K-8 Teachers
The AOE is creating professional learning and coaching that is designed to support Vermont educators in the effective use of local assessment data to inform instruction and improve student learning. In this learning, participating teams will view systems, study models, share ideas and receive tools to improve student learning. An optional three-credit course ($150/credit) through Castleton State will supplement the series. For details and registration, visit Professional Learning and Coaching for the Effective Use of Local Assessment Data Overview and Kickoff.
Contact: Pat Fitzsimmons at pat.fitzsimmons@vermont.gov

Announcing the K-12 Special Education Evaluation Implementation Guide and Webinar

Audience: Special Education Directors; Special Educators; SU/SD and School-based Administrators, MTSS Coordinators, Educational Support Teams, Assessment Coordinators, Mental Health Care Personnel
The Special Education Evaluation Implementation Guide webinar is now posted on the Special Education Rule Changes page of our website under August Resources. All administrators and educators are encouraged to check them out.
Contact: Chris Kane at AOE.SpecialEd@vermont.gov

Registration Open for Child Nutrition Summer Institute 2023

Audience: School Food Service Staff, Business Managers
Registration is now open for AOE’s Child Nutrition Summer Institute 2023. The conference will be held over three weeks in August and will include both in-person and virtual classes. Topics include food safety, waste reduction, allergies, wellness policies, school nutrition program regulations and civil rights. Most of the trainings are aimed at school food service staff and business managers, but some trainings are relevant for school nurses, farm-to-school staff and other school administrators. All trainings will be free of charge. We look forward to seeing you there!
Contact: Rosie Krueger at mary.krueger@vermont.gov

The Vermont Framework for Proficiency: A Deeper Dive

Audience: Superintendents, Curriculum Directors, Principals, High School Teachers
The Agency of Education and Great Schools Partnership are looking for educators to join an in-person conversation taking a deeper dive into the Proficiency-Based Graduation Requirement (PBGR) hierarchies. Work includes revisiting the hierarchies, cross-walking the transferable skills and the hierarchies, and identifying connections between the hierarchies, Personalized Learning Plans and Portraits of a Graduate. This collaboration lays the foundation for the development of performance assessments that will be available across Vermont. The convening will take place on August 21, 2023, from 9 a.m. - 3 p.m. at the Mountain Top Inn. Additional information is available on the registration page.
Contact: Pat Fitzsimmons at pat.fitzsimmons@vermont.gov

Vermont Public: Summer of Possibilities Summer Camp Collections

Audience: Curriculum Directors, Principals, PreK-2 Teachers
Join the Vermont Agency of Education and Vermont Public for the PBS LearningMedia Summer of Possibilities: Summer Camp Collections. These collections are digital with downloadable/printable options that are free for all. Play your way with activity calendars for students in grades PreK-2. Remember to 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

Agency of Education Open Positions

Audience: All
The Vermont Agency of Education has open positions that are available to both state employees and external applicants. The open positions are: Education Data Analyst II - Contact: David Kelley at david.kelley@vermont.gov, Education Programs Coordinator II - Contact: Josh Souliere at josh.souliere@vermont.gov and Education Assistant Division Director - Contact: Josh Souliere at josh.souliere@vermont.gov.
Contact: AOE Info at aoe.edinfo@vermont.gov

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.

Holistic Restorative Education Institute and Symposium

The Holistic Restorative Education Institute and Symposium will be on August 8-11 and August 12. View and download our flyer with registration for both events - the Holistic Restorative Education (HRE) Institute (a four-day training for educators with credit option) and the HRE Symposium (a one-day event for educators, students and community members) to share what's being done around the state.
Contact: Jessica Villeneuve at jessica@starlingcollaborative.org or (802) 782-3448

The Vermont Alliance for the Social Studies Call for Social Studies Workshop Proposals

The Vermont Alliance for the Social Studies (VASS) will host its 2023-24 conference on Thursday, Dec 7. 2023, at the Hilton Burlington Lake Champlain Hotel in Burlington, Vermont. VASS is soliciting proposals for the numerous breakout sessions which will be held throughout the day. Over 150 people attended last year's conference. 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

Best Practices in Secondary Math Teaching: an Introduction to Essential Math for College and Careers

Registration for this professional development opportunity will be closing soon. Essential Math for College and Careers (EMC2) was designed by and for Vermont math educators to help Vermont high schools increase college and career readiness of their students. Join fellow math colleagues at Vermont Student Assistance Corporation (VSAC) in Winooski, July 31-August 4, 2023. $250 for the week includes lunch each day and attendees will earn 30 professional learning hours upon completion of the week-long training. For more information about the EMC2 class and this workshop, visit the VSAC EMC2 webpage.
Contact: Anita Long at long@vsac.org

Professional Learning: Wilson Just Words Virtual Launch Workshop

The Stern Center, a Wilson Accredited Training Partner, is offering a Just Words Workshop this July. Just Words is a highly explicit, multisensory decoding and spelling program for students in grades 4–12 and adults with mild to moderate decoding and spelling proficiency gaps who do not require intensive intervention. The program is designed for students with below-average decoding and spelling scores and should be combined with other literature-rich programs. Visit the Just Words Launch Workshop page to register. Make sure to apply for grant funding—which can reduce tuition by 20%.
Contact: Julia Caminiti at jcaminiti@sterncenter.org

More Graduate Courses Starting Soon

The Center for Schools has a variety of summer courses, designed specifically for practicing educators, starting now through mid-August. The list of offerings and course descriptions can be seen on Castleton's Continuing Education and Graduate Courses webpage. Learn online, in-person or outdoors.
Contact: Tara Lidstone at cfs@castleton.edu or (802) 345-0092

Seventh Annual Early Childhood Educators Institute hosted by Castleton State University

The Seventh Annual Early Childhood Educators Institute (ECEI) will be held on July 25 and 27 and August 1 and 3, 2023. The ECEI is a professional development and learning opportunity for all members of the broad early childhood education field. Participants engage in one of several early childhood education content strands designed to deepen practice, meet early childhood education professional development requirements and contribute to early childhood or elementary educator licensing competencies and/or renewal of educator licensing and endorsements.
Contact: Tara Lidstone at cfs@castleton.edu or (802) 345-0092

Weekly Field Memo - Volume 17, Issue 25