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.
What if Wednesday, Volume 2, 2023
Audience: Superintendents, Principals and School Safety Stakeholders
The Vermont School Safety Center is pleased to announce the What if Wednesday, Volume 2, 2023, school safety training initiative. The “What if Wednesday” training program is designed to be shared with all school safety stakeholders and should be used to stimulate a conversation about school emergency preparedness.
Contact: Robert L. Evans at revans@margolishealy.com or (802) 839-0448
Math for All Learners Contract
Audience: Principals, Curriculum Directors, PK-12 Math Educators
The AOE is pleased to announce it has contracted with the All Learners Network to provide professional learning for educators to strengthen universal core instruction and assessment practices in mathematics to improve learning outcomes in mathematics for all students, including those students need additional support. The All Learners Network will provide these opportunities at no cost to participating SU/SDs and their faculty and staff. Please visit the All Learners Network webpage for registration information.
Contact: Ryan Parkman at ryan.parkman@vermont.gov
Vermont Public: Using Vermont Public and PBS Kids Resources
Audience: Curriculum Directors, Principals, PreK-12 Teachers
Want to find out more about using Vermont Public or PBS Kids resources? Watch the Agency of Education and Vermont Public OVEE webinar recorded in 2020 (PBS Kids), Hero Elementary OVEE event. Watch and listen to our very own Vermont Public (PBS) Education staff, Vermont Agency of Education, and Hero Elementary Creators Beth Daniels and Carol-Lynn Parente talk about this inclusive series for PreK-3. What is your science superpower? Visit the Vermont Public Kids and Education page to find more recommendations for high-quality media and resource collections.
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. Positions are: Director of Education Finance - Contact: Bill Bates at bill.bates@vermont.gov and Education Data Analyst II - Temporary - Contact: David Kelley at david.kelley@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.
Survey: How Could Life Be Improved for Vermonters with Disabilities
The University of Vermont Center on Disability and Community Inclusion needs your input on disability advocacy in Vermont! Where should they focus their research, classes, services and stories for the next five years? They are looking for feedback from Vermonters with disabilities, family members of Vermonters with disabilities and those who work with and know Vermonters with disabilities. Please fill out this survey and make your voice heard. The survey is open until Feb. 2023. People who complete the survey can enter a raffle for $20 gift cards.
Contact: Jesse Suter at Jesse.Suter@uvm.edu
14th Annual Vermont Entrepreneurship Day
All secondary students and educators in any discipline are invited on Feb. 9, 2023, from 8:30-11:45 a.m., to join the 14th Annual Vermont Entrepreneurship Day. You may participate in all or part of this free, virtual, educational program to hear from a panel of amazing young enterprising Vermont entrepreneurs as they share their stories and offer tips on how to be successful in business or the workplace. Plus, hear from a communication TEDx talk expert about “how to tell your story”. Register on the event webpage.
Contact: Laurel Butler at lbutler@vtsbdc.org or (802) 922-3692
Vermont Family Network Free Workshop: Services for Children who are Blind or Visually Impaired - What can VABVI provide for My Child?
In the workshop, Services for Children who are Blind or Visually Impaired - What can VABVI provide for My Child?, held on Feb. 8, 2023, from 10-11 a.m., participants will learn about Vermont Association for the Blind and Visually Impaired (VABVI) services for children ages birth through high school graduation. VABVI staff includes Teachers of the Visually Impaired (TVI), Certified Assistive Technology Instructional Specialists (CATIS) for Individuals with Visually Impairments and Certified Orientation and Mobility Specialists (COMS). Learn about the nine areas of the “Expanded Core Curriculum”, qualifications, assessments, consultation and direct instruction options available through VABVI. Presenter: Stephanie Bissonette, VABVI Director of Children Services.
Contact: Rachel Boyers at rachel.boyers@vtfn.org
All Learners Network Math Professional Development: Launch/Number Sense Routines
Launch/Number Sense Routines is a free, six-hour workshop offered in person at the All Learners Network (ALN) Learning Center in Burlington on Feb. 10, 2023, from 9 a.m.-3:30 p.m. Participants will reimagine how they use the first five to fifteen minutes of their math block for purposeful, discussion-rich number sense routines in their classroom. Launch, the first component of the ALN Lesson approach, is a powerful routine which is amplified through consistent exposure over time. Through intentional problem selection, teachers encourage students to own the conversation and their learning.
Contact: TJ Jemison at communicationsdirector@alllearnersnetwork.com
Year of the Book Literacy Grant Applications due March 1, 2023
The Children’s Literacy Foundation (CLiF) is currently accepting applications for its 2023-2024 Year of the Book grant, which provides $25,000 worth of literacy programs, support, author visits and new books over one school year to help build a culture of literacy in elementary schools across New Hampshire and Vermont. Open to PreK-6 public schools in Vermont with at least 35% free and reduced lunch and at least 30% of students scoring below proficient on reading/writing assessments. Applications are due by March 1, 2023.
Contact: Cassie Willner at cassie@clifonline.org or (802) 244-0944
Umatter For Schools: Suicide Prevention Awareness Training
The Umatter for Schools Suicide Prevention national best practice program for suicide prevention is supported by funding from the Vermont Department of Mental Health. This newly designed four-week course, beginning in March, consists of asynchronous, self-paced work and virtual live zoom sessions. All four modules will include content presentation in multiple formats, self-reflection through discussion, activities designed for team engagement and learning assessments at the end of each module. Register online today, at least one week before the program start date.
Contact: Karen Carreira at karen@healthandlearning.org
Why Some Students Have Difficulty Learning: A New Workshop Series
Please join the Stern Center for Language and Learning for an important series of workshops for classroom teachers, interventionists and special educators about assessment measurement. Learn practical strategies for assessing, documenting and meeting the instructional needs of students across an MTSS system. This series will promote a reflective analysis of student performance and will help you gain the background knowledge you need to prepare for education changes happening in Vermont related to Act 173. (This training is not intended as legal guidance for schools or districts.) Instructor: Dr. Melissa Farrall, Start Date: Jan. 31, 2023.
Contact: Julia Caminiti at news@sterncenter.org
Vita-Learn Tech Clinic
Registration is open for the Vita-Learn Tech Clinic on Feb. 22, 2023. The one-day Tech Clinic will be hosted by Vita-Learn at Vermont Technical College. Cybersecurity, data privacy, networking and more will be covered in the day's agenda. Recommended for school IT leaders and their teams. Learn more about the agenda and register on the Vita-Learn website.
Contact: Jeff Mao at jeff@vita-learn.org or (207) 798-2460
Invitation to Attend the Restorative Approaches in Vermont Showcase
You are invited to a virtual showcase of Restorative Approaches in Vermont on Tuesday, Feb. 7, 2023, from 12-1 p.m. This showcase will highlight various projects and products (such as film/ new e-learning modules) that have been developed through the work of a recent AOE-funded, RISE-VT project. This project aimed to expand and improve restorative approaches implementation for school equity in Vermont. This virtual lunchtime event is being hosted by the Vermont Restorative Approaches Collaborative and the link to register can be found on the Vermont Restorative Approaches Showcase registration page.
Contact: Lindsey Halman at lindsey@upforlearning.org