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Volume 18, Issue 12

Weekly Field Memo
April 10, 2024

About

The Agency of Education created the weekly field memo to keep subscribers up-to-date with current education policy, state-wide education initiatives, and official messages from the AOE. The Weekly Field Memo contains education-related posts from the Agency of Education (AOE), other State of Vermont agencies, federal agencies or Vermont's congressional delegation.

Contents: April 10, 2024

K-6 Earth Month EduSeries

Audience: K-6 Educators
Celebrate Earth Month with a free, fun, virtual series for grades K-6! In three 45-minute sessions, your class will discover how worms turn food scraps into nutrients for plants, learn how to be better stewards of Earth by recycling like you live here, and bust common recycling myths. Register for Earth Month EduSeries sessions online.
Contact: Rhonda Mace at rmace@cswd.net or (802) 872-8100 x211

Theater Proficiency-Based Graduation Requirements Review

Audience: Theater educators
Attention all theater educators, regardless of your specialization - your expertise is invaluable. We invite you to collaborate in reviewing and refining the K-8 Priority Performance Indicators. This workshop presents a unique opportunity to shape the recommended Theater Proficiency-Based Graduation Requirements proposed by the Agency of Education. We will convene remotely for two Wednesdays from 3:30 to 5 p.m. on May 8 and 15, 2024. Sign up using the Theater Proficiency-Based Graduation Requirements Review sign-up form.
Contact: Lisa Bresler at lisa.bresler@vermont.gov

BTA Training: Two Dates Available

Audience: Behavioral Threat Assessment Team Members
School Behavioral Threat Assessment & Management (BTAM) training is a virtual, one-day training course presented by The Vermont School Safety Center, designed to prevent active shooter incidents and other targeted violence in our schools and school districts. This course also teaches participants how to assess threats and other disturbing behavior and take steps to reduce risk and prevent harm. Prior to this training, we strongly encourage schools and school districts to identify potential members of your BTA teams and attend this training as a "team". Act 29 requires that BTA policies and procedures are implemented or updated by SY 2024-2025 for current BTA teams, and that BTATs and annual trainings are implemented or updated by July 1, 2025. All current BTA teams should take this training if not already done so.
Contact: Sunni Eriksen at sunni.eriksen@vermont.gov

Vermont Public: Eclipse Follow-Up Resources

Audience: Vermont Educators
Take time, post-eclipse, to talk with students about what they observed. Listen to But Why’s Podcast for Curious Kids’ featured episode about the eclipse. In this podcast episode, Jane Lindholm speaks with Bridgewater State University solar physicist Martina Arndt, Fairbanks Museum planetarium director Mark Breen, and Thomas A. Hockey, author of America’s First Eclipse Chasers. Additionally, visit Vermont Public’s Eclipse page to find all educational resources in one place.
Contacts: Emily Leute at emily.leute@vermont.gov or Heather Duhamel at hduhamel@vermontpublic.org

2024 Developmental Disabilities Awareness Art Contest - Extended Deadline April 12

Audience: Superintendents, Special Education Administrators, All Educators, All School
March is Developmental Disabilities Month, and the Vermont Agency of Education's Special Education Team is hosting an art contest for students with developmental disabilities. The theme for the 2024 contest is "We Are All Different and That's Beautiful." Each school LEA may submit an entry for each grade-band to AOE.SpeicalEd@vermont.gov described in the 2024 Developmental Disabilities Awareness Art Contest Guidelines and 2024 Developmental Disabilities Awareness Art Contest Release Form by extended deadline, April 12, 2024.
Contact: Heather Willis-Doxsee at heather.willis-doxsee@vermont.gov

Voting Open for Red Clover, Vermont Golden Dome, and Green Mountain Book Awards

Audience: Vermont Educators
Student vote submission forms are now open for the 2023-2024 nomination lists for all three Vermont youth book awards. Voting closes Sunday, May 26, and the winners will be announced the first week of June. Adults can submit votes for students for the Red Clover and Vermont Golden Dome book awards through the same form this year. Teens can submit their own votes for the Green Mountain Book Award. The Vermont Department of Libraries had over 18,000 Vermont youth participate in voting last year and hope to receive even more votes this year! To vote, use the 2024 Red Clover and Vermont Golden Dome Book Award Vote Submission Form and the 2024 Green Mountain Book Award Voting Form
Contact: Lilly Talbert at Lilly.Talbert@vermont.gov

Grant Announcement: Statewide Consultant Grant Applications Open April 15

Audience: Education Providers, Organizations, Leadership Groups
Grant applications for Statewide Consultant Grants which include, Deaf or Hard of Hearing, Interdisciplinary Team, and Blind or Visually Impaired grants, open April 15, 2024, with a due date of May 15, 2024. Applicants will need to sign into their GMS account to apply. The purpose of these grants is to improve local educational teams' capacities to implement research-based interventions and current best practices in the field of education.
Contact: Laura Greenwood at laura.greenwood@vermont.gov

Webinar: FEMA Hazard Mitigation Grant Program

Audience: Superintendents, School Heads, School Business Managers
In partnership with the Department of Public Safety, The Agency of Education is hosting an informational, school-specific webinar on April 19, 2024, from 2-3 p.m. about the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) Hazard Mitigation Grant Program (HMGP). Funds are available to support natural hazard mitigation in Vermont after the July 2023 flooding. Pre-applications are due by June 21, 2024. Please see the FEMA Hazard Mitigation Grant Program information page to learn more.
Contact: Taylor Goodwin at taylor.goodwin@vermont.gov (webinar) dps.hazardmitigation@vermont.gov (grant program)

Training Opportunity: MGT 417: Crisis Management for School-Based Incidents for Key Decision Makers

Audience: First responders, school administrators, school safety and security personnel
On May 23-24, 2024 from 8 a.m.-4p.m. the Department of Public Safety is holding an in-person, DHS/FEMA-certified course that provides operational-level details to support many of the topics covered in AWR148: Crisis Management for School-Based Incidents. The course will be held at the Town of Barre Municipal Building and will cover Partnering Rural Law Enforcement, First Responders, and Local School Systems. Topics include: All-Hazards Planning and Preparedness, Vulnerability Assessments, Threat Assessment Management and more. A FEMA SID Required (please visit FEMA SIS website to register for your SID). Please register for this course by May 9 via the RDPC website.
Contact: Sunni Eriksen at sunni.eriksen@vermont.gov

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The field memo has time-sensitive and relevant information designed for students, teachers, and staff. The agency encourages principals, headmasters, and superintendents to share the memo with their education community. Additionally, individuals can subscribe or unsubscribe online.

Questions? Email Ted Fisher at ted.fisher@vermont.gov.