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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: October 25, 2023
- Making the Most of Lexile Measures in the Classroom
- Portrait of a Graduate Fall Series: From Data to Vision
- Post-COVID Support for the Mental Health and Well-being of Vermont Educators 2023/24
- Nominations for Presidential Scholars General Category
- ARP ESSER Summer Round Two Application Training
- Work-Based Learning Coordinator Survey
- Vermont School Safety Center
Making the Most of Lexile Measures in the Classroom
Audience: K-12 Educators
Vermont K-12 educators are invited to watch this one-hour recorded webinar to grow their understanding of the Lexile framework and learn how the tools on the Lexile® Hub can inform reading instruction and enhance student reading development. This webinar provides practical insights on effectively utilizing Lexile measures to guide book selection, differentiate instruction, and more. Participants will gain actionable strategies and a deeper appreciation for how Lexile measures can positively impact student learning outcomes.
Contact: Pat Fitzsimmons, pat.fitzsimmons@vermont.gov
Portrait of a Graduate Fall Series: From Data to Vision
Audience: Superintendents, Curriculum Directors, Principals, and K-12 Educators
The Portrait of a Graduate development process requires educational leaders to connect with community partners and gather feedback regarding their hopes and dreams for students upon graduation. Once teams have gathered input, the information needs to be translated into succinct, coherent descriptors within the Portrait. This session will provide tools, processes, and recommendations for analyzing the data and using it to refine the Vermont Portrait of a Graduate to reflect the local context. Registration is now open for this virtual session that will take place on Tuesday, November 14, 2023 from 3-4 p.m.
Contact: Pat Fitzsimmons, pat.fitzsimmons@vermont.gov
Post-COVID Support for the Mental Health and Well-being of Vermont Educators 2023/24
Audience: Principals
The AOE has contracted Amie Koontz, MS, CMHC, LMT, an integrative psychotherapist and former Vermont educator, to offer 6 hours of free interactive, psycho/educational PD to 12 Vermont schools on a first come first served basis. These multifaceted, hands-on trainings will provide educators with strategies to recognize dysregulation in themselves and their students, concrete skills to efficiently and effectively self-regulate under less-than-ideal circumstances, and use the power of co-regulation to benefit everyone. Differentiated follow-up support and a catalog of videos to reference will be included post-training. Email soulshineintegrative@gmail.com for more information and registration.
Contact: Amie Koontz, soulshineintegrative@gmail.com or (802) 327-3720; Meg Porcella, meg.porcella@vermont.gov
Nominations for Presidential Scholars General Category
Audience: Students, Principals, Guidance Counselors, Teachers, High School Seniors
The Vermont Presidential Scholars Program is a statewide recognition of student excellence in academics, community service, and leadership. Outstanding high school seniors are selected based on nominations from teachers and administrators, but students may also nominate themselves. Nominations for the General category are now open. Please find the nomination form and more information online. The deadline for nominations is November 17, 2023.
Contact: Sigrid Olson, sigrid.olson@vermont.gov
ARP ESSER Summer Round Two Application Training
Audience: All
A Second Round of the ARP-ESSER Summer Grant Application is now live in the GMS system. All LEAs will be eligible to apply. More information about this grant and previous rounds is available on the AOE website. Applications will be due January 4, 2024 and awards will be announced February 1, 2024. Interested parties can sign up to our non-binding contact form to receive updated information about training and technical assistance in the coming months. Interested applicants should plan to attend Applicant Training on November 9 at 1 p.m.
Contact: Johannes Haensch, johannes.haensch@vermont.gov
Work-Based Learning Coordinator Survey
Audience: WBL coordinators
Attention WBL coordinators and those who support them, the agency is still seeking your feedback. We are looking to hear from anyone working in a Vermont school or CTE center in a capacity that directly supports students engaged in Work-Based Learning. Please take a few minutes to complete this online survey. The information we collect will be instrumental to our developing supports for the field moving forward. Responses will be collected through November 9.
Contact: Johannes Haensch, johannes.haensch@vermont.gov or Julia Schuster, julia.schuster@vermont.gov
Vermont School Safety Center
Audience: Superintendents, Principals and School Crisis Planning Stakeholders
The Vermont School Safety Center would like to remind school crisis planning team members of October’s Table Top Exercise TTX template found on the VT School Safety Center’s website. These training templates are designed to facilitate a conversation about how your school/school district would respond to a critical incident. The Each month for the remainder of the academic year, the VT School Safety Center will continue to provide a TTX template to assist your school/school district in preparing for, responding to and recovering from a critical incident.
Contact: Robert Evans, Vermont School Safety Liaison Officer, revans@cosecure.com or (802) 839-0448