Weekly Field Memo: Recent News and Items of Interest From the Agency

Audience : Vermont Educators, Grades 3-5 Educators

Looking for more great activities to send home this summer? Vermont Public's But Why Adventures! Northeast Nature series just launched What's a Monarch Butterfly? with online activities for school or home. The brilliant orange and black monarch butterfly is a symbol of summer all over North America. Host Jane Lindholm takes to the fields to look for the monarch butterfly with biologist Kent McFarland. We learn about migratory patterns and growth cycles for monarchs and how we might be able to help them flourish into the future.

Contact : Emily Leute at emily.leute@vermont.gov

Audience : Currently Licensed Vermont Educators

The Agency of Education is looking for licensed teachers to participate in Licensing Hearing Panels. The work of a Licensing Hearing Panel member may involve occasional consulting, as needed, with the Licensing Investigator during the educator licensing investigation process, as well as possible participation on a licensing hearing panel having the authority to determine compliance by applicants, licensees, and the office of the Standards Board for Educators. Any currently licensed teacher in Vermont is welcome to apply for the position. The time commitment is minimal. If you are interested, please apply through the Governor's Boards and Commissions online application process .

Contact : Ryan T. Bjerke at ryan.t.bjerke@vermont.gov

Audience : Teachers, Principals, Superintendents, Administrative Staff, Higher Education

The AOE is excited to announce that educator licensing will transition to new software this summer. The Vermont Licensing System for Educators (VLSE) is anticipated to go live in July. This new software will be a major improvement to streamline the licensing process for Vermont educators, and is being developed by Level Data, which provides similar software for many other states.

Training materials and state manuals will be made available as we roll out the new software. We are aiming to provide training to stakeholders in July.

Superintendents and Human Resource Directors will start the hiring season by requesting temporary licenses through the current software, ALiS, but will begin using the new software in late July.

The last day of the ALiS system will be July 1; there will be approximately a two-week blackout period while we make the transition to the new software. The new system is currently planned to be online and available for users around July 15, once all data transfers are completed and verified.

We will be offering virtual training for the new system during the dates of July 21 to July 25. More specific details will be provided closer to July.

Contact: Katie Gagliardo at katie.gagliardo@vermont.gov

Audience : Superintendents, Curriculum Directors, Principals, Instructional Coaches, and Educators

The Agency of Education has released K-12 health education grade-span proficiency-based learning hierarchies ( K-2 , 3-5 , 6-8 , and 9-12 ) to support implementation of the recently adopted National Health Education Standards . These hierarchies serve as a foundation for the implementation of the standards adopted by the Vermont State Board of Education, Local Comprehensive Assessment Systems, flexible pathways, and personalized learning plans.

Contact : Ian Burfoot-Rochford, ian.burfoot-rochford@vermont.gov

Audience : Superintendents, Curriculum Directors, Principals, Instructional Coaches, and Educators

The Agency of Education has released three grade-span proficiency-based learning hierarchies ( K-2 , 3-5 , and 6-8 ) to support implementation of the recently adopted National Physical Education Standards . These hierarchies serve as a foundation for the implementation of the standards adopted by the Vermont State Board of Education, Local Comprehensive Assessment Systems, flexible pathways, and personalized learning plans. The 9-12 Physical Education Proficiency-Based Learning Hierarchy was previously released.

Contact : Ian Burfoot-Rochford, ian.burfoot-rochford@vermont.gov

Audience : Superintendents, Principals, Designated Employees, Advisory Council, Families, Community Members, and Students

A revised DRAFT Model Harassment, Hazing, and Bullying Prevention Policy and Procedures is now available for feedback. Feedback from the public is requested as part of this process to ensure the policy reflects the various voices and needs of Vermont school communities. The deadline for feedback has been extended . Please submit your feedback.

Contact : Tracy Watterson at tracy.watterson@vermont.gov

Audience : School Administration and Staff Involved in School Safety and EOP Planning

Members of the Vermont School Safety Center will host a monthly EOP Office Hour meeting on the third Thursday of each month from 12 p.m. to 1 p.m., with the next meeting taking place on June 19. The topic for this office hour will be family reunification. Meetings will include opportunities for school safety partners to obtain guidance in developing and maintaining EOPs, development of priority all-hazards annexes, presentations from school safety experts, and more. Please see the EOP Office Hours meeting link to join.

Contact : Sunni Eriksen at sunni.eriksen@vermont.gov

Audience : Current and Prospective School BTA Team Members

Please note: office hours will temporarily pause on June 26th for the summer and will resume again in late August.

School Behavioral Threat Assessment (BTA) team office hours are available on Tuesdays from 12 to 2 p.m. and Thursdays from 2 to 4 p.m. for questions and guidance from the statewide BTA consultant team about BTA policies and procedures, process tools, best practices, readiness activities to prepare a BTA team, and more. Current and prospective school BTA team members are encouraged to attend. The theme for the first two weeks of June is the model Policy and Procedures documents, followed by the Best Practices Guide through month-end. Please use this BTA Team Consultation Office Hours Meeting Link to join.

Contact : Michele Hartje at michele.hartje@vermont.gov

Audience : Vermont Educators, Administrators, and Parents

Vermont STEAM Education: Essential Elements and Strategy Guidelines is a document that explains the need for the evolution from STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math) to STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Math), and highlights the connections to the independent disciplines that comprise STEAM. This document discusses the STEAM instructional practices spectrum as the pedagogy moves toward becoming transdisciplinary, and offers appendices that include a STEAM Program Architecture Self-Evaluation Tool for schools to use to assess the broad vision to the evaluation and assessment of their STEAM programs. A webinar introducing this document will be held on June 18, from 1 to 2 p.m. To request a webinar invitation, please email Lisa Helme.

Contact : Lisa Helme at lisa.helme@vermont.gov

Audience : Superintendents, Special Education Directors, Principals and Educators

The Agency of Education is hosting a Special Education Knowledge Week . The week will be hosted from August 18 to 21, with 56 sessions for educators to participate in. Sessions include a Keynote with the State Director of Special Education, trainings from a wide range of subjects, and partnership with Vermont Child Health Improvement Program (VCHIP), Developmental Disabilities Services Division, and Vermont Pathways to Partnerships.

Content contact : Ana Russo at ana.russo@vermont.gov

Registration contact : Sabine Perry at sabine.perry@vermont.gov

Audience : Administrators, Curriculum Directors, Middle School Educators, After-school Educators

The Vermont Agency of Education is collaborating with the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum (USHMM) to provide professional development (PD) to middle school ELA educators during the 2025-26 school year; more information to follow. This opportunity, which is part of the professional learning series offered through Read Vermont , is aligned with proficiency indicators in both ELA and social studies. The USHMM is offering free PD this month that will allow educators to become familiar with resources that will be utilized in the Vermont sessions during the school year; register for the June 23-25 sessions (real-time or on-demand).

Contact : Martha Deiss at martha.deiss@vermont.gov or Emily Leute at emily.leute@vermont.gov