The 802 Ed

What's going on in Vermont's education policy and practice

Welcome back! The weather can’t seem to make up its mind between late summer and early fall, but the leaves are well on their way to turning color. Once again we offer the interactive fall foliage map to plan out the best time to peep the leaves – or leave town to avoid the leaf peepers!

This issue of the 802 Ed covers many topics that are immediately useful like the latest on education financing including an opinion piece from a former legislator, more on phone-free schools, and an upcoming opportunity to hear from the author of Anxious Nation. Be sure to check out the cool back to school mix from the U.S. Secretary of Education!

New to the lingo? At the suggestion of a reader we include a guide to common abbreviations, just scroll down past the news.

- Steven Berbeco, Editor

School Leadership

The Persuasion Superpower. BBC summarizes the work of a former presidential advisor on how to influence others, research that is relevant to school leaders, board members, and others in education.

The Room Where It Happens. The Chester Telegraph reports on the second meeting of the legislative-mandated Commission on the Future of Public Education, including the chair’s opening caveat: “I want to acknowledge that the members appointed by the General Assembly to this commission may not fully represent Vermont.” A public comment letter signed by more than three dozen educators goes a few steps further. This was a popular item in last issue, so here it is again for readers who may have missed it.

“Extraordinary Fiscal Headwinds.” Seven Days VT amplifies the governor’s recent warning that health insurance costs and other factors are likely to create a challenging budget planning process for Vermont’s school communities, concerns that are echoed by school leaders.

That Could Have Been An Email. Education Week offers an opinion piece with advice on making the most of the available time when designing faculty meetings.

The Cost of Quiet Classes. The Waterbury Roundabout highlights the board’s concerns about the price tag for specialized new pouches for cell phones: “How would you justify spending 22 grand on this?”

AI over Classroom Learning. The Hechinger Report covers a recent experiment at Harvard University where tutoring powered by artificial intelligence appeared to outperform in-person teaching.

“A Lot More Conversations Going On.” WCAX drops in on a school that has adopted a no-phones policy and students are already seeing benefits to it.

Harbinger of Tough Votes. VT Digger reports the final budget was approved by its school community after a bruising cycle where about one in three budget votes failed statewide, with fingers pointed at spiraling health insurance costs among other areas.

“I Hear You, But…” Education Week offers three suggestions that school leaders can use to head off conflict in triggering conversations.

Prepping for Protests. Higher Ed Jobs gives the pen to a former college president, who offers advice on steps school and college leaders can take now in anticipation of possible student dissent later.

Heads Up, Vermont. States are taking innovative steps to support their students and Vermont school leaders and lawmakers should take note:

• Georgia’s governor credits an innovative outreach program with significantly boosting state college enrollment this year.

• Idaho is seeking federal approval for lower statewide education goals for students’ achievement outcomes.

• Kentucky’s community colleges have developed approaches to supporting students’ unique mental health needs.

• Missouri public colleges have joined many other states in offering “direct admission” to high school seniors who haven’t even applied.

School Shootings in 2024. Education Week’s tracker has logged 29 school shootings in 2024. “On Sept. 17, a 14-year-old boy was shot and injured in the school parking lot at Washington Technology Magnet School in St. Paul, Minn.” Total school shootings in 2023: 38. As a reminder, DPS and AOE operate an anonymous school safety tip line for students, school staff, and their community: calling 1-844-SAFE4VT; texting SAFE4VT to 274637; or online at safe4vt.org. For questions about school safety training in Vermont, contact Rob Evans.

Reader Survey

In each issue we ask a survey question to get a sense of what is on our readers’ minds. Then, the following issue, we report back on what we learned.

Last issue we asked: How are you feeling about the school year so far? On overwhelming majority of readers selected Optimistic, it’s going to be awesome, with fewer than half as many selecting Meh, ask me again around Thanksgiving. Few readers selected Pessimistic, already looking pretty bad.

This issue’s survey question: How are you feeling about this year’s budget building process? Please indicate your response by clicking a check mark.

✅ Awesome, we’re sure of community support

✅ Danger danger Will Robinson, it’s going to be rough

✅ It’s still too early to tell

Thank you to the reader from Windsor County who suggested that survey question. What’s on your mind? Suggest a survey question to find out how your colleagues respond in an upcoming issue of the 802 Ed!

Job Listings

Supercharge The Applicant Pool. The market for school staff in Vermont is fierce and it’s important to stand out when attracting quality candidates. Why get wedged in among thousands of open positions on SchoolSpring? Your opportunity can stand out in an upcoming issue of the 802 Ed, dropping into the Inbox of thousands of readers. Sponsored by 802 Ed

The Big List. Josh Czupryk compiles and publishes a monthly spreadsheet with more than 300 job opportunities for remote work in K-12 education.

Looking for a Change? With so many open positions across the country, there are sometimes unusual opportunities. For example, Alaska’s state government hires “seasonal weir technicians” to count salmon, equipped with an air horn to scare away the grizzly bears.

Thank The Team

You read it, you love it, and now is a good time to say thanks. Cover our coffee budget! Writing, editing, researching… all of that is caffeine driven. Choose this option and the extra energy will go to finding a few more updates to share.

Note from The Editor

Here’s something about me that should be obvious by now: I love data.

It's more than a love of numbers, although I think they are tremendously interesting. I have spent solid chunks of time pondering what “negative zero” even means.

And it’s more than doing math problems and the nostalgic thrill of remembering how to set up an algebraic equation. (But don’t ask me what a quadratic formula is!)

For me, it’s the rarity of finding data on the left side of my screen that seems somehow connected to data on the right. And not the spurious connection between global warming and pirates and other knee-slappers. No, we’re talking here about Vermont’s market for school leaders.

The first data set is the number of vacancies for school leaders in the past 60 days. The trend line in the graph below drops down over time, indicating fewer openings in the past couple of months. Makes sense, right? Schools are open for learning and leadership has been in place already over the summer to plan for September on out.

And the second data set is the total number of principal licenses in this market, currently hovering a little over 1,100. That number keeps going up as reported in every issue… until now. In the past two weeks, the Agency of Education hasn’t issued any new licenses. It’s spookily quiet. In fact, there are two fewer principal licenses in the market now as two are no longer active.

So on the one hand we have progressively less demand for school leaders like principals, and on the other hand no recent growth in the supply of them.

Healthy markets have a lot of transactions, like a lemonade stand with enough lemons, sugar, and water to meet the demand of many thirsty passers-by. In the education market it’s the transaction of a licensed applicant filling a vacancy.

A market with less and less movement runs a risk of becoming weak, which can make it harder to recruit top talent, like setting up that lemonade stand during mud season.

Meantime, I’m going back to pondering negative zero and being grateful for fewer pirates in the world today.

Eye on Data

The chart below tracks the number of open positions for school leaders in Vermont in the past 60 days, presented as data points and a linear trend line. Data from SchoolSpring.

Pass It On

Like what you are reading? Hit the button below to send a copy to a colleague, friend, neighbor, your boss… whoever!

Colleagues on the Move

Usually we include a list of colleagues who have received administrator licensure from AOE since the last issue of the 802 Ed, but it looks like there aren’t any new licenses in the past two weeks. This is the first time it’s happened since publication started.

Do you know a colleague who has made a recent move? Let us know!

Grants & Opportunities

Anxious Nation Has The Mic. The author of Anxious Nation is presenting a webinar on recent research on the youth mental health crisis and suggest action steps for school leaders to take in the new school year. CE certificate available. 3 - 4 pm, September 24.

Governor’s School Safety Conference. AOE, DPS, and the Vermont School Safety Center are holding an in-person conference at the DoubleTree in Burlington, with keynotes and breakout sessions presented by several of the country’s foremost school safety experts and advocates. September 30.

Celebrating Public Education. The VSBA invites presentation proposals from students, educators, and school leaders for its October 24 conference at Lake Morey Resort in Fairlee. Dinner will be served to presenters. Deadline to submit is October 7.

School Safety Training. The Vermont School Safety Center is offering a virtual training on School Behavior Threat Assessment and Management, designed to prevent active shooter incidents and other targeted school violence. October 9 and November 12.

Educate, Gather, Partner, and Influence. The Commission on the Future of Vermont Public Education has published an RFP for communication and engagement consultation related to its work. Deadline is October 15.

Color The Corn. The Vermont Agency of Agriculture, Food and Markets announced a coloring contest for students in grades K to 4, with details mailed out to principals later in September. Deadline is November 1.

Powering The Future. The U.S. Department of Education opened submissions for a CTE program competition, where student teams compete for $50,000 in prize money by submitting action plans that will advance the use of clean energy in their schools and communities. Deadline is November 19.

If You Missed It

State Education Profile An AOE report on the state’s education system was published recently, four years behind schedule but packed with data.

What If. A former state representative suggests changes to education funding in Vermont, including a new model where state funding partly follows the student.

Back to School Cool. The U.S. Department of Education Secretary recently released a Spotify play list of relaxing tunes to start the school year off right.

The 802 Ed brings together the latest from Vermont's associations for principals, superintendents, and school board members, as well as state and national education agencies. We hope that you'll find something useful in each issue and welcome comments or suggestions for upcoming issues: editor@802ed.com.

Abbreviation list: AASA School Superintendents Association, ADM Average Daily Membership, AHS Agency of Human Services, AOE Agency of Education, CDC Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, CDD Child Development Division, CVTSE Coalition for Vermont Student Equity, DAIL Department of Disabilities, Aging, and Independent Living, DCF Department for Children and Families, DMH Department of Mental Health, DPS Department of Public Safety, ED U.S. Department of Education, FERPA Federal Educational Rights and Privacy Act, NAEYC National Association for the Education of Young Children, NEASC New England Association of Schools and Colleges, PBIS Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports, RFP Request for Proposals, SBE State Board of Education, SEL Social Emotional Learning, VEHI Vermont Education Health Initiative, VPA Vermont Principals Association, VREC Vermont Rural Education Collaborative, VSA Vermont Superintendents Association, VSBA Vermont School Board Association, VSBIT Vermont School Boards Insurance Trust, VSBPE Vermont Standards Board for Professional Educators, VTCLA Vermont Curriculum Leaders Association, VTSU Vermont State University.

Special bonus for making it to the bottom: Breaking news, the world record for baking a whoopie pie has just been shattered by a bakery in Rutland. Keep dreaming big, fellow Vermonters.