The 802 Ed
What's going on in Vermont's education policy and practice
Welcome back, and happy Eclipse Day! If you are late to the party and looking around for last-minute learning materials, check out resources from Vermont Public and the Smithsonian. And it’s also the start of National Library Week, an annual tradition since 1958, with a theme this year of Ready, Set, Library!
A special thank-you to readers who support this work by buying a cup of coffee and more, including recent contributions by a DEI specialist, a leader in mental health, an elementary school principal, a school based clinician, a retired educator, and (wait for it) a cardiologist. Join the cool kids and pitch in a little to help keep the 802 Ed coming.
This issue covers many topics that are immediately useful like the latest push back on Vermont’s new Secretary of Education, community reaction when a school board voted to lower the Black Lives Matter flag, and a free workshop on team building. Be sure to check out the small changes with big results when it comes to flexing your emotional intelligence in the workplace!
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
Strong Headwinds. Seven Days VT reviews the governor’s response to “false accusations and judgements” against Zoie Saunders, his nominee for Secretary of Education, and the professional experience listed on her resume.
The head of an education association put it bluntly in a message to membership: “She is the least qualified candidate for a secretary or commissioner of education we have had during my 30 plus years of working in public education.”
A state senator published an opinion piece and is inclined to vote no on her confirmation: “She has not had any significant classroom or public-school experience.”
Pundit and gadfly John Walters pushed back, too: “Hey, I don’t mind if Saunders moves here, I’d just prefer that she takes a job she’s qualified to hold.”
Gearing Up for Letting Go. K-12 Dive points out that teacher layoffs are on the rise nationwide and offers tips on how to approach them, advice that may be helpful as many Vermont schools are looking to trim their numbers after dozens of failed budget votes.
Shutting Down PreK Licenses. The Vermont Standards Board for Professional Educators approved a June expiration of the pandemic-era provisional license waiver for private PreK educators, potentially affecting close to a hundred early childhood educators.
Strengths of Social Emotional Learning. A recent article in Social Emotional Learning: Research, Practice, and Policy points to the strong effects of school-based SEL programs on school climate and safety as well as students’ physical health. Thanks for the tip, VPA!
“Slow Burn Crisis Mode.” In a recent VT Digger commentary, a former Vermont principal lays out the scope of the school construction problem in the state and the enormous cost of not taking immediate action.
Getting Ready for The Gig. Higher Ed Jobs offers practical advice on preparing for the first day of a new job, especially in an unfamiliar school community.
“Alarm Bells Are Ringing.” Former Lieutenant Governor Doug Racine weighs in on the education funding debate by pointing out that the solution may come from focusing on the extraordinary costs of meeting students’ mental health needs. This was a popular item in last issue, so here it is again for readers who may have missed it.
“I Probably Cried Every Night.” EdWeek reviews ways that principals can help support new teachers through mentorship programs and more.
Boosting the EQ. Higher Ed Jobs adds to the conversation about emotional intelligence (EQ) by proposing phrases that school leaders can use to improve workplace relationships.
“Major Student Unrest.” The Addison Independent reports on a recent, data-based school board presentation where most of the district’s major behavior offenses were linked to elementary school students as young as Kindergarten, and not middle or high schoolers.
Doggone Therapy. School Administrator features a guest column by a California superintendent who introduced Paws for Students, a School Resource Officer program that brought student support dogs into the hallways and classrooms.
Nine Votes. According to the Valley News, Hartland School District squeaked by with a narrow win to secure its school budget for the coming year, while slim differences went the other way in South Burlington and Georgia.
“Very Drafty Timeline” for Superintendent Search. Times Argus’s David Delcore maps out the Barre Unified School Board’s “bumpy start” to its recruitment efforts, compressing months of work into a single evening and triggering a public comment alleging a lack of transparency.
Lowering The Flag. VT Digger covers protests over the Milton School Board’s recent vote to rewrite their flag policy from 2019 and take down the Black Lives Matter flag as soon as April 11. “It’s about more than a flag. It’s about a commitment to work to dismantle systemic racism.”
New PCB Stop Gap. House bill H.873, now in Senate Education, will pause the PCB testing program if the available funding drops below $4 million.
No “Secret Plan” for Education Funding. VT Digger reviews the competing messages of hurry up and slow down that the legislature has been getting to develop a new education funding formula in the wake of dozens of failed school budget votes.
Beating The Absenteeism Bug. Education Week offers several practical tips on how students can lead the way in developing effective methods to bring their peers back to school more regularly. Update: WCAX recently profiled a school that is leveraging a large grant to bring down its absentee numbers.
“Bittersweet” Resignation. Shelburne News covers the recent announcement that the Champlain Valley School District superintendent will not continue past this school year, after the district felt a different “gut punch” with a failed school budget vote.
Heads Up, Vermont. States are taking innovative steps to support their students and Vermont school leaders and lawmakers should take note:
Several states are finding creative solutions in the new reality of the end to pandemic-era funding for child care.
States like Arizona, Colorado, and Mississippi approve evidence-based reading interventions using an established vetting process.
School Shootings in 2024. Education Week’s tracker has logged 10 school shootings in 2024. “On March 2, a student and an adult were shot and injured outside a high school basketball game in North Kansas City, Mo.” 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: What changes do you anticipate at AOE with the arrival of the new Secretary? The responses were overwhelmingly in favor of More talk about introducing charter schools in Vermont, with only a small number of responses for Improved technical assistance and reporting for schools and No significant changes at the agency.
This issue’s survey question: Whose responsibility is it to find funding for school construction costs across the state? Please indicate your response by clicking a check mark.
✅ The state’s legislature should develop a spending plan
✅ AOE’s new Secretary of Education should propose a solution
✅ Local communities need to figure it out on their own
Thank you to the reader from Chittenden 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 400 job opportunities for remote work in K-12 education.
Looking for a Change? With so many open positions in education, there are sometimes unusual opportunities. For example, the School for International Training posted a position for an academic director for their Indonesia program in Bali. Knowledge of the language isn’t required but certainly would be bagus bagus.
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
As a child of the 80s, I sit up a little straighter when I hear Nena’s break-away hit 99 Red Balloons. It’s a classic Cold War song about how a few stray balloons are picked up by radar and inadvertently trigger a catastrophic nuclear war.
I have to say, the song freaked me out as a kid. Sure it’s a catchy tune and the front singer had amazing feathered hair, but reducing the world to ashes because of a few misidentified balloons was too much for my young brain.
So I should have been relieved when I learned about Vermont’s Senate bill S.262, which prohibits the release of five or more helium balloons at a time. Finally my elected representatives are going to save the world from Nena’s prophecy.
Nuclear fall-out can be harmful to skin tone, and so I should also have been excited to see that the House Committee on Education is currently wrestling with Senate bill S.187, an act relating to student application of sunscreen.
And where could I hide in case of incoming missiles? Fortunately the legislature has also proposed House bill H.34, which would study the feasibility of a state-owned public toilet near the statehouse.
Stepping away from the fanciful and hypothetical reality of balloon-induced annihilation, there is a very real and treacherous crisis of youth mental health that is playing out in our schools today.
The good news is that the legislature has introduced a bill that directly addresses youth mental health, House bill H.816. And the bad news is that, aside from being shunted from one committee to another, there hasn’t been any action on it.
Certainly the legislature has a lot on its plate besides sunscreen, toilets, and balloons.
For instance, changes in the education funding formula can be blamed for dozens of defeated school budget votes. That in turn is possibly linked to a rapid reduction in substitute positions as displayed in the chart below, as schools trim their budgets.
Massive changes in the education job market like this can be harbingers of ill omen, much like Nena’s pop hit.
Maybe it’s not Nero fiddling as Rome burns. But I would wager there are more Vermonters who would rather see universal screening for anxiety, depression, and suicidality in school-aged youth, and solutions to education funding, than a study on a new toilet.
The chart below tracks the number of openings for substitutes over the total number of openings in the 60 days prior to publication, 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
Congratulations to leaders who are making a change! There is a lot of movement among the 70 school leadership positions that have opened since January. Data from VPA.
Lisa Ruud, currently administrator of academics in Chatham, New York, will be superintendent at Grand Isle Supervisory Union this summer. She is taking over from Michael Clark.
Kristin Hubert, currently superintendent at Rutland Northeast Supervisory Union, will be director of GEAR UP for the Vermont Student Assistance Corporation this summer.
Jennifer Nye, currently co-principal at Barre Town Middle and Elementary School, will be assistant superintendent at North Country Supervisory Union this summer.
Congratulations also to these colleagues who received administrator licensure from AOE since the last issue of the 802 Ed! Data from AOE.
Jennifer Nye • Superintendent
Erica Pearson • Superintendent
Lisa Ruud • Superintendent
Christopher Brewer • Principal
Ginger Farineau • Principal
Benjamin Hughes • Principal
Christina Roach • Principal
Do you know a colleague who has made a recent move? Let us know!
Grants & Opportunities
UVM’s Summer U for Teachers And Educators. Summer U at the University of Vermont isn't just for current students – it's an ideal time for teachers and educators to grow professionally as well. With flexible education and social services professional development courses specifically tailored for educators, you can delve into new teaching methodologies, stay abreast with the latest educational technologies, or enrich your curriculum development skills. What's more, most courses are priced at 30% less than the standard academic-year tuition, making this an affordable opportunity for professional growth. Take advantage of our three summer sessions to enhance your expertise without compromising your summer rejuvenation time. Discover how you can inspire future generations more effectively through UVM’s Summer U professional development courses for educators. Sponsored by the University of Vermont, Professional and Continuing Education.
Civics for All. Georgetown University is offering stipended summer professional development on supporting students’ civics and social emotional learning skills for grades 4 to 8. Applications accepted until program is filled.
Early College for Free. Community College of Vermont is hosting information sessions on the early college and free degree programs, virtually at 6pm, April 8 and in-person at 4:30pm, April 10 in White River Junction.
Keeping Kids Engaged. The Engage Every Student recognition program is accepting nominations for schools, non-profit organizations, and local governments that offer high quality afterschool and summer learning opportunities. Deadline is April 10.
Safer Schools. The National Center on Safe Supportive Learning Environments is offering a webinar on how to implement evidence-based preventative solutions for gun violence in schools, with several panelists from across the country. 3pm - 4:30pm, April 10.
Community Town Hall for Youth Mental Health. United Way of Addison County and the Russell Memorial Library are hosting a panel discussion that includes the medical director of the Vermont Center for Children, Youth and Families, a school counselor, the editor of the 802 Ed (Hey, that’s me!), and several others. 10am - Noon, April 13, Monkton Town Hall Community Room.
Supporting Students of Color. NEASC is offering a webinar on building relationships with diverse students, facilitated by educators and equity practitioners. Topics include unconscious bias, providing tough love, being a warm demander, practicing deep listening, and creating a third space. 9am - 10am, April 16.
Team Building. Vermont Afterschool is offering a free in-person workshop in Burlington on group dynamics and the team-building process. 10am - noon, April 20.
Teach Financial Literacy. Champlain College’s Center for Financial Literacy is offering 20 graduate course scholarships for middle and high school educators from New England and New York for a class on how to bring financial literacy topics into the classroom. Deadline to apply is April 25.
Experience College Life at UVM This Summer. UVM Summer Academy is an immersive, 4-week, for-credit academic program designed for high school students who have completed 10th, 11th, or 12th grade. Our program offers high school students the incredible opportunity to experience what it’s like to be in college during the summer, living on campus for two weeks while they learn. Participants will study alongside high school students from across the country, learn from renowned professors, and earn three transferable college credits. Students can choose from Health and Medicine courses taught by Larner College of Medicine faculty, as well as a new Intro to Forensics and Crime Scene Investigation course. A commuter option is also available for students who do not require on-campus housing. Applications are being accepted now. Sponsored by the University of Vermont, Professional and Continuing Education.
Student for State Board of Education. The Governor’s Office is seeking a student representative to the State Board of Education for a two-year term, which is a non-voting seat the first year and a voting seat the second year. Deadline is April 26.
Millions for Mental Health. The U.S. Department of Education recently announced a grant competition for schools to support school-based mental health with awards ranging from $500k to $3 million. Deadline is April 30.
F-35 Photo Op. The Vermont Air National Guard announced its annual Educator Day, including lunch, for school staff to learn more about the facilities and mission. 9am - 1pm, May 31.
If You Missed It
“Utilitarian” Spelling. Congratulations to Riverside School student Phoenix Newell for winning the annual Vermont State Scripps Spelling Bee. Next stop, the nation’s capital!
The Rain in Maine. Smithsonian Science Education Center has published a web-based app that helps grade 5-8 students visualize how weather is formed in North America.
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, VTCLA Vermont Curriculum Leaders Association, VTSU Vermont State University.
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