The 802 Ed
What's going on in Vermont's education policy and practice
Welcome back!
This issue of the 802 Ed covers many topics that are immediately useful like recent research with surprise results on dual enrollment, an on-line election debrief for educators, and a data coaching opportunity. Be sure to check out the data on Vermont’s increasing statewide school bus driver shortage!
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
Shaking The “October Blues.” Education Week gives the pen to teachers who share how they keep morale up as the daylight ebbs and temperatures drop.
“This May Sounds Sexist But…” School Administrator dives into the choices a principal has when responding to a sexist comment in a private conversation.
Fewer Teachers, Larger Schools. VT Digger brings the recently released Picus Report into focus and draws out its recommendations for significant changes to Vermont’s education system. This was a popular item in last issue, so here it is again for readers who may have missed it.
RIP College. The Hechinger Report offers an interactive tool to generate a list of colleges that have closed in Vermont and across the country.
Education Election Refresher. Vermont Public’s Lola Duffort walks us through the “incredibly complex” system of how schools are funded in Vermont.
Election Anxiety. The results of tomorrow’s voting has more than just the candidates on edge.
Education Week suggests how to defuse the elephant (or donkey) in the classroom based on research on emotional intelligence.
VT Digger passes on advice from the chief of child psychiatry at UVM Children’s Hospital about how to help children with election stress.
The New York Times spotlights a private school that where no homework will be assigned on Election Day, no tests or quizzes the day after, students can be excused from classes for emotional distress, and additional counseling will be available during the week. Gift link
VT Digger reviews several recent attempts to bring together educators around how to keep the conversation going in polarized communities even when tempers start to flare up.
Obesity Achievement Gap. The Hechinger Report shines a light on research that suggests a teacher bias may explain lower grades for overweight students.
Chairing The Search. Higher Ed Jobs offer suggestions on how to lead a hiring committee for a high-level leadership role, advice also applicable when engaged in a superintendent search process.
Triple Hitter. VT Digger highlights three new holidays added to some schools’ calendar, Diwali, Eid, and Yom Kippur, which one superintendent said “adds a little bit more of validity and legitimacy to the respect we have for our communities.”
Restructuring “Under Wraps.” The Chester Telegraph reports on a school board vote requiring the superintendent to release a confidential school restructuring plan to them ahead of the following board meeting: “I get a little fearful if we release it too early people are going to take it, hit social media, cause a big disruption and controversy.”
Should We Care About Dual Enrollment? The Hechinger Report sums up a recent research study that points to increased likelihood students enroll in college if they take college classes while in high school, but no clear indication that this leg up will help them graduate from college.
Heads Up, Vermont. States are taking innovative steps to support their students and Vermont school leaders and lawmakers should take note:
Several states have taken steps to limit cell phone use in schools, whether mandating it directly or requiring schools to develop their own policies.
Detroit teenagers are promised thousands of dollars for attending literacy tutoring sessions.
A state program in Hawaii helps schools overcome barriers so that kids can eat what they grow in community gardens.
School Shootings in 2024. Education Week’s tracker has logged 33 school shootings in 2024. “On Oct. 25, a man was shot and killed outside of the St. Martinville High School stadium where a homecoming football game was being held in St. Martinville, La.” 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: Should the legislature mandate a cell phone policy for schools? There was very strong support for the response Yes, because it’s a public health issue and significantly less support for the response No, it should be up to local communities. Few readers selected Neither, teachers should set rules classroom by classroom.
This issue’s survey question: How should the legislature support school budgets this year? Please indicate your response by clicking a check mark.
✅ Tax second homes in Vermont at a higher rate
✅ Decrease health care costs for educators
✅ Increase Medicaid reimbursement for school services
Thank you to the reader from South Burlington 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 in Vermont education, there are sometimes unusual opportunities. For example, Middlebury College is looking for its next president of the college, the language schools, and the program in Monterey, California.
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
Coffee shops are a wonderful place to read a book, people watch, and of course catch up with a friend. I sat recently in quiet spot in Winooski, enjoying a coffee donated by a reader (thanks!) and chatting education policy.
After swapping pictures of our kids in Halloween costumes, the conversation turned to what we can expect from the legislature in January. My coffee companion held that education funding is the most pressing issue in school communities: “It’s like Hungry, Hungry Hippo out there.”
Everyone, it seems, is looking for someone else to find a solution. School boards have pushed the issue with the legislature, who in turn set up the optimistically named Commission on the Future of Public Education in Vermont.
The Commission in turn created an Education Finance Subcommittee. And the Subcommittee? The chair stated recently: “I’m going to publicly reprimand the timeline we were given and say that was an impossible timeline.”
At the same time, AOE has also been gathering data for the legislature, and the Commission, and the Commission’s Subcommittee, through an in-person “listen and learn tour.” (I’m going to wait on buying the concert tee. For some reason the current tour dates seem to have skipped Chittenden County.)
All of this in the context of $443 million in federal pandemic aid drying up. That’s about half a billion dollars that went to structural upgrades but also funded many staff positions that were hard for school communities to cut.
And let’s not forget that Act 127 shifted funding around the state, not by increasing the dollars going into the education system but by redistributing the existing pot of gold.
There seems to be a lot of listening and learning all around, but few recommendations of paths forward. Maybe the next move is for the Subcommittee to form a Task Force?
Eye on Data
The chart below tracks the number of open positions for bus drivers in Vermont in the past 90 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
Congratulations to these colleagues who received administrator licensure from AOE since the last issue of the 802 Ed! Data from AOE.
Jill Graham • Superintendent, Principal
Jennifer Bisson • Principal
David Potter • Principal
Do you know a colleague who has made a recent move? Let us know!
Grants & Opportunities
Conference Proposals for School Mental Health. The American Counseling Association is accepting presentation proposals for its School-Based Mental Health Professionals Summit on January 31, 2025. Deadline to submit is November 10.
Election Debrief. The Upper Valley Educators Institute is inviting educators to an online gathering to consider what teachers, students and administrators be needing in the days after the November elections. 4:30pm to 6pm, November 12.
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. November 12.
Presidential Scholars. The Vermont Presidential Scholars Program has opened nominations for student excellence in academics, community service, the arts, technical skills, and leadership. Deadline is November 19.
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.
Training for Early Childhood Ed. CDD announced an online course on how infants and toddlers grow their social-emotional skills and more. Deadline is November 22.
Room For Me. Vermont Afterschool announced a CDD grant for new or existing afterschool programs to expand participation. Deadline is November 28.
Scats and Tracks. The Vermont Fish and Wildlife Department is offering weekly videos on local wild animals, for students in grades K-8. Program closes December 15.
School Ambassador Fellowship. The U.S. Department of Education is accepting applications for a one-year fellowship that engages school-based educators in development of policies that impact learning environments nationwide. Deadline is January 13. Editor’s note - I participated in the first cohort of this program and recommend it highly!
If You Missed It
Data Coaching. AOE is offering two half-day or one full-day professional development on articulating systems for school/district-wide data use, coaching educators in next steps within a layered system of high-quality supports based on data analysis, and facilitating data dive protocols using local data to plan for instruction.
Safe, Ethical, Equitable AI. The U.S. Department of Education recently released a toolkit for school leaders based on “real-world challenges faced by schools and districts of all sizes.”
More on The Reading Wars. Harvard Magazine takes us through the recent history of literacy education, including the benefits of coaches and individualized reading plans. Thanks for the tip, DK!
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: National Geographic researchers used tiny microphones to learn how to translate chipmunk. Maybe Middlebury will consider this as a possible addition to its summer language programs? Thanks for the tip, Daybreak!