The 802 Ed
What's going on in Vermont's education policy and practice
Welcome back! I hope that you had a relaxing summer and you’re returning to the school year with new energy and excitement.
This issue covers many topics that are immediately useful like suggestions for starting off the school year on the right foot, free resource kits from the Smithsonian, and an OpEd hot off the press about youth mental health. Be sure to check out the recent research about school calendars as protective factors for students.
New to the lingo? At the suggestion of a reader we now include a guide to common abbreviations after all the news.
- Steven Berbeco, Editor
School Leadership
Secrets of Effective Team Dynamics. A recent Harvard Business Review podcast digs into how leaders - including school leaders - can bring out the strengths of team members and align them with strategic goals.
Empowering New Teachers. Routledge Books is offering review copies of the second edition of Your First Year: How to Survive and Thrive as a New Teacher, which includes advice on classroom management, inclusive teaching approaches that celebrate diversity, and many other tools.
Planning for The Unplanned. In a recent Edutopia article, a district leader offers practical advice on building systems and processes to deal with unexpected roadblocks during the school year.
“I Don’t Think This Is Anything Personal.” South Burlington school board is scheduled to vote on removing the chair over allegations of poor communication and inefficiencies, which would mean the third board chair in less than a year.
Family Disengagement. VT Digger’s Peter D’Auria reminds us of AOE’s commitment back in December to create a Family Engagement Council, an effort that appears to have stalled out.
Crusade Against Terrible Advising. Chronicle of High Education looks at what makes student advising work and why it’s so important: “An adviser’s job is to ask really good questions.”
Supporting Sportsmanship. VPA recently announced an intervention framework for extracurricular activities such as a recommended pregame statement, QR codes for reporting problems, and many crowd sourced strategies.
Keeping School Leaders from Quitting. Education Week digs into national survey data to come up with several policy changes that are likely to keep principals and other administrators from switching jobs.
Welcome to College, Please Don’t Come. Middlebury College is getting press for offering juniors and seniors a $10,000 stipend not to attend this year, in response to local housing pressures.
Maya Math Game. Smithsonian Education is offering an online teaching game for middle school students where students perform Maya-style calculation using beans, sticks, and shells, just as they did two thousand years ago.
UFOs, Anyone? A recent survey from the University of Virginia asked academics if they had seen a UFO. Very few responded, including one who simply stated: “Tenure might be tricky for you – good luck.”
Cybersecurity Best Practices. K-12 Dive reviews three take-aways for school leaders from a recent White House summit on preventing and responding to a cyber attack.
Separating Mental Health from Schools. Chalkbeat brings us up to date on efforts across states to remove social and emotional learning from schools, such as a law passed recently in Indiana that limits districts’ ability to check in with students on their emotional well-being.
School Calendar as a Protective Factor. A recently published public health research article points to a connection between youth suicidality and the school calendar.
Heads Up, Vermont. Several states are taking innovative steps to support their students. Vermont school leaders and lawmakers should take note:
Middle and high schools in Iowa are now required to include suicide prevention resources on student identification cards.
Detroit schools are partnering with deep-pocketed sponsors to provide school-based health hubs in an effort to curb student absenteeism.
School Shootings in 2023. Education Week’s tracker reports 23 school shootings in 2023. “On May 24, a student was shot and killed outside Oliver Citywide Academy in Pittsburgh, Pa.” Total school shootings in 2022: 51. 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.
This issue’s survey question: How do you anticipate July’s floods will affect the beginning of your school year? Please indicate your response by clicking a check mark.
✅ Significant disruption to transportation, food services, and/or other services
✅ Increased need for mental health services
✅ I don’t anticipate any major effects
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 For School Leaders
Dean of Students. Come join a great team at Mill River Union High School, where we have a deep and passionate belief in the importance of serving all students. Successful applicants will have experience coaching coworkers in behavioral and academic interventions and knowledge of best practices in serving students on IEPs, 504 plans, and EST plans. Sponsored by Mill River Unified Union School District
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 1,800+ readers. Sponsored by 802 Ed
Looking for a Change? With so many open education positions in Vermont, there are sometimes unusual opportunities. For example, the State Board of Education recently announced its search for the next Secretary of Education.
Thank the Team
Like what you are reading? Want a creative way to show your support? 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.
From the Editor’s Pen
The education job market in Vermont is mostly a closed system, where applicants for school leadership positions tend to come from within the state. It’s not that the jobs here are undesirable to educators outside our state, but one wonders how many job searches have come to a screeching halt when applicants start looking at the challenge of finding affordable housing here. Not many people in education can afford a $20 million mansion with a wine tasting room and an indoor pool.
It’s worrying, then, that the mostly closed system of potential applicants shrinks once a year when many administrators’ licenses are up for renewal on July 1. Vermont now has 8% fewer people with superintendent licenses and 4% fewer people with principal licenses as compared to the start of the summer. (Data from AOE’s Aithent Licensing System.) That’s about 60 fewer potential job applicants from within the state.
This can limit school boards’ options when recruiting a new superintendent. A recent national search to lead a Vermont supervisory union yielded ten applicants, then two finalists, neither of which worked out. The board then ran a search for an interim superintendent, again with two finalists and, fortunately, a selection — who had otherwise been looking forward to retirement. Compare that to a superintendent search last year in Anchorage, Alaska with more than twice the number of applicants and most of the finalists coming in from out of state.
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
Principal and Assistant Principal positions have been opening up and getting filled around the state. There have been 98 positions that have opened since the start of the calendar year, of which 97 have been filled. Data from VPA.
We usually highlight school leaders who are making a change in this section – congratulations! Coming out of the summer there are dozens of updates, more than can fit here. We will pick this up again in the next issue.
We also usually list colleagues who have received administrator licensure from AOE. Again, there are too many updates to list from over the summer so we will return to this in two weeks.
Grants & Opportunities
Traveling Trunks. Smithsonian Libraries and Archives offers a resource-lending program for middle school students, with multimedia library kits full of immersive learning resources. Free shipping within the United States.
Building Teaching Apprenticeships. The U.S. Department of Education is hosting a webinar on efforts to develop national guidelines for high-quality teacher apprenticeship programs. August 16, 3 pm - 4:30 pm.
Youth Development Program. DCF has issued an RFP for a two-year contract to coordinate a youth development program for district offices. Deadline is September 7.
Trauma Informed Suicide Prevention for Administrators. Rising suicidal ideation among school staff and students can be overwhelming. Learn about resources available to schools, how to conduct a trauma informed risk assessment, and effective collaboration with community partners. September 13 at 6 pm.
In Case You Missed It
Vermont History Teacher of the Year. Congratulations to Jason Barney, teacher at Missisquoi Valley Union High School and author of three books about Franklin County history, for winning the Gilder Lehrman Institute’s Vermont History Teacher of the Year award.
Another Way to Increase the ADM. The remote village of Karluk, Alaska needed eight more students to qualify for state education funding, so they offered an unusually generous financial incentive for families to move there: housing, utilities, moving expenses, and a food stipend for a full year.
“The Kids Are Not All Right.” 802 Ed editor Steven Berbeco penned a guest column about the worrying state of youth mental health in the Green Mountain State and current efforts to improve the system of care for our youngest Vermonters.
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: ADM Average Daily Membership, AOE Agency of Education, CDD Child Development Division, DAIL Department of Disabilities, Aging, and Independent Living, DCF Department for Children and Families, DPS Department of Public Safety, ED U.S. Department of Education, RFP Request for Proposals, NAEYC National Association for the Education of Young Children, NEASC New England Association of Schools and Colleges, PBIS Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports, VPA Vermont Principals Association, VSA Vermont Superintendents Association, VSBA Vermont School Board Association.
Special bonus for making it to the bottom: Keep track of the latest earthquakes in Vermont with this handy website.