Written by Polly Mikula
The Agency for Education (AoE) announced on October 15 the next stage of the Listen and Learn Tour in 2024. The tour invites the public to participate in community conversations to inform how the Department of Education provides services and support to Vermont’s education system.
The first stop of this new public participation phase of the tour was Woodstock Union Middle and High School on the evening of Tuesday, October 22nd.
“These public engagement sessions will help agencies develop strategic plans and ensure their activities support the education priorities of communities across Vermont,” the AoE said in a news release last week. “After a series of data reports and regional planning sessions with more than 250 education leaders, the agency is eager to expand these conversations to include educators, parents, students, and community members across the state. There is.”
Seven in-person public engagement sessions and two virtual sessions are scheduled from October 22nd to November 6th. Each session will be held from 6:00pm to 8:00pm at the following locations:
October 22: Woodstock Union Middle School/High School
October 23: Mount Anthony Union High School
October 23: Stowe High School
October 28: Montpelier High School
October 28: West Rutland School
October 29: Lyndon Town School
October 30: Innosburg Falls High School
November 4th: Virtual meeting (with ASL interpretation)
November 6th: Virtual meeting (with ASL interpretation)
“All sessions begin with introductory information and data to support deeper conversations, followed by topics related to student performance and support, career and college readiness, school budgets, and other emerging priorities. A subcommittee session will follow,” the official explained. release.
“The Listen and Learn Tour is an important part of developing the Department of Education’s strategic plan to ensure our efforts support Vermont’s short- and long-term education needs,” Interim Zoe Sanders The education secretary said during Gov. Phil Scott’s weekly press conference. Wednesday, October 16 “Developing a plan that reflects Vermont’s values, promotes measurable academic progress, and maximizes the use of our state’s resources to achieve our students’ shared hopes and dreams.” It is essential that we hear from educators, parents, students, and community members. This effort is a collaboration between state leaders, educators, and community members across Vermont, including the Commission on the Future of Public Education. This comes at a critical time as we consider changes to the way we deliver quality education to our students in a sustainable manner. The Agency is fully committed to this initiative, at a cost that taxpayers can afford. “We are committed to supporting our education partners to build a high-quality public education system in the United States,” she said.
The state’s Listen and Learn Tour has five main goals.
By providing stakeholders with first-hand knowledge of the challenges that students and educators face every day, and by aligning AoE efforts with regional and local priorities, authorities can help support effective solutions. You will be able to adjust it.
It helps institutions identify a common understanding of how they can most effectively support high-quality teaching and learning.
Use a collaborative process to inform changes that expand student access to quality educational opportunities.
Review data, share innovative best practices, and identify key opportunities to improve student outcomes.
Develop a strategic plan that meets the state’s immediate priorities while supporting the future statewide vision for public education in Vermont. Immediate priorities include supporting landmark legislation, assisting school districts facing hardship, and providing training and support for this budgeting cycle.
“The Listen and Learn Tour was designed to be a systematic, data-driven, and participatory process,” Sanders summarized.
First phase summary
Phase 1 of the listening and learning tour involved data collection and analysis. In August, the agency released the State Profile Report, the first in a series of reports supporting the plan. The report included student performance data, enrollment, staffing, spending, and more to shed light on the current state of Vermont’s education system.
Sanders said the report confirms several commonly understood trends and also raises new questions that require further investigation, highlighting the following data points:
Compared to other states, Vermont schools are very small, have the highest staffing levels, and have the highest spending per student.
According to the National Assessment of Educational Progress, Vermont students have higher reading proficiency than other states (although the trend is declining), and students’ achievement in math is average.
Overall enrollment in K-12 public education has declined by more than 14% since 2004.
The biggest changes in enrollment and academic performance occurred before the pandemic. and
The report also compares trends by union/district size, finding that smaller unions/districts tend to serve higher-needs students and pay teachers less due to budget constraints. It was also revealed that there is a tendency to
The agency said the state profile report will be republished soon to reflect additional context gathered through stakeholder feedback. Regional reports, district reports, education finance reports, and other topical reports will also be released over the next year.
During the first phase of the tour, agency staff will facilitate regional planning sessions with more than 250 education leaders across the state. Discussions focused on important education topics ranging from academic performance, college and career readiness, student mental health, and the data needed to inform budgeting decisions.
Several common themes emerged.
The need for reliable, accessible, and easy-to-use data.
Focus on expanding college access and job readiness.
There is a need to balance regional autonomy with clearer direction from the AoE to support academic output.
We recognize that student mental health needs reflect the needs of the community and require integrated solutions.
Issues related to housing, affordability, industry and job loss also impact schools in terms of teacher recruitment and student enrollment. and
More guidance is needed on how to design and measure short-term cost containment strategies and long-term transformation of education systems.
“We hope you will join us for our Listen and Learn public engagement sessions starting October 22nd,” Sanders said. “We look forward to our continued collaboration. Together, we will build a bright future for all Vermont children.”
Although not required, we encourage you to pre-register using the online registration form at Tinyurl.com/VtEdTour.
