Vermont-NEA Summit on Safe, Compassionate

Learning Environments

May 20, 2019

Hilton Burlington, Burlington, Vermont

Click here to register.

Vermont-NEA has received a grant from the National Education Association Center for Great Public Schools to sponsor a summit on safe, compassionate learning environments on May 20 in Burlington.

We will host 125 of our members with 75 other decision makers, including administrators, school board members, and legislators. It is important for them to hear our stories and it is important that they see us as partners in finding solutions. We are hoping our members will build teams of ESPs, teachers, administrators and board members to join us in Burlington.

This summit will only be the beginning of a long and deep conversation about this complex issue. Experts in the field will facilitate breakout sessions on trauma-informed schools, capacity building for organizational changes, Community Schools, legal issues and professional development.

Oregon Education Association President John Larson will present a keynote address and facilitate breakout sessions to talk about what they have learned from their 14 community forums in Oregon and how they are addressing the crisis of disrupted learning.

We need to start planning a long-term strategy to continue this work for years to come. This crisis requires coalition building at the local, regional and state level.

Secretary of Education Dan French will facilitate breakout sessions about how to take a systems approach to provide the professional development and support mechanisms needed. Speaker of the House Mitzi Johnson will discuss how to navigate the political landscape when seeking to make changes in policy, practice and services. The president and the executive director of the Vermont Principals’ Association will also facilitate breakout sessions, since they have embarked on their own initiative and want to share their proposals and strategies. They also are fully aware that we must sustain our efforts over years, not just months. The VPA will also bring 14 members of their Leading Vermont Schools cohort to participate.

We are in the midst of finalizing the and will be sending out registration materials electronically soon thereafter.