Vermont Pathways to Partnerships

Save the Date: Special Education Knowledge Week - Virtual Trainings
2025-08-18 08:00 - 2025-10-21 16:00 (America/New_York)
Audience: Superintendents, Special Education Directors, Principals and Educators
Purpose: The Agency of Education is hosting a Special Education Knowledge Week. This week will be hosted from August 18 to August 21, with 45 sessions for educators to participate in! Sessions include a Keynote with the State Director of Special Education, Trainings from a wide range of subject and partnership with Vermont Child Health Improvement Program (VCHIP), Developmental Disabilities Services Division, and Pathways to Partnership!
Register: Registration information will be advertised very soon.
Contact: Ana Russo at Ana Russo at ana.russo@vermont.gov

Transition Needs a Reset. Cue The Dream Team
2025-08-14 10:00 - 11:00
Join the Dream Team — a powerhouse group of teenagers and young adults who are blind or visually impaired — as they reimagine what transition services can and should be.
This summer, the Dream Team is diving deep and on August 14th will answer these questions.

What’s working in transition services for students who are blind or visually impaired?
What isn’t (and why are we still doing it)?
How do we move beyond “youth voice” as a checkbox and hand over the pen?
What are the next real steps?

Date: August 14th, 10 – 11am
Venue: Virtual Event
How to participate: Register here to receive the Zoom link.
The Dream Team is backed by the VT Division for the Blind and Visually Impaired, the LEAP (Learn, Earn, and Prosper) Program, UMass Boston, and the Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP).
August 14th, 10 am. Show up. Dream big.

IEP Transition Plan Best Practices
2025-08-12 08:30 - 15:30, 2025-08-11 08:30 - 15:30
Become proficient with IEP transition plans and the 8 elements of Indicator 13
Indicator 13: Guidance will be provided on the specific elements, practices, services and strategies that relate to Indicator 13.
Resources: Participants will become familiar with community partners who support students, transition assessments, and provide guidance and resources.
Location: Bellows Falls High School, 406 High School Road, Westminster, VT 05158
This is a great opportunity to collaborate with our region’s high school special educators! Training is free to attend. Certificates of Completion will be provided.
For More Information or to Request Accommodations: Jayson Capobianco, Transition Training Coordinator University of Vermont, CDCI
jayson.capobianco@uvm.edu
Please submit accommodation requests by August 1, 2025
Sign up here
Download Flyer

Natural Resources Management Academy
2025-07-11 19:00 - 2025-07-13 10:30
For youth entering grades 7–11 who are interested in the environment and ready to explore, in depth, their passion for Vermont’s natural resources.

Hands-on workshops with natural resource professionals
Learn new skills
All lodging, meals & snacks provided
Cost $125

Are you a student entering 7th – 11th grade in the Fall who is interested in the environment and ready to explore, in depth, your passion for Vermont’s natural resources?
If you answered yes to this question, then you should attend NRMA. Come ready to explore natural resources management, and share a weekend with other youth from around Vermont who have the same interests.
NRMA has been developed for individuals just like you! It is a weekend full of fantastic learning opportunities aimed at understanding Vermont’s forests, wildlife, soils, water ecosystems and more! All programs will be hands-on and mostly outdoors.
You will have the opportunity to take in-depth, hands-on workshops with experts. Each workshop will allow for extensive in-the-field exploration of the subject matter.
In addition to these workshops, participants will have opportunities to hike, fish, canoe and swim during the weekend.
Space is limited to 30 participants — sign up now!
Download Flyer
Register

Vermont’s Education Transformation: Impacts and Opportunities for Special Education
2025-06-24 15:00 - 16:00
This workshop will be online using the Zoom meeting platform. If you are unable to attend the live presentation, you can still register and we’ll send you a link to the recording of the workshop which you can watch on your own time. We appreciate when you register as that data can support our grant reporting.
The Vermont legislature has spent the majority of the session on sweeping education transformation proposals. These proposals impact both the delivery and funding of public education in Vermont, and have unique implications for special education. Join us to learn about the latest in this education transformation legislation, with an emphasis on how this might impact special education in our State. Participants will also receive updates on change to the Federal Department of Education and Vermont’s response to the uncertainty.
Presenter:

Meagan Roy, Ed.D. is the Coordinator of School Leadership Programs at Saint Michael’s College. Meagan has been an educator and leader in Vermont since 2002. She currently serves as the Coordinator of School Leadership Programs at St. Michael’s College. Previously, she has served as Superintendent of the Washington Central Unified Union School District, and spent more than a decade in the Champlain Valley Union School District as their Director of Student Support Services. She began her Vermont teaching career as an Intensive Needs special educator, and her professional endeavors are deeply linked to her beliefs about social justice and the need to ensure that public schools can serve all students. Meagan is deeply invested and engaged in education policy work at the state level, and has a particular interest in policy implementation at the local level. She is a past President of the Vermont Council of Special Education Administrators and serves as the Chair of the Commission on the Future of Public Education in Vermont. Meagan is a graduate of Simmons College in Boston, MA and completed her Master and Doctoral degrees in UVM’s Education Leadership and Policy Studies program. Meagan spends her free time with her family in South Burlington.

Register Now

Transition to Adulthood: Planning for Post-High School Success
2025-06-05 10:00 - 11:00
This workshop will be online using the Zoom meeting platform. If you are unable to attend the live presentation, you can still register and we’ll send you a link to the recording of the workshop which you can watch on your own time. We appreciate when you register as that data can support our grant reporting.
While it’s important to be mindful of considerations for any child’s success after high school, it is especially important to intentionally plan for a successful post-high-school transition if your child has a disability. This workshop outlines life-wide parameters to consider in transition planning, when to start that transition planning, as well as how to develop a “trusted team” to help plan and carry out actions that will benefit your child post-graduation.
Presenter:

Katherine Barwin has been in education for over forty years. She served as a classroom teacher, reading specialist, literacy coach, curriculum director, principal, and leadership consultant. She retired in June as a K-2 reading specialist for grades at Allen Brook School. She holds a Master’s degree in Reading, Language, and Learning Disabilities. She currently volunteers to help parents and schools work to develop programming that meets the needs of students who aren’t making gains.

Register Now

Vermont State Youth Council
2025-05-31
Vermont’s State Youth Council is now accepting applications from Vermont’s youth (ages 11-18) to fill the Council’s current vacancies. If selected, youth will be appointed to 3-year terms.
Application Deadline: 31st May, 2025
Download Flyer
Register

Cancelled: 5/22 Digital Wellness – Workshop 3: Digital Wellness for Families
2025-05-22 10:00 - 11:00
This workshop has been cancelled and will be rescheduled at a date TBD. Check the main page of our website for updates.
This workshop will be online using the Zoom meeting platform. If you are unable to attend the live presentation, you can still register and we’ll send you a link to the recording of the workshop which you can watch on your own time. We appreciate when you register as that data can support our grant reporting.
Empowering Families in the Online World” is an online empowerment series presented by Grow Digital Skills.
In this third workshop we will be sharing information on “Digital Wellness for Families” which includes:

Balancing screen time with offline activities
Setting up tech-free zones and times at home
Encouraging positive online interactions

Presenter:

Emmy Hilliard, VFN Co-Director of Family Support – Health and Grow Digital Skills Coordinator

Virtual 2025 Annual Youth Summit
2025-05-22 09:30 - 11:30
Organized by the Youth Advocacy Council
Community, Employment, Peer Education
Throughout Vermont, youth and young adults with disabilities, connect to advocate for youth resources, and lead while providing community service.
At the Youth Summit, hear personal stories from the Youth Advocacy Council on pressing issues, have opportunities to ask questions, and join the conversation.
Each year the Youth Advocacy Council identifies three areas that are of greatest importance to them. This year we are focusing on community, belonging, and friendship, employment education, and peer education.
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Register

Springfield & Bellows Falls Area Transition Resource Fair
2025-05-08 17:00 - 19:00 | Nolan Murray Center, 38 Pleasant Street, Springfield, VT, 05156, United States
If you are any of the below, you may be interested in this transition fair:

A student of any age
A student with disabilities transitioning to life after high school A family or caregiver of a student with disabilities
An SLPs
A case manager
An educator
Or anyone looking to learn more about local transition services and supports

Download Flyer

New England Transition Fair
2025-05-08 10:30 - 11:30
New England Transition Fair for Deaf, Hard of Hearing, DeafBlind and Deaf-Plus students aged 13-22: See attached flyer for 4 sessions in May (5/8 10-12; 5/15 10-11:30; 5/22 10-11:30; 5/30 10-3). This is a great opportunity for students to connect with peers, learn more about themselves, and begin planning for life after high school graduation. There will be a series of three virtual (ZOOM) workshops on Thursdays along with one in-person event on Friday, May 30th. We encourage attendance at all the workshops. For questions, contact Beth Keller at Beth.A.Keller@doe.nh.gov or 603 463-0728 or Lynn Littlefield at lynn.e.littlefield@doe.nh.gov or 603-271-3877. This event is a collaboration between NHED-VR, GURC-East, Northeast Deaf and Hard of Hearing Services, HireAbility Vermont, and Vermont- Department of Disabilities, Aging and Independent Living.
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Green Mountain Self-Advocates Conference Voices & Choices
2025-04-28 - 2025-04-29
GMSA-Voices-and-Choices-Registration-2025

Discover Transition Resources for Youth Resource Fair
2025-04-16 15:00 - 18:00 | Innovation Center of Vermont, 128 Lakeside Avenue, Burlington, VT, 05401, United States
Join us for this opportunity to learn about the transition process, explore available resources, and chat directly with folks who can guide and support youth in achieving their goals for employment, education, and independent living after high school.

The content was developed under a U.S. Department of Education H421E230023 and does not necessarily represent the policy of the Department.

Activity for P2P Enrolled Students Attending CVU
2025-04-07 09:00 - 11:00
GMSA (Green Mountain Self Advocates) is doing a Self Advocacy training.
