 We've heard we've heard from some of the field so we're going to switch gears here and we're going back to our state of the schools and we have with us today the superintendent's association. And we're also really delighted to welcome Lauren Conte who was the president of the Vermont school counselors association. The things that we've been asking are, we're looking at state of our schools how are the students house of staff. How is our, how's our community doing. What is it that you would like from the legislature this year, and what would you like us to not do this year. We're always here to help us you need. Um, I know Lauren you are working. I normally I would go with Susie Glowski first but I just want to check with your time to see what your schedule is, whether, whether you need to go first or if you can wait for Sue. I can wait for Sue. Okay, okay great. Then Susie Glowski, we are looking forward to your update. Thank you so much for joining us. Thank you very much for asking me to join you. And thank you for the opportunity to give you an update. I'm Susie Glowski, executive director of the Vermont school boards association. And I provided testimony to your committee back in October and many of the points that I made at that time are still relevant today. And I would say, in fact they're even more relevant today due to the Omicron variant and the stress that it's putting on the system. So, I'll start out with sort of an update to the information that I provided to you in October. When I testified in October, I outlined the challenges of this particular school year compared to last year, and those are set out in my written testimony from October I won't repeat them. I just wanted to also add to the comment that I made back then on the labor shortage, that in addition to seeing that a range of positions are very difficult or impossible to fill. We're also seeing now that there have been several resignations and retirements of administrators, so that I'm adding that to that topic. In addition to October that many districts are navigating controversies around mask mandates and critical race theory and other issues that are dividing communities. That is a topic that is continuing to be an issue. Particularly, public comment periods for school boards have become very difficult at times, straying away from civil disc discourse that they strive to model for their students and their communities. When I spoke with you on October I told you about a webinar that we were planning to have we did have that webinar in November, and it covered topics such as how to structure the public comment period rules that can be put in place that meet the requirements of the open meeting law, but provide some structure, how to set expectations for the quorum at board meetings how to deescalate contentious situations and how to build community consensus around an issue. We had a wonderful panel of speakers on that webinar including state legal educational behavioral and public safety experts. The link to it is on our webinar if you would like to take a look at it. But I would just comment by saying that the pressing need for that type of a resource for school boards is indicative of the current some of the current challenges that they face. Let's move on to a COVID update from the school board perspective. As you've been hearing from other witnesses, the current situation with the Omicron variant is dynamic and there's new information coming out on a daily basis and I know you've heard me say so many times throughout this pandemic the situation is challenging. I think this is actually where we're at challenging with a capital C. We agree with previous witnesses that you've heard that with the change in the approach that was previewed by the agency of education last Friday. It is critically important to provide rapid tests for all students and staff regardless of vaccination status. The original preview from Secretary French last Friday indicated that only unvaccinated students and staff could get those rapid test kits from the schools. Unless they were symptomatic in which case they would be tested right on site there at the school. But during yesterday's press conference and also before the Senate Education Committee yesterday Dr Levine indicated that test kits would be available to both unvaccinated and vaccinated students and staff. We understand that there may be a supply issue involving those rapid test kits. So we're interested in learning more about how that can be addressed. I would also note that yesterday the Biden administration announced it is increasing the supply of COVID-19 tests for schools in order to help keep schools open for in-person learning. And the news reports yesterday indicated that the administration is going to increase the number of COVID tests available to schools by 10 million per month, 5 million rapid tests and 5 million PCR tests. I don't know though how many of those tests will be coming to Vermont under that program. We also agree with previous witnesses that high quality masks that are effective during the Omicron surge should be available to all staff and students. And we're really looking forward to seeing the formal guidance coming out from the agency of education around this new approach for testing involving schools. It's really challenging to comment any further on it without seeing the details. And lastly just wanted to respond to your request about this session and any requests that we have. So what I said in October we're asking the general assembly not to tackle new education policy initiatives in this session that's that are going to add burdens or complexity for school districts. You had many new initiatives last session and many of them require follow up this year. So those are going to take some significant time. I'd also echo others testimony asking you to be very supportive and protective of public education. And lastly I'd just like to express appreciation to the general assembly for taking quick action to address the annual meeting issues that you did in s 172, and to put in place temporary open meeting law changes in s 222. And we're looking forward to the governor signature of those bills and thank you very much for that quick action. So I'll end by thanking you for the opportunity to speak with you again today and just letting you know I look forward to working with you during the legislative session. Thank you. Just we've just been looking at the current question about the need for allowing remote sessions to count. I wasn't sure if you heard the secretaries comments the other day regarding waivers. We were looking at potentially doing something in session law and wondering if how you felt it worked out this year or if you could get back to us if you're not prepared to tell us. So for 2021 school year with the remote with the waivers from the secretary for to allow remote sessions to count. I wasn't able to listen to your committee meeting earlier today because I was had other meetings so I definitely would like the chance to come back and talk with you about that sometime soon. Please do thank you. We may have some time today. Some things that have canceled. Any questions. Okay, thank you so much is the glass key. I'm delighted to welcome Lauren Conti who is here representing the school counselors we do have one of our members as a school counselor you can wave our retired school counselor there. I'm Lauren Conti and I'm from Boston. And we are very anxious to hear from you where again how are the students how is that how is the staff or the communities. I know that we have some questions about mental health that certainly seems to be an issue, an area that you have considerable expertise and we are looking at what we in the legislature can do to help and again, but what you really don't want us to do as well. Thank you. Great. Well, thank you so much for the invitation to come join you today. My name is Lauren Conti, and I'm on the Vermont School Counselor Association Executive Board, and I'm currently serving in the role as president I am new to that position. I have been a Vermont school counselor for the past nine years and I'm actively a school counselor right now. In my building. I can't guarantee I won't be interrupted in the middle of this. And just thank you for allowing me to speak on behalf of Vermont school counselors. I do have a prepared statement that I am, and primarily going to be be reading from and I look forward to, to your questions at the end. If you can't hear me please let me know that as well. You know I really feel like we're all reading the same newspaper articles. We're watching the same news reports, and we are talking to one another within our communities. And I think the challenges are clear. In many of the points I'm going to be sharing today with all of you are not, not new. One thing that I do want to share with you is that in the fall of 2021, the Vermont School Counselor Association I'll just call it Vitzka that's our short acronym launched a membership survey to get a global picture of how Vermont School counselors are doing. Another pandemic centered school year feedback from that survey identified following concerns patterns and themes. School counselors are seeing an intensifying intensified impact of poverty, inequity and family disengagement on students. School counselors are being assigned inappropriate roles and responsibilities. Those examples are 504 coordination case management, lunch and recess duty and testing coordination and those things take us away from direct student services around social emotional support and well being school counselors like all educators are experiencing increased stress burnout and a sense of being undervalued and overworked. We are seeing as an organization of potential staffing crisis as school counselors are considering leaving the profession entirely. We have concerns about the safety and well being of our entire school community, both students and adults, particularly related to recent decisions about how schools are going to be moving forward. So, the Russian school counselors have noted the importance of their ability to form strong relationships with students, families and colleagues, and especially those in the most need. Vermont school counselors have the ability to make a significant impact on a student's life, both in their social and emotional well being and post secondary pathway planning. An emotional well being of our communities, inclusive of students and adults must be a top priority, not just of the school counselor, but of the whole school. Our students are struggling with increased levels of depression, anxiety and emotional dysregulation. I looked at wire BS data the youth risk behavior survey that is taken at middle schools and high schools across Vermont. I just pulled two data points in 2019 19% of Vermont high school students engaged in self harm, and that was a 3% increase from 2017 7% of Vermont high school students attempted suicide in 2019 which was a 2% increase from 2017. We have taken the survey in the fall of 2021. We have not yet had you've seen the data there is a processing time. I think it'll be interesting to see the trend in that data related to self harm suicidal ideation and also mental health. School counselors are seeing an increase in behavior challenges that are impacting the students ability to learn and not a surprise we're seeing can see continue to see an increase in currency and lack of student engagement. So I've highlighted some of the trends and challenges that we're seeing in schools. You know to get to the heart of the matter and I appreciate you asked the question. What can you do to help. The first thing is clear the role responsibilities of a school counselor varies from district to district. Even sometimes within a district. For the past year and a half that's good has been working in partnership with the agency of education to adopt the Vermont school counselor comprehensive framework, and we're asking all of you for your support, and helping us achieve that. And I just want to give you a few field memos that the framework is out for public comment, which will conclude on January 15. Through the framework, we are anticipating seeing an increase in the school counselors ability to provide direct services related to student social emotional well being through individual counseling, small groups and tier one social emotional curriculum. It's a small explanation for you in terms of what the framework is the framework is a tool used to assist school counselors and administrators in building a comprehensive school counseling program that is comprehensive and scope, preventive and design and developmental and nature and focused on social emotional career and academic development of students. The additional information related to the framework that I submitted as part of my testimony. I'm not going to read that to you, but my hope is that you have a chance to review it. You. One thing we've been very fortunate is that there's been a lot of funding that has come into public education. What we ask is that school counselors are involved at the district level and discussions of that funding. We are frontline employees who see the day to day social emotional needs of our entire school community, yet feedback from membership is that they're often not included in the discussion of funding related to increase social emotional support at their schools. And for example, school counselors are. So to utilize the funding to hire more school counselors or remove inappropriate tasks from school counselors so they can do the work that they are qualified and hired to do so for example. That might look like hiring a non faculty position to take on testing and 504 coordination. So school counselors are not doing those inappropriate roles. And I want to acknowledge that there are clear intentions and data use in determining the use of this funding into include school counselors school counselor and put in in that decision process. I just want to thank you very much for the opportunity to join you today. I just wanted to share from the school counselor perspective, how things are going in schools into share steps that would help us moving forward. So thank you for your time. And I'm here to answer any questions that you might have. I would start with what can you think that we can do to help teachers faculty counselors feel more valued. It's in our hearts. What, what can we do. Yeah, and I think that's a really big question. And I think one of the pieces about for my I think one thing is, we really value local control. And so I think things are different in different communities so I think that gate I appreciate that question. I think it's a hard one to answer, because I think it really varies by, by school district. I think this year, an approach of less is more. In terms of new initiatives is is an important one to to consider. I think we are in a position to sustain anything big that could come out of of the legislative session. I think if there are areas where we could be given some more time or some grace period or some flexibility. I think that could be could be important as well. I'm happy to also think a little bit more on that question. And to provide you, you know, with like a written follow up that has a little more intentional and targeted response to it. Thank you. Representative Coopley. Thank you. Madam chair at law and I'm very concerned as I'm sure everyone on my committee or on our committee is with the increase in suicides. It's really, really difficult to say why these school age children are committing suicide and their ages, etc. Is it. I mean, there may be some bullying issues but are there economic social economic issues with these kids that aren't being addressed that are leading them leading them to become suicidal, or perhaps commit suicide. That's a good question. You know, suicide is something that knows no boundaries. You know, from what we see I think there are some good, some helpful data points indicating that youth identify who identify on the LGBTQ plus spectrum are at higher risk than their peers who do not. Not review data related to the socio economic components of suicide prevention. I think one thing we're fortunate about is we have some strong partnerships in Vermont. So I'm going to go through the suicide prevention programming. I'm forgetting the exact name of the association but I know I have worked with them. They provide great training for educators and I can speak personally because I have a trend attended a multi day training that has helped me outline in my school comprehensive programming. The key component is engaging in parent education, faculty education, but also youth education through tier one curriculum. So I think that is something that we have available to us in Vermont and it's important that schools utilize those resources and their school community. Another follow up. Are you seeing these issues in different parts of our state are greater than they are, for example in northern Vermont versus central Vermont Southern Vermont. I have not talked to a colleague who or a member of the association, regardless of their region that has not struggled with this it's, it's all over Vermont. It's not region specific. Thank you very much Lauren. It's great to have you with us today. Thank you. Another question here and that has to do with universal meals and breakfast, which was introduced. I mean which was made available by the federal government this year and just wanted to see how that how that's going in your school. We certainly have a request to continue that at a state level, which I assume we'll be taking up later but I'm just interested in how have kids are doing and how that program seems to be working. And if you've seen any change in the quality of food. I would say that program has had a positive impact. You for a couple different reasons families who when it was more of the free reduced lunch structure would have to go through some paperwork for some families that was a barrier that no longer exist. I think you also see families that were probably on the cusp who would not have qualified who students now can access free and reduced lunch. Not free reduced lunch but can access free lunch and breakfast. I would say we are seeing, and I could just tell you observationally what I'm seeing in my building is a greater engagement around breakfast than we had had in the past because it's more easily available. And also through some of that the access to snacks as well has been important you we have seen students who might have some food insecurities at home, have greater access to food here at school, because they were not necessarily pre identified as struggling with access. So I would say, it's been a positive program in the continuation of it would have positive impact in school communities. Other questions from the committee. We very much appreciate you taking the time your voice is a really important voice. I want you to know that I think I'm speaking for the committee. Now that we very much appreciate you coming in and for the work that you are all doing in the schools and this incredibly difficult time. Our kids are important. And so are all of you. Thank you very much for the opportunity to join and to share the voice of remote school counselors we very much appreciate it. Thank you. We'll be in touch. That's all I have for the morning. I don't know if Sue Siglowski you would be able to come in later we have a big blank at the moment here. Just to give us some help on the we use the current system that we that that that the secretary used last year, in terms of waivers for the calendar, or whether we should look at something that would be a session let change. So, fear. I, what time would you be thinking chair web. I, how does something like one o'clock sound. Looking to the committee. Does that work for the committee if it worked for Sue. I'm seeing, I'm seeing some out of heads. We have some committee members that are missing but yeah one o'clock we do have the time, and I think it would be worthwhile hearing Sue's comments. Yeah, I think so as well. If that's something you could do happy to talk with you offline if that would help on what we're looking at. I could speak with you. Thanks. Thank you. Thank you so much everybody we will go offline again thank you so much.