SCHOOL-IT List

3:30-4:30 Today - Academic Integrity in the Age of AI

Blumberg, Josh — Mon, 9 Mar 2026 14:16:51 +0000

Join us today for our second workshop in the AI in Education series. The event will be recorded, so if you can't attend make sure you still register so that I can send you the recording and slides. We will be looking at 13 practical strategies that schools and individual teachers can employ to improve academic integrity, create a more classroom culture focused on learning and support better support students. I hope to see you this afternoon. [...]

Re: VTCAP issues?

Kelly Ahlfeld — Mon, 9 Mar 2026 09:43:02 -0400

we are doing 5th grade science and so far it's ok

On Mon, Mar 9, 2026 at 9:41 AM Peter Drescher <
000009aeb8556b92-dmarc-request@list.uvm.edu> wrote:

> Is anyone else doing VTCAP today and having issues?
>
> Call my cell if so?
>
> Peter Drescher
> Director of Technology and Innovation
> Essex Westford School District
> 76 Pearl St. Suite 201
> Essex Jct., VT 05452
> (o) 802-857-7090
> (c) 802-279-8355
> pdrescher@ewsd.org
>
>
> CONFIDENTIAL COMMUNICATION. THIS MESSAGE MAY NOT BE FORWARDED.
>
> The information contained in this communication, including any attachments, is confidential,constitutes privileged communication, [...]

VTCAP issues?

Peter Drescher — Mon, 9 Mar 2026 09:41:01 -0400

Is anyone else doing VTCAP today and having issues?

Call my cell if so?

Peter Drescher
Director of Technology and Innovation
Essex Westford School District
76 Pearl St. Suite 201
Essex Jct., VT 05452
(o) 802-857-7090
(c) 802-279-8355
pdrescher@ewsd.org

Please share this in your school

Lucie deLaBruere — Fri, 6 Mar 2026 12:13:34 -0500

Wanted to send out a reminder of the upcoming workshop - Exploring ?AI with
Physical Computing. on March 19 I personally saw Tom Lauwers do this
workshop at a Logo Foundation Conference and it was very interactive and
well done, so we invited him to share with us in Vermont (via Zoom) . You
can find details in the latest CSTA-Vermont nesletter pasted below. Pass
this on to anyone who might be interested in a fun way to help staff (and
students) understand how AI is trained.
Register here
<https://community.csteachers.org/events/eventdescription?CalendarEventKey=e6b7b239-1153-4340-9bbd-019c37bc79d1&CommunityKey=d629989e-bd9d-409f-b1a0-2d0d5d84f0bb&Home=%2fevents%2frecentcommunityeventsdashboard> [...]

Re: [EXTERNAL] Re: Poll: Uniflow or Papercut

Michael Norkun — Thu, 5 Mar 2026 18:46:41 -0500

Similarly to Ricky, we have papercut, MF + mobility. Primarily with xerox.
It's pretty solid, easy to manage, especially with Google. The security is
nice to prevent most students. The savvy ones can still figure out how to
send a print, but so far, that student is the head of the robotics coding
team. As Dr. Ian Malcom said...coders find a way. [...]

Re: Who runs tech at School Board meetings?

Todd Lewis — Thu, 5 Mar 2026 16:14:59 -0500

We use OWLs for all board meetings. The setup varies slightly depending on
where it is. Our meetings rotate monthly between 4 of our schools. The
tech department sets up the OWL with a computer prior to the meeting. Our
Superintendent then controls the Google Meet from that machine. THen
either after the meeting or the next morning we go and clean up.
Additionally we have multiple OWLs that we can sync if needed and expansion
microphones. [...]

Re: Who runs tech at School Board meetings?

Bjorn Behrendt — Thu, 5 Mar 2026 15:27:27 -0500

Officially PegTV records our meetings, and they bring their own mics and
recording equipment. For the hybrid portion we have a google meet that we
connect. We have a Newline TV (same as all the classrooms) with a good
webcam on it. It seems to work fine for the hybrid part. Sound could be
better, but it is good enough to meet the need. [...]

Re: Who runs tech at School Board meetings?

Brett Spilva — Thu, 5 Mar 2026 15:02:41 -0500

Hi Spencer,

We have a similar setup at MMUUSD, combining in-person and virtual meetings
using Google Meet. Recently, we upgraded our AV equipment from the Owl to
the Logi Rally Bar by Logitech, and we've received positive feedback on the
change. We hold roughly two meetings each month, spread across all of our
schools.

Brett

Brett Spilva
*Technology Support*
Camels Hump Middle School
Mount Mansfield Unified Union School District [...]

Re: Who runs tech at School Board meetings?

LaClair, Jeremy — Thu, 5 Mar 2026 14:14:05 -0500

Tim, you're mentioning a great resource there. If you are looking for an
outside entity to help you with video/audio recording for board meetings,
talking with your local public access TV station is a great place to start.
They will often have equipment/personnel who can assist at little or no
cost. In exchange they will want to air the meetings on their TV channel
and/or live stream online. Usually a win win! The Media Factory is the
organization in the greater Burlington area, but there are 24 of these
organizations across the state. You can look up a list here [...]

Re: Who runs tech at School Board meetings?

Tim White — Thu, 5 Mar 2026 14:01:27 -0500

We use the "Media Factory" + Zoom for one monthly meeting and just Zoom for
the other monthly meeting. Media Factory is at https://www.mediafactory.org/

I'm very happy with them, but I can't tell you how much they charge us.

Tim

Tim White (he/him)

*Director of Technology*Addison Northwest School District
Suite B100
11 Main St
Vergennes, Vt. 05491
802-870-8912

On Thu, Mar 5, 2026 at 12:15 PM Spencer Broe <
000010911506c04d-dmarc-request@list.uvm.edu> wrote: [...]

Re: Who runs tech at School Board meetings?

Derrick Garceau — Thu, 5 Mar 2026 13:48:22 -0500

Hey Spencer,

We have a similar setup: an Owl camera with the extended mic, a laptop, and
a large TV for Zoom attendees and presentations. Our meeting
schedule/location is similar too—two meetings a month: the first at our
high school, and the second at one of our elementary schools. I was able to
pack everything into two bags so it can be carried in a single trip to and
from the building. [...]

Who runs tech at School Board meetings?

Spencer Broe — Thu, 5 Mar 2026 12:14:44 -0500

Hi all,

Just wanted to put a feeler out for how other district IT staff are
involved in School Board meetings. At our district, we're doing hybrid Zoom
meetings where we have 1 person sitting in on the meetings (running a mixer
and doing a timer for public comments) and doing setup and teardown of
microphones (10 for the 12-15 board participants), speaker (to amplify
everyone & play Zoom audio), TV (to see Zoom participants & presentations),
Owl (for Zoom video), etc. for however long the meetings go. [...]

Re: [EXTERNAL] Re: Poll: Uniflow or Papercut

Richard Adams — Thu, 5 Mar 2026 11:20:00 -0500

We use PaperCut (MF + Mobility Print) with Konica Minolta copiers. I can't
imagine going any other way unless you have a Windows fleet.. When we
evaluated Uniflow a few years ago, the offering seemed weak for anything
that wasn't Windows/AD-based.

While we are not primarily Chromebook-based, we have ~60 in deployment with
minimal problems. Our administration gets monthly usage reports for
everything. [...]

Re: Poll: Uniflow or Papercut

Tim White — Thu, 5 Mar 2026 08:07:29 -0500

We use PaperCut with Ricoh. PaperCut is integrated with Google and AD and
seems to work very well. Support from Ricoh though isn't very strong, with
only one person in the organization that is strong with PaperCut. To be
fair, this gentleman is VERY strong, but if he's not available, we wait.

Tim

Tim White (he/him) [...]

Re: Poll: Uniflow or Papercut

Chris Arnini — Wed, 4 Mar 2026 14:55:24 -0500

Good afternoon,
We use Papercut for printing at the Middle and High School. Papercut is
linked to our Google Workspace LDAP which makes new user setup really easy
(add them or move them to our Google Workspace OU and they have printer
access)
Thanks
Chris

On Wed, Mar 4, 2026 at 2:48 PM Todd Lewis <tlewis@orangesouthwest.org>
wrote:

> Inbound Shield™ has detected suspicious elements in this email. You are
> advised to be cautious when clicking on links or opening attachments
> We have been on PaperCut with our Konica Minolta MFDs for a few years now
> and it works [...]

Re: Poll: Uniflow or Papercut

Todd Lewis — Wed, 4 Mar 2026 14:48:28 -0500

We have been on PaperCut with our Konica Minolta MFDs for a few years now
and it works well. The interface is easy to use and set up new users.
They have a lot of predefined reports you can run but there is also the
ability to customize reports but we have not tried to do that yet. The
secure printing has been really good and it has cut down on kids
printing random jobs with large paper counts. [...]

Re: Poll: Uniflow or Papercut

Hatch, Will — Wed, 4 Mar 2026 14:42:01 -0500

Hi Bjorn,

I have been researching this for a while and haven't found a perfect
solution yet. In our case, the main challenge is that we use Canon copiers,
and I haven't been able to get either Papercut or UniFlow to support both
finishing options and secure print simultaneously.

I am planning to test a custom setup using a CUPS server with Papercut to
see if I can get both features to work, though I am not particularly
optimistic. As you noted, printing from Chromebooks continues to be
problematic. [...]

Poll: Uniflow or Papercut

Bjorn Behrendt — Wed, 4 Mar 2026 14:36:42 -0500

Ran into an issue today that brought up the need for better printing
reporting, specifically with chromebooks.

For those who have already done the research, which one do you like and
why? Is there another contender that I should consider?

Re: Cell Phone Ban: Implementation

Ryan Anderson — Wed, 4 Mar 2026 10:34:11 -0500

*There is a very big difference between solving a problem, and making a
problem go away. *

Our school initiated a bell to bell ban at the beginning of the year.
While I do agree that cell phones should be banned from the classroom,
banning them from bell to bell does a few things that I strongly disagree
with: [...]

Re: Cell Phone Ban: Implementation

Marisa Cotilletta — Wed, 4 Mar 2026 10:09:08 -0500

1. We're using Yondr. We've numbered each one for inventory.
2. Students hold onto the pouches, and before entering, there's a person
with a magnet at each entrance (just in case) to check that their phone is
in their pouch. There's a tag that students can get that says that they're
"phone free" if they don't have one either. Students leave that in their
bag. At the end of the day, the same teams go back and open the pouches for
students before leaving/going to the bus. If they leave early during the
day, there is a magnet in the [...]

Re: Cell Phone Ban: Implementation

Mark Schmitt — Wed, 4 Mar 2026 09:52:39 -0500

We are trying to put together a policy district-wide. My suggestion has
been that the policy needs to be tailored to the schools grade-level and
have the principles say what works for them. At the HS, we have plenty of
lockers that aren't used now but the MS took all theirs out.

I'm also talking to a vendor about faraday bags or lockers. They are
sending me some samples and I can let everyone know how well they work and
cost if anyone is interested in that option. [...]

Re: Cell Phone Ban: Implementation

Michael Norkun — Wed, 4 Mar 2026 09:32:10 -0500

I've jokingly said that I plan to stand outside the school with a hammer
and have every student put their phone in front of me to be "checked" in !
:)

That didn't go over too well.

Basically with the bell to bell ban we are doing something similar to what
Chris shared. If seen, it's mine until the end of the day, but can be in
their bag and away. We use an emergency system that relies on cell phones
to send the alert and allow students to "check in" that they are safe.
Which means we can not [...]

Re: Cell Phone Ban: Implementation

Chris Arnini — Wed, 4 Mar 2026 08:26:03 -0500

Good morning,
Our kids in middle school keep their phones in their locker, ideally turned
off. In High School, bell to bell ban, if the phone is seen its taken away.
Some students keep them off in their bags, some are collected in classes.

Chris

On Wed, Mar 4, 2026 at 8:14 AM Parker Audsley <
000008e986284cfb-dmarc-request@list.uvm.edu> wrote: [...]

Cell Phone Ban: Implementation

Parker Audsley — Wed, 4 Mar 2026 08:13:54 -0500

Hello,

We are seeking information about what other schools are doing to implement the Cell Phone Ban. Any and all advice/thoughts/concerns are appreciated. After discussing this with some staff and administrators, I am hoping to get feedback on a few different areas.

1: What are you planning on using (or perhaps already using)? Right now, one of our schools is specifically looking into pouches. They have heard good things about Yondr Pouches, but are open to other considerations. [...]

Vita-Learn seeking Exec Director -- please pass along

Peter Drescher — Tue, 3 Mar 2026 15:32:54 -0500

Good afternoon:

Are you a visionary leader passionate about the intersection of education
and technology? Vita-Learn <https://vita-learn.org/>, the statewide
professional organization for Education Technology is seeking an Executive
Director to champion educational innovation and support the educators
shaping Vermont’s future. While our roots are in Vermont, we welcome
applicants from across the New England region who are ready to lead a
dynamic, community-focused organization.

Re: Digital Hall Pass

Yevgeniy Sklyar — Tue, 3 Mar 2026 14:13:04 -0500

https://www.pikmykid.com/

Yevgeniy Sklyar

Senior Technology/Network Specialist

Danbury Public Schools

On Tue, Mar 3, 2026, 13:00 Derrick Garceau <
00000c837423bd95-dmarc-request@list.uvm.edu> wrote:

> Anyone using a digital hall pass solution that they love? Been sitting
> through demos over the last week.
>
> --
> Derrick Garceau
> Director of Technology
> 802-868-2281
> Missisquoi Valley School District
>
> -----------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> Search <http://list.uvm.edu/archives/school-it.html> the SCHOOL-IT Archive
>
> Manage <http://list.uvm.edu/cgi-bin/wa?SUBED1=SCHOOL-IT&A=1> your
> Subscription to SCHOOL-IT
>

Digital Hall Pass

Derrick Garceau — Tue, 3 Mar 2026 12:59:54 -0500

Anyone using a digital hall pass solution that they love? Been sitting
through demos over the last week.

Re: Microsoft licenses?

Bjorn Behrendt — Tue, 3 Mar 2026 09:08:14 -0500

I have a similar setup to most. I have 10 licenses of MS office for the
entire district, and it is mostly our business office that uses them (and
math department -- grumble grumble). Everyone else is on Google Docs.
We also moved to standardizing on Teacher quality chromebooks for anyone
without a specific need, and this is has helped a lot. [...]

Re: Microsoft licenses?

Kevin Champney — Tue, 3 Mar 2026 08:52:19 -0500

We moved away from MS Office for non-business office faculty and staff
around 2011. It has had almost no impact on us except that I don't have to
manage MS licensing. Every time I have to purchase a Microsoft license for
something unique, like Power Automate, I am glad we moved away from that
universe. We use GovConnection for our limited MS licensing needs.
-Kevin [...]

Announcing Our Vermont Fest 2026 Keynote: Amanda Jones

Jeff Mao — Mon, 2 Mar 2026 18:17:01 +0000

We are thrilled to announce that *Amanda Jones* , acclaimed advocate and author of That Librarian , will be joining us as the keynote speaker for Vermont Fest on *Friday, November 6, 2026*.

In an era where libraries have become the front lines of a national cultural debate, Amanda’s voice is more vital than ever. Her journey is one of resilience, courage, and a deep-seated commitment to the fundamental right to read. [...]

AUA's for Monitoring Tools

Hayes, Cole — Mon, 2 Mar 2026 11:27:44 -0500

Hi All,

Our district is looking for examples of policies or agreements regarding
the use of classroom monitoring tools, such as GoGuardian Teacher.

If your district has a policy or agreement you would be willing to share,
we would greatly appreciate it.

Best regards,

Cole

*Cole Hayes*
*Information Technology Operations Director**Lamoille North Supervisory
Union | School District*
738 VT 15W Door XT 11, Hyde Park, VT, 05655
(802) 343-0117 | (802) 851-1514
chayes@lnsd.org

Used Laptops

Hannah Farnum — Mon, 2 Mar 2026 11:06:59 -0500

Hello,

VTVLC has a lot of 3 used MacBook laptops for sale.

- Selling by entire lot only
- Includes laptop and charger (original box and peripherals not included)
- Purchased between 2019-2022
- Would not be available for in-state delivery until May

Please contact me off-list if you would like more details.

Thanks!
Hannah

Vita Learn Leadership Lunch Virtual March 4

Peter Drescher — Thu, 26 Feb 2026 13:25:54 -0500

*Topic: House Bill 650*
March 4

*Join us for a conversation on a topic important to all Tech Departments:*
H.650
<https://legislature.vermont.gov/Documents/2026/Workgroups/House%20Commerce/Bills/H.650/Drafts,%20Amendments,%20and%20Legal%20Documents/H.650~Rik%20Sehgal~Draft%202.1,%2002-26-2026~2-26-2026.pdf>,
a bill being put forth to regulate education technology products and the
purchase of them by schools and school districts. We’ll talk about the
current status of the bill, in the legislature as of this writing, and
testimony last given on February 26th. Whatever form it eventually takes,
it has some implications for technology departments and curriculum
directors across the State. We especially invite those that have been
asked to speak about it and we’ll generally have an informal [...]

Re: Microsoft licenses?

Marvin Bentley II — Thu, 26 Feb 2026 12:35:21 -0500

Hey, Peter! We're in a similar position to Mike and Tim - we're trying to
wean non-admin staff off Office, and have largely been successful. Making
the Chromebooks appetizing enough to try is the hard part - once people
start using them and get to experience the benefits, the rest seems to fall
into place in most cases. If a teacher absolutely must have Office, well,
there's always the free web based version. I know for my personal needs,
unless I'm doing a paper mail merge, I actually prefer Docs and Sheets -
what they lack compared to Word & [...]

Re: Microsoft licenses?

Tim White — Thu, 26 Feb 2026 11:03:18 -0500

We typically deny MS Office for anyone not in an administrative position,
or who must use Excel to report to the State of VT.

We initially get some pushback because Google Sheets simply isn't as nice
as Excel, but unless there are macros or complex functions needed, Sheets
will suffice. Convincing people of that is the hard part. [...]

Re: Microsoft licenses?

Mike Mott — Thu, 26 Feb 2026 11:02:19 -0500

Hey Peter,

We've been grappling with the Microsoft licensing changes too.

We want to fully leverage Entra as part of our plan to retire on-prem AD at
some point so we buy E5s for all staff with a Windows device. Our strategy
has been to reduce the number of staff with a Windows device. This saves on
Microsoft licensing and endpoint protection costs. We've tried to make our
Google / CB offering to staff as attractive as possible via a premium CB
and an external monitor. So far, it seems like a win-win for IT and staff.
I think we'll [...]

Microsoft licenses?

Peter Drescher — Thu, 26 Feb 2026 10:37:23 -0500

How are you handling the deployment/purchase of MS licenses.

We are trying to wean classroom educators of MS Office licensing and steer
folks towards Google Sheets work as well as the Cloud based version of
Office 365, which is not the full robust office license, but can suffice.
There are some nuances to using Cloud Office 365, in conjunction with
OneDrive, etc. for sharing, and we are "coaching" folks through that in
some cases and it is sufficient. [...]

Re: Vermont AI & Impact Student Symposium seeking student entries

Renee Langevin — Thu, 26 Feb 2026 10:25:40 -0500

Let's try that again.

On Thu, Feb 26, 2026 at 10:23 AM Renee Langevin <rlangevin@ewsd.org> wrote:

> Please share this opportunity with any interested high school students. We
> have three groups registered so far and would love to welcome more. See the
> attached flyer for details and let me know if you have any questions!
>
> --
>
> Click HERE <https://calendar.app.google/6b4ygGbSL1rk53jx7> to set up an
> appointment with me.
>
> [...]

Vermont AI & Impact Student Symposium seeking student entries

Renee Langevin — Thu, 26 Feb 2026 10:23:07 -0500

Please share this opportunity with any interested high school students. We
have three groups registered so far and would love to welcome more. See the
attached flyer for details and let me know if you have any questions!

Re: Legislation watch

Raymond Ballou — Thu, 26 Feb 2026 09:28:23 -0500

they are talking about VTVLC and weather this legislation would apply to
VTVLC or VTVLC would need an exception.

not having read any of the bill, VTVLC is NOT a school and therefore it
would not apply (based only on me paying half attention to the last 3
minutes of stream)

there seems to be a lot of sausage-making happening ... [...]

Re: Legislation watch

Peter Drescher — Thu, 26 Feb 2026 09:17:42 -0500

H 650 Testimony today. 9:05AM on....

Here is the livestream <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IVPCVXWlwTg>. FYI

The language has changed quite a bit, they are going over it today.

PD

On Wed, Feb 25, 2026 at 11:19 AM Renee Langevin <
000009ca05e37ced-dmarc-request@list.uvm.edu> wrote:

> Here's Adam's part 2:
> https://adamsparks.substack.com?utm_source=navbar&utm_medium=web
>
> On Tue, Feb 17, 2026 at 1:31 PM Lucie deLaBruere <ldelabruere@gmail.com>
> wrote:
>
>> Renee
>> Thanks so much for sharing this.
>> The author did a good job of making us aware of a national conversation
>> around edtech and an even better job of educating us of the importance of
>> [...]

Google Cloud VMs

Mike Mott — Wed, 25 Feb 2026 14:22:18 -0500

Hello all,

Does anyone have a Google Cloud VM footprint? We're looking at migrating
our web server and I'd be curious who you work with or if you work directly
with Google.

On or off is fine. Thanks!

Re: Legislation watch

Renee Langevin — Wed, 25 Feb 2026 11:18:26 -0500

Here's Adam's part 2:
https://adamsparks.substack.com?utm_source=navbar&utm_medium=web

On Tue, Feb 17, 2026 at 1:31 PM Lucie deLaBruere <ldelabruere@gmail.com>
wrote:

> Renee
> Thanks so much for sharing this.
> The author did a good job of making us aware of a national conversation
> around edtech and an even better job of educating us of the importance of
> data -science!
> Myself and several other colleagues are currently enrolled in Data-Science
> for Educators class at UVM as part of the computer science education
> certificate program.
> This would be a fantastic article to read together.
> But more importantly, it [...]

Upcoming Webinar for IT Directors

Bonnie Birdsall — Tue, 24 Feb 2026 10:39:17 -0500

Hi All,

As some of you know, I support GoTeacher's work in Vermont. GoTeacher is
hosting a virtual roundtable on *March 2 (1–2 PM ET)* for IT Directors on
AI risk and student data privacy, which might be relevant to your work.

In about 95% of districts working with GoTeacher, students are logging into
role-playing chatbots using school-issued email addresses, allowing vendors
to collect student names and emails without districts realizing accounts
were created. During the virtual roundtable, we will discuss this and other
emerging AI risks districts are encountering. [...]

Re: CrowdStrike vs Sophos?

Chris Arnini — Mon, 23 Feb 2026 10:48:13 -0500

Our district is using Sophos, having installed it on all pc & mac devices
this current school year. Had a trickier install on Macs, had to manually
install it on each device. PCs went smooth and worked great being pushed
out via active directory.
So far been happy with it
Chris

On Mon, Feb 23, 2026 at 10:46 AM Todd Lewis <tlewis@orangesouthwest.org>
wrote: [...]

Re: CrowdStrike vs Sophos?

Todd Lewis — Mon, 23 Feb 2026 10:46:04 -0500

Good Morning,

We transitioned to Sophos EDR/NDR a little under a year ago and have had a
good experience so far. They have been easy to work with and support has
been responsive.

If you want any more details feel free to contact me.

Respectfully,

Todd

On Mon, Feb 23, 2026 at 10:27 AM Richard Adams <
000006a0fab595a5-dmarc-request@list.uvm.edu> wrote: [...]

CrowdStrike vs Sophos?

Richard Adams — Mon, 23 Feb 2026 10:26:41 -0500

Hi All,

Is anyone running CrowdStrike or Sophos MDR/EDR? We would love any quick
experiences or feedback on these two.

Reply on- or off-list is fine.

Thank you!

Re: Alertus Alternative

Mark Schmitt — Mon, 23 Feb 2026 08:55:33 -0500

Thanks everyone. Looks like I'll put ParentSquare and Rave on my call list.

On Fri, Feb 20, 2026 at 12:57 PM Sean Stark TR ADM <sean.stark@trsu.org>
wrote:

> Hello Mark,
>
> I’m the new IT director for TRSU, but prior to this I was with HCRS and
> vetted out Rave and ended up going with them. The real nice selling point
> for Rave is that they are a reseller for AlertUs so they should be able to
> integrate with any AlertUs hardware you already have.
>
> Thank you,
> Sean Stark
> Director of Technology
> [...]

Re: Alertus Alternative

Sean Stark TR ADM — Fri, 20 Feb 2026 12:57:25 -0500

Hello Mark,

I’m the new IT director for TRSU, but prior to this I was with HCRS and vetted out Rave and ended up going with them. The real nice selling point for Rave is that they are a reseller for AlertUs so they should be able to integrate with any AlertUs hardware you already have. [...]

Re: Alertus Alternative

Marvin Bentley II — Fri, 20 Feb 2026 09:26:38 -0500

Hey, Mark - allow me to echo Bjorn and say welcome, and that we have been
very happy with ParentSquare. We liked the platform enough that we decided
to give their website hosting a shot (Smart Sites) and have been very happy
with that as well. The posting integration is increadbly tight.

Hope that helps! [...]

Re: Alertus Alternative

Bjorn Behrendt — Fri, 20 Feb 2026 09:17:26 -0500

Welcome to the group Mark. I just asked a similar question looking for
an alternative to School Messenger. It seems that ParentSquare seems to
be the popular alternative.

On Fri, Feb 20, 2026 at 9:08 AM Mark Schmitt <mschmitt@ssdvt.org> wrote:

> Hello Everyone,
>
> First I want to introduce myself. I'm the new (as of Jan 26th) IT
> Director for Springfield.
>
> I've been asked to look into an alternative to AlertUs for emergency mass
> notifications. Looking around, the only vendor that seems to fit is Rave
> Mobile Safety <https://www.ravemobilesafety.com/industries/k-12/>.
>
> Does anyone have any [...]

Alertus Alternative

Mark Schmitt — Fri, 20 Feb 2026 09:07:42 -0500

Hello Everyone,

First I want to introduce myself. I'm the new (as of Jan 26th) IT Director
for Springfield.

I've been asked to look into an alternative to AlertUs for emergency mass
notifications. Looking around, the only vendor that seems to fit is Rave
Mobile Safety <https://www.ravemobilesafety.com/industries/k-12/>.

Does anyone have any experience with Rave or another platform? [...]

Re: Alternative to School Messenger

Derrick Garceau — Thu, 19 Feb 2026 16:39:49 -0500

ParentSquare here too. This was our first year and we have been pleased
with it. Direct messaging has been huge for us. Just rolled out auto
notices for missing assignments and attendance.

On Thu, Feb 19, 2026 at 4:29 PM Scott Marshia <scott.marshia@ccsuvt.net>
wrote:

> We also moved to ParentSquare and are happy. We also purchased SmartSites
> to move everything under one umbrella.
>
> Scott
>
> On Thu, Feb 19, 2026 at 3:40 PM Todd Lewis <tlewis@orangesouthwest.org>
> wrote:
>
>> We have also moved to ParentSquare and have been really happy with it.
>>
>> On Thu, Feb [...]

Re: Alternative to School Messenger

Scott Marshia — Thu, 19 Feb 2026 16:29:03 -0500

We also moved to ParentSquare and are happy. We also purchased SmartSites
to move everything under one umbrella.

Scott

On Thu, Feb 19, 2026 at 3:40 PM Todd Lewis <tlewis@orangesouthwest.org>
wrote:

> We have also moved to ParentSquare and have been really happy with it.
>
> On Thu, Feb 19, 2026 at 3:35 PM Chris Arnini <carnini@wsesdvt.org> wrote:
>
>> We are looking into ParentSquare here to replace messenger, we like a lot
>> of its functions it has.
>> Chris
>>
>>
>> On Thu, Feb 19, 2026 at 3:23 PM Matt Martyn <mmartyn@windhamcentral.org>
>> wrote:
>>
>>> Inbound Shield™ has [...]

Re: Alternative to School Messenger

Richard Adams — Thu, 19 Feb 2026 16:17:32 -0500

We moved to ParentSquare this year. It's been great overall. We combined
a few tools (SchoolMessenger, Smore, Remind, random parent teacher
conference "freebie" apps) into one.

On Thu, Feb 19, 2026 at 4:01 PM Suzanne Lee-Ciambra <
00000a1ae7d275bd-dmarc-request@list.uvm.edu> wrote:

> +1 BrightArrow. I don't know how it compares to ParentSquare, but I
> *definitely* prefer it over School Messenger.
>
> On Thu, Feb 19, 2026 at 3:58 PM John Meyer <john.meyer@lamoillesouth.org>
> wrote:
>
>> We use BrightArrow for our broadcasts.
>>
>> John Meyer, CETL
>> Director of Educational Technology
>> Lamoille South Supervisory Union
>>
>> On Thu, Feb [...]

Re: Alternative to School Messenger

Suzanne Lee-Ciambra — Thu, 19 Feb 2026 16:01:03 -0500

+1 BrightArrow. I don't know how it compares to ParentSquare, but I
*definitely* prefer it over School Messenger.

On Thu, Feb 19, 2026 at 3:58 PM John Meyer <john.meyer@lamoillesouth.org>
wrote:

> We use BrightArrow for our broadcasts.
>
> John Meyer, CETL
> Director of Educational Technology
> Lamoille South Supervisory Union
>
> On Thu, Feb 19, 2026 at 3:19 PM Bjorn Behrendt <
> bbehrendt@millriverschools.org> wrote:
>
>> I am sick and tired of School Messenger. What else is people using for
>> sending out broadcasts and newsletters?
>>
>> --
>> *Bjorn Behrendt M.Ed *
>> MRUUSD: Director of [...]

Re: Alternative to School Messenger

John Meyer — Thu, 19 Feb 2026 15:58:03 -0500

We use BrightArrow for our broadcasts.

John Meyer, CETL
Director of Educational Technology
Lamoille South Supervisory Union

On Thu, Feb 19, 2026 at 3:19 PM Bjorn Behrendt <
bbehrendt@millriverschools.org> wrote:

> I am sick and tired of School Messenger. What else is people using for
> sending out broadcasts and newsletters?
>
> --
> *Bjorn Behrendt M.Ed *
> MRUUSD: Director of Technology, Data, and Innovation
> 802.786.3998 x 296
> Schedule a time to meet <https://calendly.com/bbehrendt/officehours>
>
> *"Thank you & Never Stop Learning" *
> * <https://calendly.com/bbehrendt/office-hours>*
>
> -----------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> Search <http://list.uvm.edu/archives/school-it.html> the SCHOOL-IT Archive
>
[...]

Re: Alternative to School Messenger

Todd Lewis — Thu, 19 Feb 2026 15:39:53 -0500

We have also moved to ParentSquare and have been really happy with it.

On Thu, Feb 19, 2026 at 3:35 PM Chris Arnini <carnini@wsesdvt.org> wrote:

> We are looking into ParentSquare here to replace messenger, we like a lot
> of its functions it has.
> Chris
>
>
> On Thu, Feb 19, 2026 at 3:23 PM Matt Martyn <mmartyn@windhamcentral.org>
> wrote:
>
>> Inbound Shield™ has detected suspicious elements in this email. You are
>> advised to be cautious when clicking on links or opening attachments
>> Hey Bjorn,
>> We've had pretty good luck with ParentSquare. It was a [...]

Re: Alternative to School Messenger

Chris Arnini — Thu, 19 Feb 2026 15:30:34 -0500

We are looking into ParentSquare here to replace messenger, we like a lot
of its functions it has.
Chris

On Thu, Feb 19, 2026 at 3:23 PM Matt Martyn <mmartyn@windhamcentral.org>
wrote:

> Inbound Shield™ has detected suspicious elements in this email. You are
> advised to be cautious when clicking on links or opening attachments
> Hey Bjorn,
> We've had pretty good luck with ParentSquare. It was a little clunky
> initially, but once we learned how to use it, it offered some pretty rich
> features. We're currently looking at their secure document delivery for
> assessment results and [...]

Re: Alternative to School Messenger

Matt Martyn — Thu, 19 Feb 2026 15:22:59 -0500

Hey Bjorn,
We've had pretty good luck with ParentSquare. It was a little clunky
initially, but once we learned how to use it, it offered some pretty rich
features. We're currently looking at their secure document delivery for
assessment results and other updates families might like to see. Let me
know if you want to chat more about it sometime. [...]

Alternative to School Messenger

Bjorn Behrendt — Thu, 19 Feb 2026 15:18:59 -0500

I am sick and tired of School Messenger. What else is people using for
sending out broadcasts and newsletters?

Re: Good chance to share/learn at Tech Clinic

Tim White — Wed, 18 Feb 2026 09:03:46 -0500

Hi Peter-

I'd LOVE to join this, but my wife is having a small surgery that day so I
have to miss it. I am feeling behind on AI and even though I'm trying to
keep up, I feel like I'm falling behind more every day.

I wish I could have joined you!

Tim

Tim White (he/him) [...]

Webinar: Strengthen Your Cyber Defenses with Arctic Wolf and ByteSpeed

Jeff Mao — Tue, 17 Feb 2026 18:57:23 +0000

Hi All,

Our partners at ByteSpeed have partnered up with Arctic Wolf (you may have met them at Vermont Fest this fall), and will be sharing more details about how they can support your schools on a webinar on March 3. Please see details below:

*Date & Time* *
*
Mar 3, 2026 12:00 PM in Eastern Time (US and Canada) [...]

Good chance to share/learn at Tech Clinic

Peter Drescher — Tue, 17 Feb 2026 13:34:43 -0500

Good afternoon:

One more advocacy email for the Tech Clinic next Tuesday at Champlain
Valley.

I'm feeling behind on all things Al, and trying to carve out more time to
learn and develop in this frontier. I for one would like to hear about
your journey with the tools and nuances of this and learn some of the
things you've picked up, or at least be in the same room with folks that
are also on that "developing" journey. [...]

Re: Legislation watch

Lucie deLaBruere — Tue, 17 Feb 2026 13:28:47 -0500

Renee
Thanks so much for sharing this.
The author did a good job of making us aware of a national conversation
around edtech and an even better job of educating us of the importance of
data -science!
Myself and several other colleagues are currently enrolled in Data-Science
for Educators class at UVM as part of the computer science education
certificate program.
This would be a fantastic article to read together.
But more importantly, it is our professional responsibility to always be
paying attention to the conversations around the efficacy of ed-tech.
Thank you for sharing this!
Lucie [...]

Re: AI Workshops and AI PD

Lucie deLaBruere — Tue, 17 Feb 2026 13:01:24 -0500

Josh.
Thank you for sending this out.
I was thinking of your AI Guidelines. workshops and wanted to advertise
them in our upcoming CSTA-Vermont.
Also wanted to share something I've read recently. that really spoke to me
about the challenges facting AI and education
https://fitzyhistory.substack.com/p/were-not-all-having-the-same-ai-experience?r=d4ql4&utm_medium=ios&triedRedirect=true

Have you seen this yet.
Curious about your thoughts

Lucie

On Tue, Feb 17, 2026 at 9:23 AM Blumberg, Josh <Josh.Blumberg@vermont.gov>
wrote: [...]

Re: Legislation watch

Renee Langevin — Tue, 17 Feb 2026 10:00:54 -0500

This is happening at the federal level as well:
https://open.substack.com/pub/adamsparks/p/edtech-is-worth-fighting-for-1-of?utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=email

On Thu, Feb 12, 2026 at 1:42 PM Gregory Connors <gregory.connors@grcsu.org>
wrote:

> Thank you Shaun,
>
> I think it is very important in our professional communities to really get
> to the heart of all of these issues with very messy conversations. I have
> so many opinions about these committees on a regular basis, with so much
> non-professional ignorant, opinion not data led, disinformation, as I watch
> that I feel I can write a full fledged essay after each one, but wind up
> just packaging [...]

AI Workshops and AI PD

Blumberg, Josh — Tue, 17 Feb 2026 14:23:38 +0000

With the release of the Vermont AI Guidance for Education<https://education.vermont.gov/press-release/vermont-agency-education-releases-new-guidance-support-use-artificial-intelligence>, we are launching the first three workshops in a series of professional development opportunities (more to be announced soon). I hope you will be able to take advantage of these opportunities. If you have topics in AI in Education that you would like to see a workshop for or if you would like to collaborate with me, just reach out. [...]

Tech Clinic Agenda

Jeff Mao — Tue, 17 Feb 2026 13:42:53 +0000

Hi All,

*REGISTER NOW* ( https://www.zeffy.com/en-US/ticketing/tech-clinic-registration--2026 )

We're looking forward to seeing everyone next week at Tech Clinic. Our agenda will include a combination of sessions focused in and around the AOE's ( https://education.vermont.gov/documents/edu-aoe-ai-guidance-for-education ) AI Guidance ( https://education.vermont.gov/documents/edu-aoe-ai-guidance-for-education ). You can also suggest topics of interest by completing this form: https://forms.gle/z1AYxhi1DPasAPPU8

8:30 AM - Plenary [...]

[Tech Clinic] Your AI Roadmap: AOE’s Josh Blumberg Joins Us!

Jeff Mao — Tue, 17 Feb 2026 13:00:00 +0000

*The "Vermont AI Guidance for Education" is here—now what?*

Moving from policy to practice is the biggest challenge facing EdTech leaders this year. That’s why *Vita-Learn* is thrilled to announce that *Josh Blumberg* , Educational Technology Programs Manager at the AOE, will be joining us in person for the entire day at Tech Clinic! [...]

AOE AI Guidance: Josh Blumberg joins Tech Clinic @ CVU

Jeff Mao — Mon, 16 Feb 2026 13:00:00 +0000

With the release of the new "Vermont AI Guidance for Education" from AOE, Vita-Learn is now excited to announce that AOE's Josh Blumberg, Educational Technology Programs Manager will join us at Tech Clinic. He will lead a presentation and be available throughout the day.

*From Guidance to Action: AI in Vermont Schools* [...]

Re: IXL- SecureTest ?

Eric Hall — Mon, 16 Feb 2026 06:36:56 -0500

We now use a Respondus extension in Schoology which is functionally
identical to that used by College Board in AP Classroom and I suspect all
of their products are similar. It works well but a) closes all tabs and
DELETES tab groups (they claim this is “normal behavior”) and b) is
sensitive to kids hitting the search key (three times and it kicks them
out.) [...]

Tech Clinic: Vermont AI Guidance For Education

Jeff Mao — Sat, 14 Feb 2026 14:54:30 +0000

IXL- SecureTest ?

Amy Truchon — Fri, 13 Feb 2026 13:56:46 -0500

Hi School-IT,

Is anyone using IXL with students and if so, are you using their new
"Secure Test" version (extension for chromebooks, powered by Respondus).

Our middle schools and highschool use IXL for ongoing work as well as
progress monitoring assessments and have been using the kiosk app version .

Going to try the Secure Test option but wondered if anyone else has had
experience with this yet? It is relatively new. [...]

Re: Guest check-in

Chip Ilstrup — Fri, 13 Feb 2026 11:35:22 -0500

Hi,

We recently implemented Checkmate which is embedded into our SIS (Infinite
Campus) to manage students and guests. The great part about it is that it
updates student attendance automatically. It also manages guests - and has
an option to search offender registries based on a scan of the guest's
driver's license info.

https://www.k12solutionsgroup.com/checkmate

It was $600 to setup. $925 annually (I think we're paying extra for the
registry search). We have two kiosks and are rolling out a third soon. For
each kiosk we had to supply laptops, a scanner for driver's licenses, a
dymo printer, a webcam, labels [...]

VTCAP Formative

Derrick Garceau — Fri, 13 Feb 2026 11:21:48 -0500

Has anyone else been experiencing issues with the formative testing site?
We currently have a ticket open with the helpdesk, but I wanted to check
whether this might be a broader issue or if we may be missing something on
our end.

Teachers are able to create a test, but after it’s created, it no longer
appears in their view. The test does show up in the admin dashboard—just
not for the teacher who created it.

Re: Guest check-in

Bjorn Behrendt — Fri, 13 Feb 2026 10:50:29 -0500

To hack my own thread. For student tardiness, we use the MBA AutoTardy
plugin which directly integrates with Powerschool, and has saved our front
staff hours of work. For guest login we are only looking to do visitors
who are not part of the school, but I am interested in hearing about
everyone's setup. [...]

Re: Guest check-in

Travis Vigneau — Fri, 13 Feb 2026 10:49:51 -0500

We use Raptor here at MRUSD, formerly known as LobbyGuard. Raptor also does
our yearly staff trainings since they acquired Public School Works I
believe.

T

On Fri, Feb 13, 2026 at 10:38 AM Matthew Gonzalez <
00000f798d514695-dmarc-request@list.uvm.edu> wrote:

> Also following.
>
> On Fri, Feb 13, 2026 at 10:04 AM Keith Puffer <
> keith.puffer@lamoillesouth.org> wrote:
>
>> Following.
>>
>> On Fri, Feb 13, 2026 at 9:45 AM Bjorn Behrendt <
>> bbehrendt@millriverschools.org> wrote:
>>
>>> We are looking to implement a guest check-in service (Verkada). Our
>>> admins have asked me to find out what other schools are using [...]

Re: Guest check-in

Shannon Warden — Fri, 13 Feb 2026 10:44:44 -0500

We use Raptor with the background check feature and have been pleased with
it. We are also going to demo the eHallPass feature through them.

On Fri, Feb 13, 2026 at 10:38 AM Matthew Gonzalez <
00000f798d514695-dmarc-request@list.uvm.edu> wrote:

> Also following.
>
> On Fri, Feb 13, 2026 at 10:04 AM Keith Puffer <
> keith.puffer@lamoillesouth.org> wrote:
>
>> Following.
>>
>> On Fri, Feb 13, 2026 at 9:45 AM Bjorn Behrendt <
>> bbehrendt@millriverschools.org> wrote:
>>
>>> We are looking to implement a guest check-in service (Verkada). Our
>>> admins have asked me to find out what other schools are using similar
[...]

Re: Guest check-in

Jason Singh — Fri, 13 Feb 2026 15:44:02 +0000

Hi All,

I recently just implemented VisitU by Pikmykid. It seems pretty solid so far and it integrates into PowerSchool which is a big help. We do use the background check but it specifically the system runs the names under the national sex offender registry and if the person is identified we have a procedure to handle that as well. [...]

Re: Guest check-in

Matthew Gonzalez — Fri, 13 Feb 2026 10:35:16 -0500

Also following.

On Fri, Feb 13, 2026 at 10:04 AM Keith Puffer <
keith.puffer@lamoillesouth.org> wrote:

> Following.
>
> On Fri, Feb 13, 2026 at 9:45 AM Bjorn Behrendt <
> bbehrendt@millriverschools.org> wrote:
>
>> We are looking to implement a guest check-in service (Verkada). Our
>> admins have asked me to find out what other schools are using similar
>> services. If your school is using a check-in service, could you let me
>> know which one, and do you use a background check feature?
>>
>> I may have follow up questions around your procedures.
>>
>> --
>> *Bjorn [...]

Re: Guest check-in

Keith Puffer — Fri, 13 Feb 2026 10:04:36 -0500

Following.

On Fri, Feb 13, 2026 at 9:45 AM Bjorn Behrendt <
bbehrendt@millriverschools.org> wrote:

> We are looking to implement a guest check-in service (Verkada). Our
> admins have asked me to find out what other schools are using similar
> services. If your school is using a check-in service, could you let me
> know which one, and do you use a background check feature?
>
> I may have follow up questions around your procedures.
>
> --
> *Bjorn Behrendt M.Ed *
> MRUUSD: Director of Technology, Data, and Innovation
> 802.786.3998 x 296
> Schedule a time [...]

Guest check-in

Bjorn Behrendt — Fri, 13 Feb 2026 09:45:14 -0500

We are looking to implement a guest check-in service (Verkada). Our
admins have asked me to find out what other schools are using similar
services. If your school is using a check-in service, could you let me
know which one, and do you use a background check feature?

I may have follow up questions around your procedures.

Re: Legislation watch

Gregory Connors — Thu, 12 Feb 2026 12:28:35 -0500

Thank you Shaun,

I think it is very important in our professional communities to really get
to the heart of all of these issues with very messy conversations. I have
so many opinions about these committees on a regular basis, with so much
non-professional ignorant, opinion not data led, disinformation, as I watch
that I feel I can write a full fledged essay after each one, but wind up
just packaging it up as too complex to rail against while no one is
listening and move on. [...]

Posting: Director of Educational Technology

Suzanne Lee-Ciambra — Thu, 12 Feb 2026 08:39:24 -0500

SAU70, an inter-state school district, is looking for our next Tech
Director.
We operate four schools, one in VT and three in NH, with about 1850
students total.
The posting is on SchoolSpring:
https://sau70.schoolspring.com/?jobid=5531786
Feel free to reach out if you have any questions.
Thank you,
Suzanne

Tech Clinic Registrations are Open!!

Jeff Mao — Wed, 11 Feb 2026 21:22:59 +0000

https://vita-learn.org/techclinic

Stop the "Click-Ops" Cycle: Join us for Tech Clinic 2026!

Is your IT team drowning in repetitive data entry and manual ticket management? It’s time to move beyond the "churn" and reclaim your role as a strategic architect. We are thrilled to invite you to our *Annual Tech Clinic on February 24* , hosted at Champlain Valley Union High School. This one-day event is specifically designed for K-12 IT leaders, admins, and technicians who are ready to solve real-world problems and modernize their school's digital ecosystem. [...]

Re: Legislation watch

Jeff Wallis — Tue, 10 Feb 2026 18:23:36 -0500

I love this Shaun! Thank you for this!

*Jeff Wallis *he/him
M.S.A. Administration, CETL
Director of Technology and Network Engineering
Mount Mansfield Unified Union School District
Book a meeting with me <https://calendar.app.google/CtsCCU3Bj7AeMeB2A>
[image: image.png]

On Tue, Feb 10, 2026 at 3:38 PM Shaun Langevin <shaun.langevin@gmail.com>
wrote:

> I was quite surprised by the lopsided nature of the testimonies.
> Generally, until Jeff spoke, the consensus felt like EdTech is dangerous,
> unproven, and invasive. While legitimate and valid alarms about privacy and
> attention spans were raised (everyone there wants what is best for
> students) I thought many arguments relied [...]

Re: Legislation watch

Shaun Langevin — Tue, 10 Feb 2026 15:37:51 -0500

I was quite surprised by the lopsided nature of the testimonies. Generally,
until Jeff spoke, the consensus felt like EdTech is dangerous, unproven,
and invasive. While legitimate and valid alarms about privacy and attention
spans were raised (everyone there wants what is best for students) I
thought many arguments relied on correlations or conflations that don’t fit
reality. Also, many of those giving testimony explained that they didn’t
take money from EdTech, though some of them might have mentioned that they
sell books or consulting services related to “moving away” from technology. [...]

IT Leadership Monthly Call: Feb 4 - AI in the Vermont Pk-12 Landscape

Jeff Mao — Tue, 10 Feb 2026 16:10:34 +0000

On *February 4, 2026* , the *IT Leadership Monthly Call ( http://vita-learn.org/itleadership )* featured a deep-dive session with *Mike Berry* , Director of Curriculum and Technology and representative of the Vermont Higher Education Collaborative. As Technology Directors sit at the heart of the AI conversation, Mike provided a strategic "dual-track" look at how artificial intelligence is currently being integrated into Vermont schools. [...]

Re: Legislation watch

Peter Drescher — Tue, 10 Feb 2026 09:38:46 -0500

Nice job Jeff! Thank you for being there!

PD

On Mon, Feb 9, 2026 at 2:06 PM Patricia Aigner <patricia.aigner@rcpsvt.org>
wrote:

> Jeff,
> Nice job on the Zoom call. And thank you so much for sharing your
> testimony.
> You did a great job of representing the work we do in schools.
>
> Patricia
>
> Patricia Aigner
> Director of Technology
> (Chief EdTech Explorer and EdTech Innovator)
>
> Rutland City Public Schools
> 6 Church Street
> Rutland, VT 05701
> 802-773-1900
>
> Website: https://www.rutlandcitypublicschools.org/
> Youtube https://goo.gl/HJolX4
> *ISTE Member of the Month*
[...]

CSTA-Vermont - Event Series (Next Event March 19)

Lucie deLaBruere — Tue, 10 Feb 2026 09:02:58 -0500

Our next event in the CSTA-Vermont 2026 Event Series is just around the
corner. Why not register before you leave for February break.
Please spread the world to your teachers, librarians, and staff who might
enjoy teaching students how to create fun and practical applications that
are controlled using AI models that you train. Help students understand
how AI works when embedded in everyday objects by having them create their
own inventions. For example, one student created a trap that did not trip
when a bunny wandered it, but tripped only when a fox or raccoon wandered
in. [...]

Re: Legislation watch

Patricia Aigner — Mon, 9 Feb 2026 14:06:03 -0500

Jeff,
Nice job on the Zoom call. And thank you so much for sharing your
testimony.
You did a great job of representing the work we do in schools.

Patricia

Patricia Aigner
Director of Technology
(Chief EdTech Explorer and EdTech Innovator)

Rutland City Public Schools
6 Church Street
Rutland, VT 05701
802-773-1900

Website: https://www.rutlandcitypublicschools.org/
Youtube https://goo.gl/HJolX4
*ISTE Member of the Month*
*ISTE 20 to Watch *
*ISTE/ASCD GenerationAI Fellow* [...]

Re: Legislation watch

Bjorn Behrendt — Mon, 9 Feb 2026 13:53:32 -0500

Jeff Wallis --- Mic Drop --- Very well said, thank you for representing us.

[image: image.png]

On Mon, Feb 9, 2026 at 12:24 PM Nancy Colbourn <ncolbourn@cvsdvt.org> wrote:

> I want to thank Jeff for his thoughtful and impactful input to this
> committee.
>
> I’m not sure how many of you were able to watch the hearing last Friday
> afternoon, but after listening to all of the “experts” brought in by the
> committee, I was genuinely thrilled to hear Jeff raise clear, direct points
> that challenged the committee’s apparent lack of understanding about how
> our [...]

Re: Vermont AI Guidance - An explAInED Podcast discussion with Josh Blumberg

Patricia Aigner — Mon, 9 Feb 2026 13:36:22 -0500

Renee,
Great idea!

Patricia
Patricia Aigner
Director of Technology
(Chief EdTech Explorer and EdTech Innovator)

Rutland City Public Schools
6 Church Street
Rutland, VT 05701
802-773-1900

Website: https://www.rutlandcitypublicschools.org/
Youtube https://goo.gl/HJolX4
*ISTE Member of the Month*
*ISTE 20 to Watch *
*ISTE/ASCD GenerationAI Fellow*

On Mon, Feb 9, 2026 at 1:32 PM Renee Langevin <
000009ca05e37ced-dmarc-request@list.uvm.edu> wrote:

> Learn more about the Vermont AOE's AI Guidance/Framework from Josh
> Blumberg on the latest episode of explAInED!
>
> Listen on Spotify:
>
>
> https://open.spotify.com/episode/5Myvc84T6gpWZSM3brA3zA?si=3t-aBmO0RmquL4FmsK1ZNQ
>
> or your favorite podcast platform.
>
>
> --
>
> Click HERE to [...]

Re: Legislation watch

Renee Langevin — Mon, 9 Feb 2026 13:36:21 -0500

Agreed Nancy - thank you Jeff!

On Mon, Feb 9, 2026 at 12:24 PM Nancy Colbourn <ncolbourn@cvsdvt.org> wrote:

> I want to thank Jeff for his thoughtful and impactful input to this
> committee.
>
> I’m not sure how many of you were able to watch the hearing last Friday
> afternoon, but after listening to all of the “experts” brought in by the
> committee, I was genuinely thrilled to hear Jeff raise clear, direct points
> that challenged the committee’s apparent lack of understanding about how
> our schools already operate.
>
> I strongly recommend watching his [...]

Vermont AI Guidance - An explAInED Podcast discussion with Josh Blumberg

Renee Langevin — Mon, 9 Feb 2026 13:31:59 -0500

Learn more about the Vermont AOE's AI Guidance/Framework from Josh Blumberg
on the latest episode of explAInED!

Listen on Spotify:

https://open.spotify.com/episode/5Myvc84T6gpWZSM3brA3zA?si=3t-aBmO0RmquL4FmsK1ZNQ

or your favorite podcast platform.

Re: Legislation watch

Nancy Colbourn — Mon, 9 Feb 2026 12:24:03 -0500

I want to thank Jeff for his thoughtful and impactful input to this
committee.

I’m not sure how many of you were able to watch the hearing last Friday
afternoon, but after listening to all of the “experts” brought in by the
committee, I was genuinely thrilled to hear Jeff raise clear, direct points
that challenged the committee’s apparent lack of understanding about how
our schools already operate. [...]

AI learning and the future of edu jobs

Caleb Clark — Sat, 7 Feb 2026 13:19:53 -0500

The World Economic Forum had a positive part in this article on education
jobs being pretty secure for now. The article explorers how AI learns so
much faster in data rich professions vs data light professions.

Article.
https://www.weforum.org/stories/2025/08/ai-jobs-replacement-data-careers/

Part

*“…Sectors with lack of data*

- *Healthcare*’s AI adoption lags due to scarce public data. Less than
10% of surgical datasets are publicly accessible
<https://journals.lww.com/annalsofsurgery/abstract/2018/07000/artificial_intelligence_in_surgery__promises_and.13.aspx>,
limited by HIPAA and fragmented sources. Patient data is scattered across
different hospitals, insurance companies and clinics. AI can't learn
effectively when the information is locked away in a thousand different
places.
- *Construction *might be [...]

Re: Legislation watch

Raymond Ballou — Fri, 6 Feb 2026 08:46:42 -0500

https://legislature.vermont.gov/committee/document/2026/192/Date/2-6-2026#documents-section

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCCzrAG4uj66EMBP8C2mwQPA/featured

R

Re: Legislation watch

Peter Drescher — Fri, 6 Feb 2026 08:39:16 -0500

Jeff,

Great news! Thanks for doing that. Yes, it looks like it will be
interesting. It is concerning. I suspect many on this list will "have
your back" today, so thanks again for doing that.
PD

On Fri, Feb 6, 2026 at 8:33 AM Jeff Wallis <
000005069896caaf-dmarc-request@list.uvm.edu> wrote:

> Hi Peter,
>
> I will be testifying today to the committee that is sponsoring this bill.
> Here is a list of others that are testifying so could be interesting:
>
> 1:00 PM H. 650 - An act relating to educational
> technology products
>
> Walk-through and Testimony
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