Please accept this written testimony as support from the Vermont Principals’ Association as full
endorsement of passing S. 18 and banning flavored tobacco products and e-liquids including
Menthol products. (Full Written Testimony)

Thank you for inviting us to provide testimony on behalf of the Vermont Superintendents
Association (VSA) and Vermont Principals’ Association (VPA) on the proposed S.87. (Full Written Testimony)

The Vermont Principals’ Association has just under 800 members. These members are mostly principals, assistant principals, and high school athletic directors; however, many superintendents, curriculum coordinators, and special education administrators are also members of the VPA. (Full Testimony)

In terms of the new pupil weighting and the impact on FY25 budgets, the cost drivers I
mentioned previously to Senate Education are exacerbating the circumstances… (Full Written Testimony)

First, thank you to Senators Gulick and Hashim for signing on to this bill and Senate Education
in general for its strong interest over the last few legislative sessions in looking to assist schools
in improving instruction and ultimately outcomes in reading performance for our students. (Full Written Testimony)

January 09, 2024, Washington, D.C. —The United States Senate Youth Program (USSYP) announces that high school students Mr. Christopher Lawrence Alfano and Ms. Eva VanderVliet Gould will join Senator Bernard Sanders and Senator Peter Welch in representing Vermont during the 62nd annual USSYP Washington Week, to be held March 2 — 9, 2024. Christopher Alfano of Dorset and Eva Gould of Brattleboro were selected from among the state’s top student leaders to be part of the 104 national student delegation. Each delegate will also receive a $10,000 college scholarship for undergraduate study. (Full Press Release)

“Let me start by thanking the Agency of Education and Rob Evans of Margolis Healy for their work on school safety and hearing thoughts from the field to make drills meaningful, effective, and pragmatic without unnecessarily increasing student feelings of trauma.” (full written testimony)

Jay Nichols’ Comments to the State Board of Education on Secretary of Education Search, 10/2/23

Qualitative Results from VPA, VSA, VSBA, as shared on 10/2/23 with the Vermont State Board of Education

State Board Comments on Secretary of Education 9/20/23

Public Comments: My comments are on the open Secretary of Education position from a State Board of Education Meeting on 9/20/23 AOE Leadership and state level leadership is critical to the future of VT educationWe stand on a precipice in which we have some students being openly discriminated against in some schools, partly because our General Assembly chose to not address the Carson V. Makin Supreme Court case that allows money to go to religious schools and other private schools that discriminate.  Whoever the next Secretary is needs to be someone who is committed to Each and Every student regardless of their social class, religion, gender identity, and all demographic and social identities. By working collectively in the quest to collectively serve all students regardless of their background in an equitable manner we can truly become the Educational State that we all want; the opportunity is great, the challenges are significant and having the right person in that position is paramount.We need a pragmatic and inspiring leader at this time more than any time in my career. From my perspective, the field is begging for leadership and it ideally should come from the AOE’s top leader or leaders.Jay Nichols, VPA Executive Director

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State Board Comments, 8/18/23

I recently gave the following comments at the State Board Mtg. My comments are aligned with the direction of our Executive Council that all Vermont children and schools funded by Vermont Taxpayer dollars should be subject to the same rules. Here are my comments in their entirety:

Nichols Public Comments State Board of Education 8/18/23

Good afternoon, for the record, Jay Nichols Executive Director of the Vermont Principals’ Association. The VPA has a deeply shared belief that all Vermont children should be equally valued and that all Vermont children are equally important to our future as a state.

This means that the same set of basic rules for schools should apply for any school, public or private, that is receiving taxpayer supported funds. At the VPA, our Executive Council has dubbed this, “Same Dollars, Same Rules.” This is a mantra we hope the State Board and the Legislature will recognize as one of fundamental fairness going forward and that is essential for the educational and economic vitality of our state.

We have heard that private or independent schools should have a different set of rules. We think that is true if a school is truly independent; however, any school that is receiving taxpayer dollars to operate is not independent; but rather dependent; on the state and therefore should follow the same rules. Let’s move away from our current publicly segregated system and show all Vermont children that we value them equally. Separate but equal did not work to improve our society when minority students were discriminated against after the civil war and into the modern education era and that approach doesn’t work now.

Thank you.

Jay Nichols

*** I want to be very clear that we have many private schools that are members who DO NOT discriminate against any students and the Executive Council and the VPA Team fully supports them and appreciates all they do!