The Vermont School Boards Association (VSBA), Vermont Superintendents Association (VSA), and Vermont Principals ’Association (VPA) have awarded $50,000 in mini-grants to local efforts that advance educational equity as part of the Welcoming, Equitable, and

Anti-Racist Communities Initiative of the Vermont Community Foundation’s VT COVID- 19 Response Fund.

The program attracted 41 applications from around the state that demonstrated considerable commitment to educational equity and antiracism in local school communities. Five applications were selected at the $5,000 level and an additional 10 applications were selected to receive $2,500 grants.

The goal of the equity mini-grants is to provide direct and meaningful support to local changemakers across the state. Representative projects include affinity spaces for BIPOC students and educators; strategic planning for support of LGBTQ+ students; partnerships with local small businesses, such as the Clemmons Family Farm; and integration of Abenaki culture and history into educational programming. “Few things are more central to a sense of community than the idea of belonging,” said Dan Smith, president and CEO of the Vermont Community Foundation. “As Vermont evolves, we are committed to the role of the Community Foundation and its fundholders in fostering the idea of belonging. That work begins in our schools, where our young people spend the most time.”

VSBA, VSA, and VPA provided the equity mini-grants as part of the Associations ’larger efforts to promote equity, antiracism, and inclusion in communities statewide. That work was supported with an initial grant of $150,000 from the Vermont Community

Foundation’s VT COVID-19 Response Fund in January 2021 and an additional $100,000 grant in January 2022 from the same fund as well as the Fountain Fund

housed at the Vermont Community Foundation. In addition to the recently issued mini- grants, the grants are supporting educational policy review and revisions, equity

consultation for school leaders and school boards, and professional learning opportunities for staff and membership.

For more information, you can visit the given association websites at vtvsba.org, vtvsa.org, and vpaonline.org

The Vermont Community Foundation inspires giving and brings people and resources together to make a difference in Vermont. A family of hundreds of funds and foundations, we provide the advice, investment vehicles, and back-office expertise that make it easy for the people who care about Vermont to find and fund the causes they love.

The heart of the Community Foundation’s work is closing the opportunity gap—the divide that leaves too many Vermonters struggling to get ahead, no matter how hard they work. We are aligning our time, energy, and discretionary resources on efforts that provide access to early care and learning, pathways to college and career training, support for youth and families, and community and economic vitality. We envision Vermont at its best—where everyone has the opportunity to build a bright, secure future. Visit vermontcf.org or call 802-388-3355 for more information. For information on our COVID-19 response, visit vtcovid19response.org.

MONTPELIER, Vt. (Apr. 8, 2022) – The Vermont Principals’ Association (VPA) will distribute a total of $65,000 in mini-monies this month to 13 Vermont schools/districts for a variety of special projects. The mini-monies program is a part of the Community Navigator Pilot Program (CNPP) and the Vermont Principals’ Association (VPA).

Funded (in part) through a grant with the U.S. Small Business Administration, the CNPP uses a “hub and spoke” model, with the Vermont Small Business Development Center (VtSBDC) as the hub, and VPA as one of nine spoke organizations that create collective impact throughout the state for targeted populations including BIPOC, rural, veterans, and women.

“There were 21 applications for the mini-monies program,” said Mike McRaith, Assistant Executive Director of the VPA. “The applications were submitted from all around the state and demonstrated incredible interest and commitment to innovation in our school communities.”

By distributing the mini-monies in increments of $2,500, $5,000, and $7,500, the VPA can help with a wider distribution of promising projects all over Vermont. The funding may be used during the 2021-22 or the 2022-23 school year.

With mini-monies ranging from $2,500 to $7,500, the recipients are:

• Arlington Memorial High School
• Burlington City School District
• Cold Hollow Career Center, Franklin Northeast Supervisory Union
• Champlain Valley Union High School
• Hazen Union School
• Hazen Union High School
• Orleans Southwest Supervisory Union
• Lamoille North Supervisory Union
• Vermont Adult Learning High School
• Milton Town School District
• Mount Abraham Unified
• Orange Southwest School District
• Stafford Technical Center
• Spaulding High School, BUUSD
• Windham Southeast
• Winooski School District

The mini-monies will fund a wide range of projects. To cite just a few:

Spaulding High School will continue their collaboration with Generator, Champlain Valley Educator Development Center (CVEDC), with their work-based learning partners with an emphasis on Design Thinking, Engineering and Entrepreneurship. The project will expose students to diverse workplaces and cultures, fostering a supportive community for women and BIPOC students.

Burlington’s BTC Culinary Arts will expand its pop-up restaurant sites. The “Champlain Café” will reach more women and BIPOC, as well as areas that are more rural. Locations to offer various themed meals via the pop-up restaurant would be towns such as Milton, Richmond, Hinesburg, Winooski, just to name a few. This would expand the awareness of the program to prospective students. Funding will cover vender permits, marketing materials, and compensation for a truck driver.

Orange Southwest School District/Randolph Technical and Career Center (RTCC) is working on a community outreach project involving the building of tiny homes. They plan to donate a tiny home to a worthy cause and sell another to have seed money to continue the project. This idea started out of a desire to help those in need, specifically those who are looking for affordable housing in rural Vermont with a focus on low-income populations and veterans.

Hazen’s Pathways program enables students to create and design their own IBL (Independent Based Learning) course. The mini-monies funding provides students, especially those living in rural areas, BIPOC, and young women with materials and tools to develop and produce a product for market. Each individual will have the opportunity to meet business owners who specialize in the individual’s area of interest. The Community Navigator Mini-Monies Program will introduce a minimum of 10-20 students to an authentic deep dive into creating, marketing, and promoting their individualized product.

“The VPA mini-monies program reflects the vision and the mission of the Community Navigator Pilot Program, starting with our next generation of Vermont entrepreneurs,” said Linda Rossi, State Director, VtSBDC. “We are excited to see these innovative projects begin as a result of teacher and student collaboration throughout our state.”

To learn more about the Community Navigator Pilot Program, please visit https://www.vtsbdc.org/community-navigator-pilot-program-cnpp/ or www.sba.gov/navigators.

More about the Community Navigator Program (CNPP) As part of a national initiative introduced by President Biden and Vice President Harris, Vermont Small Business Development Center (VtSBDC) was chosen as one of 51 grantees nationwide to be part of the U.S. Small Business Administration’s Community Navigator Pilot Program. According to the SBA, the Community Navigator Pilot Program is designed to “reduce barriers that all small businesses — including those owned by disadvantaged groups such as veterans, women and those from rural communities —often face in accessing critical support.”

The Community Navigator Pilot Program uses a “hub and spoke” model, with VtSBDC as the hub, and nine spoke organizations that create collective impact. Together, they leverage partnerships with deeply trusted community-based organizations to help small businesses navigate government resources and tap into critical resources, according to the SBA’s plan. The “spoke” partner organizations are: • Vermont Law School (VLS) • Champlain Valley Office of Economic Opportunity (CVOEO) Financial Futures Program • Vermont Sustainable Jobs Fund (VSJF) • Center for Women and Enterprise (CWEVT) • Central Vermont Economic Development Corporation (CVEDC) • Brattleboro Development Credit Corporation (BDCC) • Vermont Principals’ Association (VPA) • Vermont Professionals of Color Network (VT POC) • Main Street Alliance-Vermont (MSA-VT)

A link to the project and activities being planned and services available from each of the nine spokes is here: Community Navigator Pilot Program (CNPP) | Vermont Small Business Development Center (vtsbdc.org)

The Vermont School Boards Association (VSBA), Vermont Superintendents Association (VSA), and Vermont Principals’ Association (VPA) share the common belief that every student in Vermont should be afforded the opportunity to learn in an environment that supports their academic success, holds them to high academic standards, and challenges them to engage as a productive member of the diverse society within which we live.

Nationwide, the term Critical Race Theory (CRT) has made its way into discussions about public education. CRT, a legal and academic framework originating in the 1970’s, is not explicitly taught in Vermont public schools. Unfortunately, the spread of misinformation has only served to divide and polarize our communities as evidenced by intensifying actions seen at school board meetings and felt in classrooms. To assist VSBA, VSA, and VPA members in future conversations with their stakeholders, we are including a Q&A document to address some of the most commonly asked questions related to CRT.

In Vermont, there are many long-standing efforts to increase opportunities for each and every student to be successful and to close persistent opportunity gaps. These efforts are often referred to as equity initiatives. For example, school systems might examine a policy, practice, or procedure to determine if it is serving all students well, particularly if it disproportionately impacts one group of students more than another. At its core, creating more equitable school systems is about making sure that each and every student has the access and opportunity to succeed.

We, as education leaders, support Vermont schools in meeting their obligation to teach global citizenship, social studies, and history with the candor and historical accuracy that all Vermont students deserve. Studying and developing a clear understanding of historical contexts, successes, and failures helps us all to progress as individuals, as a community, and as a collective society. This work includes exploring our history with a knowledge of the current status of race, equity, diversity, and inclusion in our communities, in Vermont, in our nation, and in our world.

Recent efforts to upset the delivery of public education should not jeopardize the longstanding commitment to close persistent opportunity gaps in Vermont schools. We must continue to create more welcoming, equitable, and inclusive school communities, while remaining steadfast in our advocacy for equity-focused initiatives on behalf of each and every student in Vermont.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is Critical Race Theory (CRT) and what is it not?

CRT originated in the 1970s as a legal and academic framework developed to examine the ways in which racism and bias are embedded in societal structures and ultimately contribute to unequal opportunities and outcomes. Further, CRT recognizes that race is a socially constructed idea rather than a biological reality.

CRT is not synonymous with everything related to race and racism and it is not a catchall term for diversity, equity, and inclusion in education. There is nothing in CRT that is centered on blaming any individual or class of persons or promoting one race as superior to another. It is very likely that CRT might never have been mentioned in your community but for the recent politicization of the term and practice.

Does the VSBA, VSA, or VPA have a definition of equity?

Yes. The VSBA and VSA have a shared definition of educational equity, which has been endorsed by VPA. The definition can be found here: VSBA and VSA’s Shared Definition of Educational Equity

What does Vermont law require through Education Quality Standards with regard to curriculum?

Vermont’s Education Quality Standards (or Vermont State Law) require(s) that each supervisory union deliver a curriculum that aligns with standards approved by the State Board of Education. Specifically, Education Quality Standard 2120.5 states that “each school shall enable students to engage annually in rigorous, relevant and comprehensive learning opportunities that allows them to demonstrate global citizenship (including the concepts of civics, economics, geography, world language, cultural studies and history)”. Social Studies and World Languages are content areas within Global Citizenship.”

According to the Vermont Agency of Education website, “. . . in 2017, the Vermont State Board of Education adopted the College, Career and Civic Life, C3 Framework for Social Studies State Standards (C3) to guide the teaching of civics, economics, geography, and history within Vermont. The Agency of Education has provided social studies proficiency-based graduation requirements, which were developed from the C3 standards and developed by Vermont educators, to serve as a sample. These graduation proficiencies are examples of a rigorous proficiency-based graduation framework that meets Education Quality Standards.“

Relevant Exemplar Standards:

● D2.Civ.5. Evaluate citizens’ and institutions’ effectiveness in addressing social and political problems at the local, state, tribal, national, and/or international level.

● D2.Civ.10. Analyze the impact and the appropriate roles of personal interests and perspectives on the application of civic virtues, democratic principles, constitutional rights, and human rights.

● D2.Geo.2. Use maps, satellite images, photographs, and other representations to explain relationships between the locations of places and regions and their political, cultural, and economic dynamics.

● D2.Geo.5. Evaluate how political and economic decisions throughout time have influenced cultural and environmental characteristics of various places and regions.

● D2.Geo.8. Evaluate the impact of economic activities and political decisions on spatial patterns within and among urban, suburban, and rural regions.

● D2.His.5. Analyze how historical contexts shaped and continue to shape people’s perspectives.

● D2.His.7. Explain how the perspectives of people in the present shape interpretations of the past.

Additionally, the Education Quality Standards require, “Each school shall enable students to engage annually in rigorous, relevant and comprehensive learning opportunities that allows them to demonstrate proficiency in transferable skills (including communication, collaboration, creativity, innovation, inquiry, problem solving and the use of technology) . . . ‘Transferable skills’ refers to a broad set of knowledge, skills, work habits, and character traits that are believed to be critically important to success in today’s world, particularly in collegiate programs and modern careers.” (2120.5. Curriculum Content.)

Relevant Exemplar Transferable Skills:

Global Citizenship:

Students recognize that the world is increasingly complex and interdependent.

• Ask probing questions that encourage inquiry around relevant issues.
• Explain how choices and actions impact themselves and others.
• Learn from and work collaboratively with others in a spirit of mutual respect.
• Examine local and world issues using tools, data, and cultural information to propose balanced or unbiased solutions to issues.

Students understand and exercise their rights and responsibilities within a democratic society.

• Explain their own point of view on current issues.
• Contribute to the enhancement of community life.
• Respect diversity and seek to understand different perspectives.
• Communicate in ways that foster a respectful exchange of ideas and support conflict resolution.

The Vermont School Boards Association (VSBA), the Vermont Superintendents Association (VSA), and the Vermont Principals’ Association (VPA) are pleased to announce that they have received a grant award of $150,000 from the Vermont Community Foundation and Barr Foundation. The grant will support work by the Associations to address antiracism and promote equity and inclusion in communities statewide and is part of the Vermont Community Foundation’s Welcoming, Equitable and Antiracist Communities Recovery Initiative. Specifically, this work will focus on efforts to improve equitable practices and outcomes for all Vermont students.

The Center for Creative Leadership, Vermont Professional Learning Offerings: Winter 2020-21

Burn Bright: The Resilience Advantage

Burn Bright: The Resilience Advantage

Social-Emotional Leadership: A Guide for Youth Development 

Collective Efficacy for Teams (This is a Two-Part Offering)

Dear VPA Members,

On June 2, 2020, the Vermont School Boards Association, the Vermont Superintendents Association and the Vermont Principals’ Association issued a statement condemning racism and promoting proactive measures to achieve educational equity and eliminate implicit and overt biases. 

In the spirit of those efforts and with an awareness that school districts are currently well-engaged in developing proposed budgets for FY2022, we are reminding districts of the opportunity to follow through and follow up on equity and anti-racism work by using the budget development process to commit resources to those initiatives for FY2022.

VSBA, VSA and VPA are committed to the ongoing efforts referenced above and it is for that reason we are reaching out to local school officials with a recognition that an operating budget can be a powerful tool in messaging and providing resources in support of district priorities.

Thank you for all that you do on behalf of the students and your school communities.

To: President Pro Tem Ashe, Speaker Johnson, Senator Baruth, and Representative Webb

Re: Support for Outright Vermont

On August 26, 2020, Secretary of Education Dan French and Chief Financial Officer of the Agency of Education, Bill Bates, presented the AOE’s proposed FY2021 budget to the Vermont House Committee on Education. In that budget, the AOE proposed a $40,000 cut to Outright Vermont. Our associations strongly recommend that the General Assembly reject the proposed reduction.

In testimony on August 28, 2020 to the Vermont House Committee on Education, Outright Vermont Executive Director Dana Kaplan asked this: “Please recommend full restoration of the $60,000 legislative appropriation to Outright Vermont so that LGBT youth have a chance to live. Make no mistake about it, the stakes are that high.”

Our Associations wholeheartedly support Outright Vermont in this request. Outright Vermont provides crucial support to LGBTQ+ youth, their families, teachers and school districts. To the best of our knowledge, Outright Vermont is the only organization of its kind in Vermont and cutting funding would have a tremendous impact on LGBTQ+ students, especially in this unprecedented time of instability. We urge you to find savings elsewhere.

Thank you for your consideration.

Sue Ceglowski, Executive Director, Vermont School Boards Association
Jeff Francis, Executive Director, Vermont Superintendents Association
Jay Nichols, Executive Director, Vermont Principals’ Association
Traci Sawyers, Executive Director, Vermont Council of Special Education Administrators

From https://www.vtvsba.org/copy-of-model-policy-manual, linked document C-29.

CODE C29 (Recommended Policy)

DISTRICT EQUITY POLICY

The _ School District (District) is committed to the success of every student, regardless of race, ethnicity, religion, family economics, class, geography, ability, language, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity or initial proficiencies. The ____ School Board (Board) holds itself and all District and school-site decision-makers, faculty, and support staff accountable for building a District-wide commitment to equity. The District will incorporate principles of equity within all policies, programs, operations, practices, and resource allocations.

Definitions

Equity: Each student receives the resources and educational opportunities they need to learn and thrive.

• Equity means that a student’s success is not predicted nor predetermined by characteristics such as race, ethnicity, religion, family economics, class, geography, ability, language, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity or initial proficiencies.
• Equity means that every school provides and every student has access to high quality culturally responsive curriculum, programs, teachers and administrators, extracurricular activities and support services to meet the needs of each and every student.
• Equity goes beyond formal equality where all students are treated the same. Achieving equity may require an unequal distribution of resources and services.
• Equity involves acknowledging and disrupting inequitable practices, acknowledging biases, employing practices that reflect the reality that all students will learn, and creating inclusive multicultural school environments for adults and children.

Culturally Responsive Practices: The beliefs, methods, and practices that support and empower all students socially, emotionally, intellectually, and civically by leveraging students’ lived experiences to ensure learning.

Implementation

To realize this commitment to equity, the District will:

• Systematically use District-wide and individual school-level data, disaggregated by race, ethnicity, language, ability, gender, and socioeconomic background to inform District decision-making;
• Provide every student with equitable access to high-quality and culturally relevant instruction, curriculum, support, facilities, technology and other educational resources that respect their individual identities, cultures, backgrounds, abilities and experiences;
• Monitor and evaluate the individual needs of schools and distribute resources and effective personnel based on those needs;
• Incorporate the voice, culture and perspectives of students, staff, families, and communities that reflect student demographics and support and enhance student success;
• Identify and counteract biased practices that perpetuate achievement disparities and opportunity gaps;
• Provide ongoing and continuous professional development at all organizational levels to support employees to engage in culturally responsive practices and delivery of quality culturally relevant instruction;
• Incorporate the principle of equity into the District’s strategic plan and identify measurable outcomes to prepare all students for college, career, and life.

The superintendent shall identify outcome indicators as necessary to monitor this policy and shall provide a _ (monthly, quarterly, annually) status report to the Board.

The Vermont School Boards Association, the Vermont Superintendents Association, and the Vermont Principals’ Association strongly condemn the systemic violence, societal marginalization and oppression that has been put upon Black, Indigenous and People of Color (BIPOC) since the founding of this country.

Our Associations condemn the recent killings of George Floyd, Ahmaud Arbery and Breonna Taylor and believe that these murders affirm the need for nationwide action to end systemic racial violence. These most recent atrocities point to a much larger implicit and explicit marginalizing that is not new nor isolated to law enforcement.

As leaders of Vermont’s education systems, we recognize that public education in general, and public education in Vermont, is not immune to systemic oppression and racism. In Vermont schools, there is evidence that students of color are disproportionately subjected to exclusionary discipline, receive less educational opportunity and experience curriculum that is not representative of their culture and does not do justice to the persecution of their forebears throughout the course of American history.

As leaders of Vermont’s education systems, we have a duty to recognize and address our biases and engage in necessary conversations about Vermont schools’ complicity in systemic racism. We have a duty to support and stand with our faculty, staff, and students of color. We have a duty to prepare our students to confront injustice, participate in civil discourse, and participate in the ongoing effort to truly realize liberty and justice for all.

In January of 2018, our Associations adopted a working definition of educational equity: Educational equity means that each student receives the resources and educational opportunities they need to learn and thrive.

• Equity means that a student’s success is not predicted nor predetermined by characteristics such as race, ethnicity, religion, family economics, class, geography, disability, language, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity or initial proficiencies.
• Equity means that every school provides high quality curriculum, programs, teachers and administrators, extracurricular activities and support services.
• Equity goes beyond formal equality where all students are treated the same.
• Achieving equity may require an unequal distribution of resources and services.
• Equity involves disrupting inequitable practices, acknowledging biases, employing practices that reflect the reality that all students will learn, and creating inclusive multicultural school environments for adults and children.

This definition, along with the equity ethos of each of our associations’ mission statements call upon us to build upon our recent efforts and to do more and do better going forward. Over the past several years, our associations have taken steps to more fully realize the implicit and explicit biases within our organizations and schools, and provide anti-racist professional learning opportunities for our members. We collectively recognize the need for our associations to do more to advance this work and to center the importance of antiracism and equity in our processes, collaborations, and leadership.

Our efforts must grow and continue, therefore we commit to the following concrete actions:

• All employees of our Associations’ will participate in ongoing implicit bias, equity, and diversity training.
• We will promote and support implicit bias training for all faculty and staff in Vermont public schools, including athletic and co-curricular personnel, and officials across the state (see H.714 of 2020).
• We will offer and promote professional learning for school leaders and school board members that include but will not be limited to: Equity Literacy, Curriculum Audits, Review Protocols for Examining Bias in School Policies and Procedures, Culturally Responsive Instruction and School Culture, Student Leadership and Voice, and Examining Power and Privilege in Schools.

Instances of violent deaths suffered at the hands of racism are always reprehensible. We are lifted by the hope that larger numbers of previously unaware or unaffected members of our communities will recognize our shared responsibility in taking an active role in anti-bias, anti-racism action for a more equitable, just, and safe place for all of our students to grow and thrive.

Sue Ceglowski, Vermont School Board Association

Jeffrey Francis, Vermont Superintendents Association

Jay Nichols, Vermont Principals Association