Summary of Education Project Discussed
at Leadership Meeting on September 27, 2003
Public Policy and/or Awareness Projects
School Choice
Cost Containment
Bullying and Sexual Harassment
Educating for Character, Values, and Responsibility
IEP for Gifted or Talented Students
Gifted or talented students are a special education category according to Vermont state law. However, there is no money in the Vermont state budget for special programs for gifted students; they need to be totally funded by local school boards. An Independent Education Plan (IEP) should be mandatory and supported by state funds for all special needs students, including gifted or talented students.
Making Noise
At school board meetings
Letters to the Editor
Presentations to the Legislature
Hands on Projects
Mentoring Programs
An organization called Vermont Mentoring Partners coordinates student mentoring in a number of regions of the state and provides referrals, training, and communications. Joan gave a folder of materials from this organization to each branch president. State contact person is Robin Morton 802-223-0603. More information can be found on the website www.vtmentoring.org which indicates that some regions have a well-developed mentoring network while others (such as Bennington) list only one individual.
Speakers Bureau
AAUW could compile a list of speakers for enrichment and special events and advanced classes. Some classes (Russian was given as an example) could be taught on line. All Vermont high schools are also set up for video conferring or distance learning. Joan Allen feels that block scheduling may make it easier to schedule enrichment events in Middle and High Schools.
High School Task Force
The report “High Schools on the Move: Renewing Vermont’s Commitment to Quality Secondary Education” reviews the current situation in Vermont high schools in light of recent research, literature and national trends. Based on this research, the report proposes Twelve Principles to improve high school learning across the state. These Principles place individual student learning at the center of the renewal process. The report includes a number of effective strategies to initiate change. The 111 page report was updated on 5/21/03 and can be down loaded from the Vermont Department of Education website www.state.vt.us/educ/ It is not clear from the Dept. of Ed. Website how much of this is being implemented in Vermont High Schools. AAUW members could work with local high school boards and administrators to advocate for implementation.
Encourage Girls in Fields of Engineering, Technology and Mathematics
We briefly discussed the demise of the Women in Technology Project at Vermont Technical College. The very successful program was supported by AAUW and a number of companies in the late 1980’s and throughout the 1990’s and won an LAF Project in Equity Award and an AAUW Community Action Grant (for AAUW-VT) in 1988. The Project has been terminated for lack interest after the grants ran out and a new president took over the administration of the college. This serves as a warning that even excellent, well established programs can disappear.
Writing Across the Curriculum
Web research by Gudrun Hutchins during the last two days indicates that there are many college courses for teachers on this concept at the University of Vermont and other institutions. There are also a number of books on the subject that are readily available. However, there appears to be little implementation in Vermont High Schools and Middle Schools. A public school has to adopt the program and require the necessary cooperation between teachers in different disciplines. There appears to be no state funding or incentive to promote the program. The concept has been implemented in some small scale pilot studies in a few other states. It is common in Europe, where it is referred to as “writing across the disciplines”.
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