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Passing the School Budget During Trying Economic Times
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What a difficult time for a school board to be asking the community to support a school budget! "Make sure we don’t exceed the excess spending threshold - We better pay attention to the MIA!" were some of the comments heard over the past few months as boards deliberated about what programs should be eliminated and how would the board create an affordable and responsible budget. More on this article.
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An Analysis of State AYP Results for 2007-08
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The number of schools failing to make adequate yearly progress (AYP) under No Child Left Behind (NCLB) rose significantly according to the latest 2007-08 AYP results, both in Vermont and nationally. In many cases, student performance has improved, but such improvement is not sufficient to meet the higher AYP targets schools in more than 40 states. More
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Member to Member
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The "Member to Member" page on the VSBA website http://www.vtvsba.org/mtom.html has recently been updated. School board members can pose questions to other board members, post, and read responses to those questions from colleagues around the state.More
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Education by the Numbers
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Why education is a smart investment in an uncertain economy
As a receding economy contributes to public anxiety about jobs and an uncertain financial future, education becomes a target of state and local cuts. Reducing education funding does not help solve economic woes, however. More
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Obama Appoints School Chief Arne Duncan as Secretary of Education
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CQ Politics reports that President Barack Obama’s selection of Chicago public schools chief Arne Duncan to be U.S. Secretary of Education is winning praise from disparate segments of the education community, who call Duncan a pragmatic choice. Obama officially introduced Duncan as his nominee in December at a Chicago elementary school. More
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Obama: Federal Stimulus Plan to Address School Facilities Needs
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Barack Obama probably cannot fix every leaky roof and busted boiler in the nation’s schools, says an Associated Press article posted on the website of CBS News. More
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Harassment Report Released
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Section 19 of Act 174 of 2008, a bill related to domestic violence, established a committee to study harassment and bullying in schools, to be convened and staffed by the Human Rights Commission. The committee studied current policies, laws and trainings related to harassment, including cyber bullying. VSBA Executive Director John Nelson served on the committee. The final version of the report was released on January 15th. More
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“Solid Foundation” Program Offered Through the Vermont Parent Information Resource Center
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“Solid Foundation” improves student achievement through parent engagement. This web-based program is grounded in effective, research based, proven strategies. A study of schools implementing the Solid Foundation program for building a school community, published by the Harvard Family Research Project, found that the gain on state assessment tests demonstrated by these schools over a two year period was nearly double that of a control group of schools with identical beginning scores. The process of service and support, provided through the Parent Information Resource Center (PIRC), is tailored to the resources and needs of each school.More
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Governor Announces Multi-state Effort to Prepare Students for Success in the 21st Century
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Governor Douglas announced the formation of the New England Secondary School Consortium, a groundbreaking regional partnership encompassing four states: Maine, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont. The Consortium is funded by a $1 million grant from the Nellie Mae Education Foundation (including a partnership grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation).More
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