Vermont
From Service-Learning Wiki
By long tradition, each school and community in mountainous Vermont has a distinctive culture and character. Thus a rich diversity of approaches to service-learning has grown up from the school and district level.
Contents |
History
In the mid-1980s, Vermont seeded and cultivated this richness as service-learning leader Cynthia Parsons traveled the state, speaking and writing on service-learning. Following passage of the National and Community Service Act in 1990, Vermont became a leader state for the federal Learn and Serve program, and thus shared its experiences with the nation.
Through the 1990s, the Vermont Department of Education nurtured local innovation and reflection through a series of sub-grants and initiatives funded by the Corporation for National and Community Service and others. One key source was Annenberg support for place-based education grounding teaching and learning in the particulars of a local community. Place-based education has been a recurring theme for these networks as local programs continued to grow. Some schools embed service-learning into courses. Burlington and several other high schools require community service or service-learning hours. The Thetford Academy integrates service-learning throughout the school’s culture. Many schools also integrate service-learning into Safe and Drug-Free Schools, and other state and federal initiatives.
In the 1990s, Vermont involved thousands of local educators, parents, and students in the development of its performance-oriented Framework of Standards and Learning Opportunities. Service-learning is one of Vermont’s frameworks. Vermont continues to support teachers in developing rubrics and other means to assess learning toward these standards.
From 1996-1999, Vermont convened seven other states as the National Service-Learning and Assessment Study Group (with CNCS support) to develop guidelines to help teachers develop performance-based assessment strategies that could capture the unique learning environment of service-learning. “Vital Results Through Service-Learning” explains how schools can meet standards through service-learning. “Service-Learning and Assessment: A Field Guide for Teachers” is available online from Vermont Community Works.
Vermont’s High School Task Force, launched in 1999, emphasized service-learning among its recommendations to strengthen secondary education, including making stronger civic and community connections.
In 2001, the Vermont Service-Learning Steering Committee formed to coordinate support to local programs, including Learn and Serve sub-grantees, and to seek ways to expand the field. The committee meets three times per year. All five Learn and Serve sub-grantees participate in the committee, develop innovative programs, and mentor other Vermont schools. The committee ensures that each sub-grantee develops and carries out a plan for high quality service-learning practice.
In the fall of 2003, the Committee decided to move under the umbrella of Vermont Campus Compact as VCC works with higher education on service-learning. It was thought the resources and capacity would further strengthen service-learning in Vermont.
Networks of Support
Rural communities have taken the lead to promote service-learning as a way to regenerate rural parts of the state. Shelburne Farms brings together educators around environmental and sustainable education, including service-learning. The Vermont Rural Partnership (VRP) is a coalition of 17 of Vermont's smallest, most rural, economically challenged schools and communities. The partnership focuses on service-learning, student leadership and school-community partnerships. It partners with other parties in the state, and has published a
Vermont Community Works offers specialized support and training to assist local educators in integrating community-based education and service-learning. The organization publishes the quarterly Community Works Journal which supports reflective documentation from the field to share educator insights on service-learning and place-based learning. It has also published a compendium of research based on Vermont schools deeply involved in service-learning: "Vital Results Through Service-Learning: Linking Students and Community in Vermont Schools". Community works is a founding member of The National Service-Learning Partnership.
Vermont Campus Compact provides numerous professional development opportunities. Members have formed more than 670 partnerships with local, state and international organizations and agencies. An estimated 25% of the approximately 30,000 college and university students on VCC campuses engage in course-based service-learning each year.
Convening and Celebrating
Vermont Community Works, in collaboration with other partners, organizes an annual summer institute on service-learning. The Institute provides training, models, strategies, and resources for developing service-learning as an integrated feature of curriculum with clear links to standards.
Vermont Rural Partnership organizes an annual confernce where the schools in the network come together to learn from each other and celebrate their successes.
In December, the Vermont Alliance for the Social Studies hosts an annual conference in which service-learning is one of the featured themes.
Policy Support
Vermont's "Framework of Standards and Learning Opportunities" has a separate includes Civic/Social Responsibility Standards. The Service section stipulates that students should take an active role in their community through service. Specifically, they should "Plan, implement, and reflect on activities that respond to community needs; and Use academic skills and knowledge in real-life community situations." They are also called upon to "work cooperatively and respectfully with people of various groups to set community goals and solve common problems."
As a state that emphasizes local control, the Department of Education does not have any coordinator role with in relation to service-learning programs in the state. Some schools in Vermont have strong commitments to service-learning and service-learning graduation requirements.
Learn and Serve
No state-level agency coordinates Learn and Serve funds for the state. However, three schools receive school-based subgrants: Spaulding High School, Montpelier High School, and Washington West Supervisory Union. Over 1,100 participants are engaged in service-learning at these schools. Learn and Serve has also supported the work of the Vermont Rural Partnership. Vermont Campus Compact at Middlebury College receives a Learn and Serve grant that in turn is subgranted to eight institutions of higher education and involves 1,200 students.
Youth Contributions
This section is in need of expansion. You can help by expanding it.
Examples of Quality Service-Learning
References
- Cairn, Rich, Henning, Anna, and Neal, Marybeth. 2005. "State Profiles" in Growing to Greatness 2005. St. Paul: National Youth Leadership Council.
External Links
- Learn and Serve America in Vermont
- National Service in Vermont (Corporation for National and Community Service)
- Vermont Commission on National and Community Service
- Vermont Campus Compact
- Vermont Community Works
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