Welcome to the Vermont Center for Afterschool Excellence! The Center is a
public-private statewide partnership initiative dedicated to supporting and
sustaining innovative learning opportunities that extend beyond the school day for
all Vermont's children and youth. The Center's activities are directed toward
building the capacity and commitment of Vermont communities to increase the quality
and availability of programs during non-school hours. VCAE Goals
The Vermont Center for Afterschool Excellence has three overarching goals:
- Create a broad partnership structure that promotes the education of Vermont's children and youth in creative and non-traditional ways that extend beyond the school day;
- Establish a strong and diversified funding structure for afterschool programs in Vermont and policies that encourage partnerships, complementary connections, and collaboration;
- Develop an effective system of professional development and standards that supports high-quality programs addressing the intellectual, social, emotional, and physical development of children and youth.
Our Accomplishments
Hundreds attend the Vermont Afterschool Conference- In October, several hundred afterschool directors, providers, staff, advocates, and educators attended the Vermont Afterschool Conference in South Burlington. The statewide conference brought together youth workers, program staff, and educators from all over Vermont who work in programs that serve children and youth outside the school day and throughout the year. The conference is a partnership collaboration of the Vermont Department of Education, the Vermont Department of Children and Families, and the Vermont Center for Afterschool Excellence. The theme of this year's conference was "Innovative Learning and Leadership" and the keynote speaker was Jodi Grant of the Afterschool Alliance in Washington, DC. This year's conference also featured several youth presentations by local afterschool programs and included a special high school strand where high school students attended workshops within the conference focused on helping them to develop their leadership skills.
Center receives funding through Public-Private Partnership- The Center has received a three-year grant from the C.S. Mott Foundation to support the work and goals of the statewide afterschool partnership in Vermont. The Mott funding is matched by additional funds from Vermont's Department of Education, 21st Century Community Learning Centers, in support of professional development and high-quality afterschool programs. The Center's Achievement Project under the Mott grant is to identify and replicate "innovative learning" happening in afterschool programs throughout Vermont. See the Lights! Camera! Learning! Project for more information about the video vignette competition this year.
Coaching Model brings individualized support and training to programs throughout Vermont- This fall, in partnership with the Vermont Department of Education, the Center rolled out Vermont's first comprehensive professional development system for providing individualized support and training to afterschool programs throughout the state. The Individualized System of Support for Afterschool Programs (ISS-AP) matches program directors and selected staff with a highly qualified coach in a particular area and a team of other afterschool professionals to work on professional development and program improvement within a selected strand or topic area. The topic strands being offered during the 2009-2010 school year, include: (1) Building literacy skills within afterschool; (2) Building science, technology, engineering, and mathematics skills within afterschool; (3) Developing a school-linked tutoring program; (4) Effective programming to prepare youth for careers, college, and community; (5) Using student data to guide programming; (6) Building collaborations through effective program management; (7)Developing a comprehensive evaluation plan; (8) Leveraging local funding for program sustainability; and (9) Overall project development.
