State Profile

Vermont

Putting Practice into Writing: Legislation, Policy, and Regulation

• The Vermont School-to-Work Initiative (STW) was developed from the beginning as a system for ALL students.

• All planning documents and funding templates for the initiative are developed to be inclusive of ALL students.

• Disability representation, preferably by a person with a disability, is required in partnerships.

• All professional development activities sponsored with STW money have to relate the primary topic to the inclusion of ALL students, including students with disabilities.

• Annual plan development and progress review have to address the inclusion of students with disabilities. For example, one indicator requires that all transition plans for students with disabilities include appropriate STW opportunities.

• STW has been aligned with the revised School Quality Standards and the Vermont Framework of Standards and Learning Opportunities.

Winning Combinations: State and Local Leadership and Partnerships

• From the start, there has been a strong connection between special education and STW. Special education personnel assisted with the writing of the original STW grant proposal.

• The Governor’s Developmental Disabilities Council, the Regional Resource Center, the Vermont Coalition for Disability Rights, and the Division of Vocational Rehabilitation have all been involved as co-sponsors of STW related conferences and events.

• The Coalition for Disability Rights has advocated for STW in the state legislature.

• In Vermont, there is an established culture of collaboration. STW built on this by listening to the concerns of stakeholders, developing plans to address those concerns, and reporting back to stakeholders.

• Partnership teams attended a STW conference on including youth with disabilities and developed local plans of work that became part of the annual planning and progress review process.

Connecting the Dots: alignment of Resources and Programs

• On the local level, core transition teams, developed through Transition Systems Change, have linked effectively with local partnerships to work toward a common vision for ALL youth.

• The state, through special education, has provided significant technical assistance to local core transition teams to link more effectively with STW.

• Supervisors are supporting personnel from various programs to link with STW as part of their duties.

Leading by Example: Activities of Individual Local Partnerships

• Local STW and vocational rehabilitation offices in one partnership developed a new summer youth employment program that was inclusive of youth with severe disabilities.

• Each school in one partnership has an identified liaison. Liaisons meet monthly and help disseminate partnership information to teachers in their schools. Many of these liaisons have a background in disability. The diverse group facilitates training and development for all teachers, as well as cross-disciplinary communication and planning.

• One local partnership funds supported employment services.

• One partnership designed a resource guide of best practices that aligns STW with standards and includes practices for including youth with disabilities

Successes and Challenges

• Success – "It’s Vermont!"--Vermont’s pervasive inclusion philosophy has guided the work of STW from the beginning.

• Success – STW for youth with disabilities has not been seen as a separate goal. Rather, STW is presented as a school improvement effort for all Vermonters.

• Success—Data collected at each Vermont school indicate that youth with disabilities are involved in integrated STW activities.

• Challenge – Lack of resources to fund staff has made it difficult to do the work. On the other hand, this has led to everyone on state and local levels sharing responsibility and may lead to sustainability.

• Challenge – Some STW partners on local levels had a lack of knowledge or experience in diversity issues.

What’s Next?: Sustainability

• The principles of STW have been integrated into ongoing school improvement initiatives.

• Most of the newly formed Work Investment Boards coincide geographically with local STW partnerships.

• Local core transition teams will continue much of the local work and have well-established connections with other STW partners.

• STW funds were used to develop four professional development consortia. These consortia will become part of the state system of professional development.

Contact Information

Vermont School-to-Work Initiative, Jeanie Crosby, Director, 120 State Street, Montpelier, VT 05620-2501, 802-828-5403, jcrosby@doe.state.vt.us

Website: http://www.state.vt.us/stw

Jeanie Crosby, Director, Vermont School-to-Work Initiative, Michael Ferguson, Special Education Consultant, Department of Education, Suzanne Masland, Coordinator, Central Vermont STW Collaborative, Mary Waterman, Coordinator, Randolph Regional STW and Career

May, 2000