Barre, VT. – The Vermont Agency of Education today submitted the Vermont State Plan for implementation of the federal Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA). The Agency of Education developed this plan over the past year with the help of over 2,000 stakeholders across sectors and from every county in the state.
With this plan, Vermont is using federal dollars to help our communities better understand how well their schools are serving their children. The plan will provide communities with the tools and feedback to improve educational practices and student outcomes
In addition, the federal plan will provide a little extra support for communities where children—because of poverty, bias or disability – need a little more support and effort on our part in order to thrive. When these children are supported well, learning is improved for all, said Secretary of Education Rebecca Holcombe.
ESSA funds constitute up to 6.5 percent of local spending in our highest poverty districts, and just over 3 percent of total funds spent on education statewide. ESSA funds also pay for all our state and federal accountability and school improvement initiatives.
In Vermont, we believe that if schools teach well and children are engaged and supported, young people will thrive—not just on tests, but more importantly, in their communities and in the economic life of the state. We know that students who can’t read, write, do mathematics and think critically have few options in a 21st-century economy. The measures that we use in the State accountability system are intended to give us a broad overview of school performance, but we know that local measures of student performance and experience are also critical for understanding if students are meeting the expectations for proficiency their communities hold for them.