The AOE is pleased to announce that it will be contracting with Norm Etkind to coordinate its School Facilities Improvement Project (SFIP). Mr. Etkind was the director of the School Energy Management Program at the Vermont Superintendents Association, and has extensive experience working directly with Vermont school districts on facilities issues.
The SFIP has two goals:
- To liaise and coordinate with all relevant parties to create and/or utilize pathways to maximize the benefit of the ESSER program funds and other resources for Vermont school facilities as they seek to improve the overall health and safety of their school buildings; and
- To assist LEAs that do not have sufficient staff capacity to prioritize projects and improve their facilities in accordance with their needs and the ESSER program requirements.
As Coordinator of the SFIP, Mr. Etkind will be able to hit the ground running on this important work, and will be a tremendous help to both school districts and the AOE in making progress on the quality and safety of our school facilities, a prerequisite for ensuring all students have access to high quality educational opportunities. We will have more information of the SFIP after the 4th of July.
The AOE recently published an Education Recovery: School Construction webpage, with resources related to federally funded school construction projects, applications and guidance.