VREC’s Commitment to Community Schools

The commitment to Community Schools is in the origins of the Vermont Rural Education Collaborative. Our predecessor organization, the Vermont Rural Partnership, was established to support school communities in Northern Vermont and to specifically promote place-based learning.  

VREC was an active partner in the Vermont Community Schools Coalition that collaborated to craft and promote proposed legislation that would become The Vermont Community Schools Act (Act 67), signed into law in June of 2021.

Core Implementation

• The Five Pillars: The act enshrines Vermont's commitment to the nationally recognized Community Schools Pillars.

  • Integrated student supports

  • Expanded and enriched learning opportunities 

  • Active family and community engagement 

  • Collaborative leadership and practice, 

  • Safe, inclusive, and equitable learning environments

• Pilot Sites: Several school districts were selected as initial pilot sites to implement these models, including the North Country Supervisory Union.

• Collaborative Partnership: The passage of the act led to the creation of the Catamount Community Schools Collaborative(CCSC), a partnership between the University of Vermont and Vermont Agency of Education to evaluate and support the program. 

Three supervisory unions within VREC were among the five SU/SDs in Vermont awarded grants in the first cohort in 2021. In 2024, the Vermont Legislature approved an additional year of state funding for these programs through Act 168. Three additional VREC SU/SDs received funding in 2025, the second cohort. 

VREC Continues to Support Community Schools by:

• …continued commitment to place-based learning via professional development and student-led mini grants.  

• …conducting regional training on community engagement

• …providing Inclusive Schools mini grants 

• …promoting collaborative leadership practices via professional development and hosting convenings.

VREC has contracted with Jess DeCarolis, former division leader at the Vermont Agency of Education, who led the initial implementation of the Community Schools grant program, to assist VREC SU/SDs in putting forward grant applications in the second round of funding. Jessica is actively engaged in partnering with VREC and the VT Community Schools Coalition in advocacy for continued state funding and support. Jessica is also responsible for coordinating regular community of practice meetings of the participating SU/SD and member schools through her Ph.D. fellowship with the CCSC.