The History of Vermont Rural Education

The predecessor organization to VREC was the Vermont Rural Partnership (VRP). The VRP was established in 1996 and initially received a large grant from the Annenberg Rural Challenge. Comprised of seven schools (Peacham, Barnet, Peoples Academy, Millers Run, Holland, Cabot, and  Walden). Within three years, VRP grew to include 18 Vermont schools, primarily located in the NEK and central Vermont.

A governance structure was formed, including students, teachers, principals, and community representatives (one or more from each school), who met regularly to make decisions for the organization. VRP, over time, was able to bring significant resources to the member schools, from National Service Learning grants and Federal US History grants to private foundations beyond the Annenberg Rural Challenge, such as the Henderson Foundation and the Bay and Paul Foundation.

In 1997, a Student Alliance was formed within VRP, whose work developed over time and included youth meetings across VRP schools, youth-organized events at the regional and state levels, and attendance at a national youth conference. Focused on the development of youth leadership skills, this work became significant and, in 2008, spun off into a separate non-profit, Up for Learning.

VRP focused on 4 areas for whole school growth:

• The development of Place-Based Learning

• Student Empowerment

• Assessment and Documentation - Telling the stories of rural schools

• School Community Partnerships

From the early days of VRP in the late 1990’s, Mini- Grants became a way for VRP to foster innovation in schools through Place-Based Learning and seed projects led by youth.

While VRP benefited from countless leaders in its journey,s significant contributors include:

• Joseph Kiefer, who led the development of Place-Based Learning via Foodworks and its publications, and who fostered innovative programs such as Cultural Literacy, school gardening, nature trails, and community bread ovens in VRP schools.

• Cara Cookson, who started as an 8th grader at Cabot School and  led the development of youth leadership work in her school, community, and throughout VRP. Cara worked closely with Helen Beattie to develop youth empowerment activities network-wide.

• Teachers: Nene Riley, Lynn Talamini, Tracy Surridge, Cindy Mosedale, Peter Stratman, and countless others who used Place-Based Learning in their classrooms and became leaders throughout the VRP network.

• Margaret MacLean, the Peacham School Principal, who was involved with VRP from the beginning and helped nurture its growth and development over time.