UP for Learning

Amplifying youth voices and making a difference in our communities! UP's latest news! #YouthLeadership #CivicEngagement https://conta.cc/3DImdiX

Yesterday, we were thrilled to join Secretary Copeland Hanzas for #CivicLearningWeek at the Vermont Statehouse to celebrate Vermont's first-ever Civic Health Index, which reveals the state's exceptional civic health foundation. Vermont's impressive national rankings—particularly in community collaboration and civic participation—showcase a deeply engaged citizenry committed to democratic values. What makes Vermont’s efforts truly standout is how the Secretary's office expanded traditional civic metrics to include cultural engagement, media literacy, and youth participation, providing a more comprehensive view of Vermont's civic ecosystem. We look forward to continuing our partnership with Vermont to expand data collection and more effectively measure the impact of their incredible work. View the livestream of the event here: https://lnkd.in/gUrGwdbE Thank you to VT Sec of State Sarah Copeland Hanzas, Robyn Palmer, Michael Moser, Vermont Humanities, SerVermont, University of Vermont Center for Rural Studies, UP for Learning, Vermont legislators, and many more for hosting us in Vermont.

Amplifying youth voices and making a difference in our communities! UP's latest news! #YouthLeadership #CivicEngagement https://conta.cc/3DImdiX

UP's mid-year Impact UPdate reveals how youth are leading the charge for change! Join the movement! https://conta.cc/43dZYvP

Heading north to VT for today's #100DistrictConversations, with Amy Minor, Superintendent of Colchester School District. I love how well Amy knows the history and evolution of her district's PL practices and strategies as the former HS principal of her district. Thank you Megan Benay, EdD for making the conversation #17 possible! "I'm incredibly proud of the work we're doing to empower students and foster continuous learning with our educators. We have spent 10 years as a leadership team and faculty talking about teaching practices, defining assessment and building competency rubrics, which have led to incredible frameworks that guide our district. However, like any framework or best practice, we must continue to check in with how implementation is going and make sure that we are bringing along our newest teachers and leaders in the process. Our district leadership team supports school teams to engage deeply in the analysis of data, which includes both interim Renaissance Learning STAR data as well as proficiency-based data, which is called out in the new Vermont Agency of Education framework for continuous improvement. We support our admin teams by providing readily compiled data sets and charts through our "Your Data" initiative. We believe that in order to effectively utilize PL with teachers, building leadership teams and PD committees must thoroughly review and understand their data, becoming intimately familiar with their building's performance. Only then can PD committees responsibly plan for faculty meetings and school-based professional learning for the year. After reviewing “Your Data”, our PL teams then establish specific, measurable goals in three key areas: math, ELA, and school culture, with a strong focus on closing the achievement gap for marginalized student groups. Building leaders then determine the high-leverage strategies they will implement across the building to achieve these goals. We're committed to empowering our building-level PD committees to collaboratively leverage the expertise within their own schools. This approach empowers internal educational experts and recognizes the district's current investment in local resources. Our district has found that relying solely on external consultants for this work does not always yield the desired results. While we prefer an organic, internally driven approach, we do have strong partnerships with facilitators from the University of Vermont, UP for Learning, and our local rotary club. We have brought in outside experts in the past to support initial training and then thoughtfully integrated our new knowledge, like trauma-informed practices, into our MTSS framework as a universal Tier 1 support. Our Collaborative Work Groups allow teachers to explore specific goals, gather feedback, & share learning, creating a culture of shared expertise." Meghan Baule Gwen Carmolli AASA, The School Superintendents Association #NCE2025 National Association of School Superintendents

Exciting things are happening in youth engagement! Our latest newsletter showcases how youth-adult teams are tackling pressing community issues. From the impactful "Getting to 'Y'" kickoff in New Hampshire to the empowering Student Voice Advisories in Delaware, youth are stepping up! Join us for upcoming events including a youth-led forum with Congresswoman Balint. Let's elevate youth voices together! #YouthEngagement #StudentVoice #CommunityImpact #Leadership #Empowerment Read the latest news: https://conta.cc/3EEXxrN

Shoutout to our amazing partners and youth leaders making waves! https://conta.cc/40EuzAJ

?? Celebrating a stellar 2024 at UP for Learning! Join us in making a difference in 2025! #YouthEmpowerment https://conta.cc/4a8idnF

Empowering youth voices for change! Check out our latest news! #YouthVoice https://conta.cc/4iModGv

Experience joy this season! #YouthEmpowerment #TransformEducation https://conta.cc/3ZqlDgF