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Committee members praise community schools model, warn funding instability threatens gains
Summary
Committee members who attended a national Community Schools conference described successes—from school-based coordinators and health-care partnerships to UVM internships—but warned that initial federal seed funding ($10 million) and a later $1 million top-up have not produced predictable state backing, and they asked to circulate recommendations and data-infrastructure proposals.
Committee members reported back to the Education Committee on May 7 about a national Community Schools conference, describing the model's pillars, local examples of services and partnerships, and a pressing question about sustaining funding beyond initial grants.
A committee member described Community Schools as a non-prescriptive model built on five pillars that helps connect schools with community resources, citing examples that ranged from literacy tutoring by seniors to evening classes led by students and community members. "They're doing everything from bringing seniors in to do literacy tutoring to meal programs... it felt many purposes and that it, you know, brought people in the community together," the member said.
Members reviewed Vermont's early…
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