Nellie Mae Education Foundation Awards CCV $200,000 Grant

The Community College of Vermont has been awarded grant funding totaling $200,000’$100,000 per year, for two years’from the Nellie Mae Education Foundation. The funds will be used to improve access to dual enrollment programs for all Vermont high school students.
‘With the passage of the Flexible Pathways bill the state has created new dual enrollment opportunities for Vermont’s high school students, and this grant from Nellie Mae will help to ensure that all Vermonters have access to those opportunities and the ability to get a jump start on their college-level learning while still attending high school,’said Natalie Searle, director of secondary education initiatives at CCV.
A recent study from Midwestern found that students who participated in a dual enrollment experience were nearly twice as likely to complete high school than those who did not. Further research has shown that participants in dual enrollment programs earn higher college GPAs, and have higher graduation rates from two and four-year institutions than those who did not participate in dual enrollment programming.
The state’s dual enrollment program will now provide two vouchers to Vermont’s high school students. They can take one college-level course in their junior year and one in their senior year at many of the state’s colleges and universities. The new funding, Searle said, will be used to ramp up outreach efforts to schools, parents, and students across the state. Resources will also be allocated to professional development programs designed to better equip CCV staff and high school educators with the tools they need to help all Vermont students access and succeed in dual enrollment and college.
About the Nellie Mae Education Foundation:
The Nellie Mae Education Foundation is the largest charitable organization in New England that focuses exclusively on education. The Foundation supports the promotion and integration of student-centered approaches to learning at the middle and high school levels across New England. To elevate student-centered approaches, the Foundation utilizes a three-part strategy that focuses on: developing and enhancing models of practice; reshaping education policies; and increasing public understanding and demand for high quality educational experiences. The Foundation’s initiative areas are: District Level Systems Change; State Level Systems Change; Research and Development; and Public Understanding and Demand. Since 1998, the Foundation has distributed over $154 million in grants. For more information, visit www.nmefoundation.org.
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