Vermont Partnership for Change Touring NYC Schools

Posted by Dana Bennis on Jan 07, 2013 - 08:48 AM

They arrived in New York City yesterday afternoon: 30 Vermonters, including students, teachers, parents, school administrators, and community leaders.  They are the tour group from the Partnership for Change school transformation project in Burlington and Winooski, and their 2 and a half day trip will see them visiting some of the leading schools practicing proficiency-based student-centered learning and serving a diverse student population. 

The Partnership for Change (P4C), launched in 2012 and funded by the Nellie Mae Education Foundation, "is committed to build more robust teaching and learning environments, create deeper family-school partnerships, generate community-based learning experiences, enhance youth engagement and leadership, and establish a proficiency-based system in which all learners are provided many opportunities to set and meet ambitious goals."  IDEA is honored to be a key collaborator with the P4C in creating this tour.

After arriving by bus, the tour group began their adventure last night with an opening gathering and dinner at the UN Foundation conference space, where they discussed their goals and intentions for the trip and how they will focus during the visits on observations and questions.  They also got ready to begin tweeting at the hashtag: #P4CNYCtour.   

That's Sarah Bertucci, at front center, co-tour leader (along with Jonah Canner) welcoming everyone to the start of the tour.