Fewer and fewer children who live close to school regularly walk or ride a bike to classes. And this is largely due to safety concerns: speeding traffic, distracted drivers and inadequate sidewalks or other pedestrian infrastructure. The Safe Routes to School program is a national program that looks to reverse this trend. The goal of the SRTS program is to enable and encourage children to safely walk and bike to school. Not only does it work to educate children and give them the skills to get to school safely, but it also works to address infrastructure needs that may prevent children from walking and biking. In the process, programs are working to reduce traffic congestion and improve health and the environment, making communities more livable for everyone.

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The Southern Vermont Arts Center is seeking entries for "Vermont Artists, Past and Future," a statewide art contest for middle and high school students in Vermont. More than $5,000 in scholarship grants will be awarded to first through third place winners in painting, sculpture and photography. An exhibition of work by the 100 finalists will be on view with outstanding examples from the Arts Center’s permanent collection in the Wilson Museum at the Arts Center from May 22 - June 23.

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The Vermont Youth Conservation Corps (VYCC) has been selected as a recipient of the Nellie Mae Education Foundation’s Catalyst for Change awards, which recognize existing examples of personalized, student-centered learning experiences across New England. Twelve schools and education organizations have received a one-time grant of $50,000. “This grant is the single most important step to building a statewide foundation for the VermontFutures program,” says VYCC President, Thomas Hark.  “It is a program which significantly reduces the dropout rate, doubles the credit completion rates, and helps those enrolled to make great strides when taking personal responsibility for their own education.”

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Bennington College students have been scattered across the world for the last month participating in the college's annual Field Work Term, but for the first time this winter 16 students stayed right here in Bennington. The college's pilot program that allows students to work with nonprofits in the Bennington area for their field study was made with the intention of getting students involved in and familiar with the community, as well as getting them comfortable with the Field Work Term, said Field Work Term Director Tammy Fraser.

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The Vermont Agency of Agriculture in partnership with the Vermont Farm to School Network, recently announced the recipients of the 2010 Farm to School grants at a special ceremony at the Statehouse cafeteria. The Vermont Farm to School grant program is in its fourth year and works to improve kids’ diets by linking local producers and schools. The grant program encourages schools to engage students in their local food system by incorporating local food and farm education in their cafeterias, classrooms and communities.

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Three Vermont high schools were granted heart rate monitors and the supporting technology for their physical education programs, the Vermont Department of Education announced today. Leland and Gray Union High School, Middlebury Union High School, and Rutland Senior High School were granted a total of $26,993 to purchase and implement heart rate monitor equipment and software for high school physical education.

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The Burlington Free Press reports that Burlington's Spectrum Youth and Family Services has been selected as the agency of the year by the National Network for Youth. The award is presented annually "to honor the vital role that youth agencies play in the healthy development of youth, families and communities." In a news release announcing the award, Spectrum was called "a model for other agencies." Notably, "Spectrum has offered shelter, counseling and support to at-risk and homeless youths since 1970."

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The Burlington Free Press reports that for five years, the Youth Mentoring Program at Charlotte Central School has paired community volunteers with students. These mentors and mentees spend one hour each week with one another. "Dustin St. George, 11, of Charlotte and Deb Olsen of Charlotte have been meeting weekly during the school year for almost two years. Dustin said his favorite memory so far is the time they tried to fly a kite. 'We never really succeeded, but we tried really hard. That was so much fun,' he said." When asked why she decided to take part in the program, Deb said she thought it would be a good way to stay connected to the community. Currently, there are 17 pairs in the Charlotte program.

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The Brattleboro Reformer reports the Kamana Adhikary, marketing and recruitment specialist for Big Brothers Big Sisters of Windham County, recently talked about the importance of mentoring. "It's important for adults to volunteer their time to children in the community because too many young people don't have a caring adult mentor to provide encouragement and support," she said. Notably, "national research shows that mentoring is an effective method of addressing all sorts of youth-related issues." According to Big Brothers Big Sisters, "children who take part in the program are nearly half as likely to start using illegal drugs, 27 percent less likely to begin drinking alcohol, miss fewer days at school and have higher self-confidence." Recently, "the Big Brothers Big Sisters program of Windham County celebrated its 200th mentoring match."

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Vermont Public Radio reports that "ten leading Vermont college educators are among scores of their colleagues from across the country calling for a debate about the merits of the minimum drinking age of 21." Educators who have signed onto the Amethyst Initiative, which wasdeveloped by former Middlebury College President John McCardell, maintain thatthe 21-year-old minimum drinking age is not working because more young people are drinking irresponsibly. College of St. Joseph President Frank Migloriecommentedthat "once people reach 18 years of age they are given full citizenship, except the right to drink alcohol." Since July 2008, 134 college presidents from around the country have signed the initiative."

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The Burlington Free Press reports that the the Winooski School District has implemented the Olweus Bullying Prevention Programto "to change the norms around bullying behavior and to restructure the school setting so bullying is less likely to occur." The program is being used at the elementary, middle and high school levels.

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The Brattleboro Reformer reports that Kids Are Priority One's organizing director Kim Friedman said that "more resources and attention could be invested in Vermont's early childhood system to make sure providers are getting the support they need" and to "raise questions about oversight and the systems" in place. Friedman's comments follow the arrest of a Guilford day care provider earlier this month. The provider Diane Wood was "arrested on Oct. 3 and charged with four counts of criminal restraint and cruelty to a child under the age of 10 after Vermont State Police allegedly found four children locked in a shed outside her day care center." According to police,Wood was "hiding the children in the shed because she was caring for more children than her home day care registration allowed." Currently, "home day care providers can have up to six full-time young children, and another four school-aged children on a part-time basis... Friedman wondered if the allowable limit is too high for one person" and alsosaid that "more can be done for parents so they know the laws and limits and can report providers who run afoul of the law."

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Vermont Public Radio reports that thirty "teen centers around Vermont will get some needed money thanks to a federal grant secured by U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders.The funds will help pay for health and fitness programs." Vermont is home to forty-two teen centers which "provide after-school and weekend activities for kids, and help [youth] avoid drugs and other unhealthy behaviors." Sanders noted, "We live in a society now in tough economic times. We have a situation with both mom and dad working - there is nobody at home. What I see happening around this state is that there are a lot of kids who after school spend their time hanging around on street corners getting tempted to do self-destructive type activities." He concluded, teen centers "provide needed after-school activities in an environment free of drugs and violence."

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The Brattleboro Reformer reports that "the board of trustees of the Vermont State 4-H Foundation and the Windham County 4-H Foundation are teaming up to create a new fund to benefit young members in the local program." Indeed, "the new fund for 4-H, a youth development program of the University of Vermont Extension that teaches leadership, citizenship and life skills, will provide scholarships and other support to members in Windham County." Sue Meachem, treasurer of the Windham County 4-H Foundation, explained, "This fund is being created to ensure the future of 4-H in Windham County. By setting this up as an endowed fund within the Vermont State 4-H Foundation, we can be assured that there will be support for 4-H activities in Windham County in perpetuity." Notably, "the funds raised within the region will stay exclusively in the county and go toward supporting 4-H programs. Presently, there are 5,815 Vermont youth participating in 4-H, with 637 of them in Windham County."

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The Burlington Free Press reports that "by taking machines apart and creating something brand new, kids are becoming inventors in Charlotte this summer." The kids are taking part in Camp Invention, "a week-long program designed to foster teamwork and inventive thinking." The program was designed by the National Inventors Hall of Fame Foundation and the United States Patent and Trademark Office and was started in Vermont two years ago. Heidi Bouchard, a special education teacher at Charlotte Central School, explained, “This program matches science with creativity. Kids are given bits of information but are free to invent using materials and ideas and working together.” For example, on the “Saving Sludge City” project, "students were urged to clean up a fictitious polluted city." In the end, "students came up with innovative methods for cleaning up toxic water pollution and building a pollution-free landfill."

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