Innovation Award

Congratulations are in order for CVSD educators Kathy Batty and Mary Muroski. For the second year in a row, they have been awarded the SEL Innovation Award for Teachers. The NOVO Foundation and Education First have selected their Empower Youth Leadership Project to receive $5000 to continue to build social and emotional skills of local Vermont middle schoolers

The Empower Youth Leadership Project allows local adolescents to develop social, emotional and leadership skills in a supportive, community-based setting. They bring together middle school students from Chittenden County schools for full-day conferences offered three times throughout the school year. Their collaboration with the Children's Legacy Partnership Foundation (a non-profit organization that aims to provide comprehensive education to students in Uganda) allows attendees to compare their hopes and dreams with those of Ugandan students.

From within the group of 2017 Innovation Award recipients, they were invited to join a professional learning community (PLC) that focuses on student-led practices.This small PLC is comprised of 14 educators from Alaska, Hawaii, Connecticut, Texas, New Jersey, Virginia.....and Vermont! This past May they presented their project to the national PLC in Denver. They have been invited to present again at the SEL in Action Convening in October of this year, and then again to the national PLC in May of 2019.

Congratulations to Kathy and Mary for your leadership and great work.