Central Vermont Career Center

Demographics

Percentage of students*

Why Central Vermont Career Center was nominated

As a local control state, when Vermont transitioned to proficiency based graduation requirements, each school district was left to develop its own specific requirements, informed by resources provided by the Agency of Education. Vermont's regional technical centers serve students from multiple school districts. As the high schools in the CTE centers' service regions adopted proficiency based graduation requirements, CTE centers quickly discovered that the learning students did in their CTE programs of study were recognized and transcripted differently at each sending high school. For example, for students in an electrical technology program, some high schools applied the students' CTE learning toward science proficiency requirements, some toward math proficiency requirements, some only to transferable skills proficiency requirements, and others to all three. As a result, students who were working side-by-side in classrooms, labs, and shops, mastering the same technical content, were facing inequities in how their CTE learning did or did not support their work toward high school graduation. Central Vermont Career Center (CVCC)saw these inequities at play and spent three years working to address and overcome them. They began by aligning their CTE program curricula to the Vermont Agency of Education's Sample Graduation Proficiencies. Their STEM Coordinator worked with each CTE program to identify the math and science content in the curriculum, including industry recognized credentials, dual enrollment courses, and state licensure exams, and cross-walk them to proficiency based graduation requirements. The Center's Literacy Coordinator did the alignment to English Language Arts/Literacy proficiencies. At the same time, Central Vermont Career Center's administrators dedicated significant staff professional development time to support this work. For the first two years, CVCC contracted with the Southern Regional Education Board to bring in a CTE math specialist who worked with teachers to assess their math instruction and to bring added rigor to their math lessons. During the third year of this process, CVCC partnered with the Vermont State College system to offer a 2 credit course for faculty to develop shared practices and resources for integrating literacy in all CTE program curricula, again aligned to the state's sample proficiency based graduation requirements. At the same time, CVCC assessed all students' math, reading, and writing skills at the beginning and end of each school year and analyzed data at both the program and center-wide levels. This cumulative body of work was shared with the Barre Unified Union School District's Curriculum Director, who in turn held a series of meetings with her colleagues in the six supervisory unions/school districts that send students to CVCC. At the end of that process, and after three years of scaffolded, deliberate work, all six sending high schools agreed on a matrix that identifies proficiency base graduation requirements by CTE program area, ensuring that every student in a given program will have their sending high school transcript their CTE learning in the same way and document their meeting of proficiency based graduation requirements through successful CTE program completion.

Student experience design

Career-focused and purpose-driven - 100% of CVCC students understand how their learning at the center prepares them for college or the workforce. CVCC is structured to make learning relevant, authentic, and aligned to identifiable career pathways. Relationship-Centered and Respect-Based - 100% of CVCC students note their instructor treats them with respect and 98% feel belonging within the CVCC community. The school is structured to ensure that each student is known, supported, and connected to at least one trusted adult. Engaging and Motivating - 98.5% of CVCC students report looking forward to coming to school each day. The model emphasizes hands-on, interest-based learning that increases intrinsic motivation compared to traditional settings. Students are not merely attending school; they are participating in a professional learning community where they are treated as emerging practitioners. The experience blends belonging, adult mentorship, and applied learning to increase both engagement and postsecondary readiness.

Core Practices

Core Practices	Length of Use
Blended Learning	1-2 years
Community And Workforce Partnerships	5+ years
Educators Have Industry Experience	5+ years
Industry-aligned Learning Pathways	5+ years
Project-based Learning	3-4 years

All Practices

Apprenticeships

Assessments For Career Readiness

Career Exploration

Competency/mastery-based Education

Cooperative Education

Culturally Responsive Practices

Disaggregated Data On Student Participation

Grading Policies Focus On Mastery

Higher Education Partnerships

All Courses Designed For Inclusion

Industry-recognized Credentials

Micro-credentials And Badging

Multi-age Classrooms

Industry Networking

Performance Based Assessment

High Quality Instructional Materials

Restorative Practices

Students Develop Projects

Trauma-informed Practices

Universal Design For Learning

key reasons for innovating

Artifacts

Annual Report Program of Studies Website