UP for Learning has so much to celebrate!

Our Youth Program Specialists (YPS) put together this list of 2024 highlights:

  • 3000 hours of youth and adult partnership (YAP)
  • 8 new YPSs
  • Slayed YAP 10 times this year – next year try 12
  • 3 new full-time staff members
  • 1 UP baby
  • Presented at LOTS of conferences

Below you will see highlights from our newsletters that show UP’s range of programs, teams, locations, and impact in 2024. This is possible thanks to our many donors and collaborators – AND our Annual Appeal continues.

Please consider a gift today.

January – P2C2 at Vergennes Union Elementary School

Read about Personal Power and Community Connections (P2C2) in Vergennes and how this community extended the work to improve the transition to middle school.

February – Restorative Practices at Leland & Gray MS/HS

Read how Leland & Gray started a new collaboration with UP for Learning around infusing Restorative Practices (RP) into their school culture. This work continues into the 2024-2025 school year.

March – An Update from the Student Advisories at Monument Mountain (MA)

Read how Monument Mountain Regional High School continues in its fifth year with UP. They exemplify how UP can grow and customize projects to meet the school community’s needs.

April – UP co-hosts the Next Generation Learning Challenges’s (NGLC) Learning Excursion to Vermont

Read about UP’s role in coordinating a showcase of Vermont schools committed to equitable student-centered learning.

May – Delaware Black Student Union Youth Participatory Action Research Project

Read about the Youth Participatory Action Research (YPAR) project UP and the United Way of Delaware facilitated for the Delaware Black Student Unions.

June – Getting to ‘Y’ newsletter published

This year’s newsletter included a recap of Getting to ‘Y’ projects in MA, NH, OK, and VT along with the new edition of P2C2 projects.

July – UP’s Summer Intern

Thank you to El Fahey from Middlebury College for her work with UP. First as a summer intern who wrote a popular article about Gender Inclusive Education, and then as the first intern for the Vermont Restorative Approaches Collaborative (VTRAC).

August – UP supports Burlington School District’s Summer Racial Justice Academy

Read about this summer project and some of the ongoing work that UP has facilitated in Burlington around youth and family engagement.

September – UP fully launches the new Youth Internship Program (YIP)

Read about UP’s newest programming evolution. The structure given to how UP shares responsibility and voice with youth interns is crucial to our organization living its values and mission.

October – School Safety Dialogues

Read about UP’s presentation at the Governor’s School Safety Conference of the results of summer work collecting data from dialogues and surveys about how Vermont youth feel about safety in schools.

November – UP’s Annual Meeting

Read about (or watch) UP’s Annual Meeting where youth shared their commitment to their communities and to youth-adult partnership. Find more spotlight stories in our Annual Report.

December – UP concludes three statewide projects

Read about three projects that recognize UP as a statewide leader in bringing youth voice into important policy discussions: