BRATTLEBORO — Through a grant from the Vermont Agency of Education, the Boys and Girls Club of Brattleboro will be ramping up resources for students preparing for school and careers.
“Since COVID, the need for BUHS students to receive support outside of school has grown, especially in making post-graduation decisions,” said Lisa Ford, president at the club. “It’s been my dream for a while that the Boys & Girls Club become a valuable resource for college and career readiness. This grant allows us to do just that.”
Alyssa Hunt, executive director of the club, said the club applied for the state’s after school grant and is collaborating with Brattleboro Union High School on the program. She sees a natural connection between the two groups, as the club serves youth after school hours and school staff know the gaps needing to be filled to best help students.
They contracted with two private college counseling coaches and put together a schedule for workshops.
“We also are working with the counseling team at BUHS as the process continues,” Hunt said. “It’s a three-year grant so we’re doing the program this fall at an accelerated pace because the college deadlines are coming up.”
With the partnership on the workshops, the hope is to help any seniors still struggling with college prep. They run from 6:30 to 7:30 p.m. at the high school and include College Admissions 101 on Sept. 18, Building a Balanced College List on Sept. 25, College Application Essays and Supplements on Oct. 2, Making your Common Application Less Common on Oct. 9, Paying for College: Financial Aid and Scholarships on Oct. 16, and Getting Unstuck: Drawing Your Own Map for Success on Oct. 23.
With the grant that brings $150,000 to the club each year for three years, its lineup of college tours throughout Vermont, Massachusetts and New Hampshire is being expanded. Also, the club is planning to check in with Brattleboro Development Credit Corporation to see how to add on to existing career readiness programs.
Gov. Phil Scott and Interim Education Secretary Zoie Saunders announced in May that 17 after school grants would be awarded for the inaugural year of the program for a total of more than $1.2 million, with an estimated $3.7 million proposed over the next three years. They said grant awardees will coordinate with more than 73 community partners to “expand access to non-school time programs.”
“These grants are part of that work and help to create more affordable programs, using partnerships to fit the needs of local families,” Scott said in a statement.
Saunders stated the initiative “not only supports our students but also strengthens our communities as a whole.”
“We saw the grant and we brainstormed,” Ford said. “It was a very extensive grant.”
Grant guidelines required a collaborative effort with the high school or school district. Ford credited Jed Blume, grant writer, with helping to oversee the process.
BUHS Principal Hannah Parker said she emailed a flyer about the workshops to students and families, and posted it on Facebook. She also plans to promote them at an open house.
“This is something that hasn’t been offered in recent years, at least at this level, in collaboration with the Boys & Girls Club,” she said. “I think it’s a great partnership. I think this adds a different level of engagement through community partnership and another opportunity for parents and students to hear essential pieces of the application process to give them a better start on preparing for the college process of finding what is going to be a good match for them.”
Workshops were scheduled later so students participating in extracurricular activities can attend.
Parker said she thinks the school is “really putting a focus on supporting all students to have a plan for when they graduate and for what their next steps are, not making an assumption that it’s always going to be college bound.”
“I just in general think we’re only made stronger by creating more opportunities and partnering with other organizations,” she said. “I hope that will continue and we can provide our students with as many different ways of exploring as possible.”
Hunt said the Boys & Girls Club of America unrolls initiatives for periods of time, and the focus right now is on “future ready.”
“This college workshop series is one piece of it but it’s not the whole story,” she said.
With about 30 percent of young people in the area obtaining two- or four-year degrees four years after graduating high school, Hunt stressed the importance of showing the full spectrum of career options.
“There’s no right answer,” she said. “The most important thing is to have a plan. We’re trying to partner with a lot of different trade and vocational services to see how students can see themselves as active members of the community, however that looks like.”
Hunt said her group is “really excited about being able to better serve more youth in our community and being able to partner with the other providers with these services and resources to make sure the kids are getting what they need.”
The hope is that the club can continue to grow as a resource hub for the community.
“We can be a place that everyone and their family sees as a place that supports them and makes sure their kids are thriving,” Hunt said.