Vermont School Counselor Association Receives $190,000 from the McClure Foundation and the Vermont Community Foundation to Hire First-Ever Staff and Advance Strategic Plan

The Vermont School Counselor Association (VTSCA) is appreciative to announce that it has received a four-year grant commitment totaling $190,000 from the J. Warren & Lois McClure Foundation (McClure Foundation) and the VT COVID-19 Response Fund housed at the Vermont Community Foundation. The grant funding will help VTSCA advance its new strategic plan and, over time, transition from a fully volunteer-based organization to hiring its first-ever paid staff position.

“School counselors play a critical role in helping young people succeed—academically, socially, and emotionally—and plan for life after high school,” says Carolyn Weir, executive director of the McClure Foundation. “We are thrilled to make this multi-year grant commitment in partnership with the Community Foundation to the Association that supports and represents school counselors across Vermont.”

“Some of the hardest-felt impacts of the pandemic have landed on young people, including the disruption of education—a challenge that will take years to recover from,” says Dan Smith, president and CEO of the Vermont Community Foundation. “The Community Foundation is committed to supporting youth and families now and in the future, and this grantmaking partnership is an example of just that.”

VTSCA’s strategic plan calls for a deepened commitment to representing the insights and perspectives of school counselors and the students they serve. It also calls for an expansion of the organization’s systemic work on diversity, equity, and inclusion and the adoption of the Vermont Comprehensive School Counseling Framework. Through these efforts, VTSCA will enhance its ability to provide members with high-quality professional learning, resources, and connections.

“Thank you to the McClure Foundation and the Vermont Community Foundation for the long-term commitment you are providing Vermont students by supporting Vermont school counselors,” says Lauren Conti on behalf of VTSCA.

VTSCA imagines a Vermont education system where students have equitable access to social, emotional, and academic support in inclusive schools with well-resourced school counselors. It believes school counselors are uniquely qualified and positioned to serve students in their academic success, career and college readiness, and social and emotional development. For additional information about the Vermont School Counselor Association, visit vermontschoolcounselor.org.

 ###

The Vermont School Counselor Association expands the image and influence of professional school counselors through advocacy, leadership, collaboration, and systemic change. VTSCA empowers professional school counselors with the knowledge, skills, linkages, and resources to promote student success in the school, the home, the community, and the world. VTSCA is currently in the process of finalizing the Vermont Comprehensive School Counseling Framework. School counselors deliver comprehensive school counseling programs which are essential for all students, K-12, in schools throughout Vermont. 

The McClure Foundation envisions a Vermont in which career-connected public college and training drives equity and resilience. To learn more about the foundation and its grantmaking, which is a supporting organization of the Vermont Community Foundation, visit mcclurevt.org.

The Vermont Community Foundation inspires giving and brings people and resources together to make a difference in Vermont. A family of hundreds of funds and foundations, we provide the advice, investment vehicles, and back-office expertise that make it easy for the people who care about Vermont to find and fund the causes they love. The heart of the Community Foundation’s work is closing the opportunity gap—the divide that leaves too many Vermonters struggling to get ahead, no matter how hard they work. We are aligning our time, energy, and discretionary resources on efforts that provide access to early care and learning, pathways to college and career training, support for youth and families, and community and economic vitality. We envision Vermont at its best—where everyone has the opportunity to build a bright, secure future. Visit vermontcf.org or call 802-388-3355 for more information.