Coalition and Afterschool Alliance Send Joint Letter to Vermont HHS Secretary on New Afterschool STEM Initiative

At the request of our state partner, Vermont Afterschool, the Coalition and the Afterschool Alliance sent a letter to Vermont HHS Secretary Al Gobeille praising the state’s recent decision devote $600,000 from the state’s tobacco settlement to support afterschool programs with a focus on STEM education.  The purpose of the letter was to ensure that the Vermont HHS, which is charged with setting up the new program and has a great degree of discretion in doing so, adheres to the original vision of the legislature, which was for an afterschool program focused on providing high-quality STEM experiences for students in high-need areas. Our Vermont partners see this new one-time statewide funding as an opportunity to demonstrate the value of the state’s first STEM focused educational initiative.  The joint letter is linked below.