The Caledonia/S. Essex Building Bright Futures Council and Steering Committee have been reviewing accomplishments over the past year, and reviewing data and comments from Council members to develop an action plan for the new year.
At the June Council meeting, we heard from recipients of direct service mini grants, funded in collaboration with the Parent Child Center. All grant proposals are directly linked to the Ca./S.Essex Regional plan. The mini grant recipients were:
- All Things Lyndon
- Blue Mountain Supervisory Union
- Caledonia Central Supervisory Union
- Children’s Integrated Services
- Cobleigh Library
- Early Head Start
- Fairbanks Museum
- Kingdom East School District
- NVRH Regional Prevention Partnership
- St Johnsbury School District
- Starting Points Network-Lunenburg
The Council did not meet in July. At our August meeting, we were excited to welcome Morgan Crossman, the new BBF Executive Director, to our meeting! Morgan spoke about her goals and vision for BBF statewide. We also invited VT Early Childhood Advocacy Alliance Executive Director, Matt Levin, to present a review of the last legislative session, and a discussion on the impact to early childhood/family programs as a result of the legislature’s work.
The BBF Professional Development Committee regrouped and met after the August Council meeting. The committee had a lively discussion regarding the local professional development needs, and next steps moving forward. The first event we are planning for the area is a Teaching Strategies GOLD training, sometime in October. The committee will meet again on September 16 following the BBF Council meeting.
Upcoming Regional Council Meetings and Activities
The next BBF Council meeting is scheduled for September 16 from 5:30-7:00 pm @ the VT Department of Health in St Johnsbury. The new state Director of Trauma Prevention and Resilience Development, Auburn Watersong, will be our guest at our Council meeting in October on the 21st. BBF will be one of the co-hosts for the movie “Downstream-The Effects of Parental Incarceration” a documentary film featuring the compelling stories of VT children left behind when a parent goes to prison in October, date TBD, @ Catamount Arts in St Johnsbury. Here is a link to the trailer: https://youtu.be/-hAAPR3URfQ.
