The latest Adequate Yearly Progress Report for Vermont schools has been released and it shows that the majority of schools are still working on improvement.
A key component holding Vermont schools back is the achievement gap between students of moderate or higher income and those from lower income families.
Bill Mathis is a member of the state board of education. He says additional funding is needed for children from this lower socio-economic group.
“The body of the adequacy studies – there have been some 40 or 50 of them at this point – show that you need 40-60 percent more money for these students.”
Mathis says it’s clear exactly where this money should be used: “to pay for full-service schools, early education, extended school year and extended school day types of programs.”
The new Progress Report also shows that high school graduation rates among lower income students lags 17 percentage points behind the state-wide average.
