Vermont Virtual Learning Cooperative (VTVLC)
Founded in 2009 through an ARRA/Title IID grant from the Vermont Agency of Education, the
Vermont Virtual Learning Cooperative (VTVLC) was created to remove the three most common
barriers to equitable access to public education.
1. Availability: Provide courses for students which are not offered locally as a result of
staffing or other factors which impede a school from offering a broad catalog of offerings
such as Advanced Placement (AP®) courses, World Languages, and other courses in
rural schools where appropriately endorsed Vermont teachers are not available.
2. Accessibility: Where scheduling impedes students from accessing courses that are
offered at the same time, resulting in difficult choices for students to enroll in courses
they need and/or desire to participate in.
3. Flexibility: Provide courses that rely on primarily asynchronous delivery to allow
students to learn and study at times that maximize personal success.
ACCESS provides equity in our schools by assisting with teacher shortages, scheduling conflicts, offering additional course options, credit recovery, and meeting the state-mandated online requirement.
PROJECTS AND HIGHLIGHTS:
- VTVLC “Traditional” Partnership Program:
All Vermont High Schools signing as partners receive ten (10) enrollments (0.5 credit class) at no cost. Schools that provide a fractional teacher (at least .2 FTE) are considered “Teaching Partner” schools and earn seats based on the total FTE teachers. The teacher(s) facilitate online courses as part of their regular teaching assignment at their school. Traditional courses follow a schedule closely matching an average statewide school calendar schedule with 18-week semesters. Schools can purchase additional Traditional courses above their earned allotment. VTVLC currently has 28 Non-Teaching Partner Districts and 22 Teaching-Partner Districts. - VTVLC On-Demand Program
On-Demand courses offer a more personalized approach to learning by removing the typical restrictive environment of a set term (Fall/Spring). By allowing students to enroll and identify their projected end date (up to six months), students can either accelerate or slow the pace they take to complete their learning. Enrollment is throughout the year on the 1st and 15th of every month. Teacher Partner schools earn 5 On-Demand enrollments as part of the partnership. Partner and non-partner schools can purchase additional On-Demand enrollments.
- Collaborative Diploma Program (CDP)
VTVLC partners with a Vermont school district to allow students who live in towns without a local high school the option to earn their high school diploma from a geographically distant Vermont school. Students take all their classes online with VTVLC and earn their diploma from the CDP Vermont high school.
- Full-Time K-8 Program
In 2020, VTVLC opened its doors to elementary and middle school students in collaboration with Vermont schools. This lead to the creation of the full-time K-8 program we offer today with our own Vermont licensed full-time teachers who hold the Online Teaching Specialist Endorsement.
- Northeast Online Teaching Institute (NEOTI)
VTVLC, in collaboration with Castleton University, offers a variety of professional learning options for educators across the state to earn and maintain their Online Teaching Specialist (OTS) endorsement. To teach online for VTVLC, teachers must earn their OTS. This 10-credit Graduate Certificate program is a transcript-aligned offering that provides educators the opportunity to pursue their OTS endorsement while learning from experienced online educators. The Methods I and Methods II courses are designed using the NSQ Standards for Quality Online Teaching.
