By some estimates, Burr and Burton Academy has roughly 25% of its students living in poverty. This group is largely invisible, yet we know that the needs of students growing up in poverty are distinct and different from their more fortunate counterparts. The fact that BBA has a wealth divide within the school makes it uncommon. Most studies done on how to help lower income students focus on urban schools with a large percentage of non-white students who are living below the poverty line. Burr and Burton has a unique situation in that we are not only rural, but at BBA poverty is not tied to race. This makes the job of closing the achievement gap at Burr and Burton one that needs creative solutions through the particular lens of white, rural Vermont. As a Rowland Fellow, I will determine, recommend and implement unique practices and programs to help meet these needs.

By focusing my recommendations on the needs of the school, determined by the data collected, I am sure to implement thoughtful, careful changes that truly reflect the students at Burr and Burton. Therefore, the recommendations I develop will improve the achievement of not only the lower income students, but of all our pupils to continue our drive for excellence. In the end, the plan will help our entire student body become well-rounded individuals who are educated intellectually and morally for a life of responsibility, integrity and service.

The pattern of generational poverty cannot be broken with short-term band-aids, but only through strategic, long-term work. Burr and Burton Academy’s endeavor is to help break the cycle through education, since it is at the heart of lasting change. We began by implementing the following new programs:

• We launched the Student Success Program, which focuses on improving the education of students living in poverty through a variety of methods. The Director of the Student Success Program teaches Prep For College courses geared toward students who wish to go to college but may not have the resources to get there without support. Habits of mind, such as goal-setting, and grit, as well as organizational strategies, are overtly taught. Students visit a variety of colleges, prepare for the SATs, and draft college essays as part of the class. An encouraging cohort mindset is fostered, beginning with a three week Summer Success Camp that transitions students into their freshmen year.
• In addition, a double block, full-year Algebra class gives students who are not Algebra-ready the chance to “play catch up” and a double block, full-year Humanities class focuses on reading, writing, and research for students identified as reading and writing below grade level. In 2012-2013, the first year of implementation, students in the Workshop Humanities class improved an average of 2.5 grade levels in writing.
• Homework Academy was also established in 2012, giving all students extra academic support on a daily basis after school. Homework Academy is staffed by a variety of teachers of diverse disciplines who offer help to all students who attend.
• Finally, we are working on addressing what it means to understand the word “poverty.” Rita Pierson, of Ruby Payne’s AHA! organization, clarified the poverty mindset and compared it to middle class and upper class mindsets in two separate faculty in-service days. She emphasized that no one mindset is “right,” but that we need to recognize differences in order to bring about understanding.

We hope that Burr and Burton Academy’s focus on supporting students in poverty through directed academic interventions, along with developing habits of mind for all, will show results far into the future.