Vermont Public Radio

With Tentative Deal, Burlington Students Head Back To School Wednesday

After four school days on strike , Burlington teachers and the city's school board announced Tuesday evening they had reached a "tentative" deal that would allow classes to resume Wednesday.

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Former Vermont Governor: Small States Can't Pull Off Single Payer Alone

By Bob Kinzel • 10 hours ago

Former Gov. Peter Shumlin says he underestimated the political and policy challenges of implementing a single payer health care system in Vermont. — Pablo Martinez Monsivais / AP

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3:30

Former Vermont Gov. Peter Shumlin told the Harvard School of Public Health on Tuesday that he miscalculated the political and policy challenges associated with the single payer approach.

Report Puts Spotlight On Sexual Victimization In Vermont Prisons

By Peter Hirschfeld • 12 hours ago

The Southern State Correctional Facility in Springfield. In a report to the federal government, Vermont disclosed that 17 inmates were sexually victimized in state-run prisons last year. — Peter Hirschfeld / VPR

Seventeen inmates were “sexually victimized” in Vermont prisons last year, according to a recently filed disclosure by the Vermont Department of Corrections.

Cause For Concern? Vermont Students Faring Worse On Test Scores

By Jane Lindholm & Ric Cengeri • 16 hours ago

Vermont's latest assessment scores showed a drop in math at every grade level tested and at all but two in English. — Lucentius / iStock

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28:30

The report card is in, and we didn't do well. In the results from the 2016-17 Smarter Balanced Assessment test, Vermont students' average scores dropped at every grade level tested (3rd through 8th and 11th) in math and all but one grade in English.

Burlington Teachers Say The Strike Is Not About Salary

By Peter Hirschfeld • Sep 18, 2017

Fran Brock, president of the Burlington Education Association, center, stands with picketing teachers outside Hunt Middle School Monday. Brock says elementary teachers need more time during the day to work with students, and develop lesson plans. — Peter Hirschfeld / VPR

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3:13

A teacher strike that began last Thursday has emptied school classrooms in Vermont’s largest city, but the head of the Burlington teachers’ union says the walk-out isn’t about money or benefits.

Bennington Development Group Completes $2 Million Putnam Block Purchase

By Howard Weiss-Tisman • Sep 18, 2017

This drawing shows part of the plan developers have for The Putnam Block in downtown Bennington. — courtesy of Stevens &-Associates

A development group in Bennington says it's acquired a major downtown property that's part of a $50 million renovation project.

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