Talent Development Institute On-Campus Teen Leadership Program  Selected to Receive a 2021 Summer Matters for All Grant! 

Colchester, VT—Talent Development Institute’s (TDI’s) on-campus Teen Leadership  program was recently selected to receive $20,000 in funding from the Summer Matters  for All Grant program. According to Governor Phil Scott, the Summer Matters for All  Grant Program will award up to $3.85 million to programs in 13 counties with the goal of  expanding access to summer enrichment opportunities for K-12 youth this summer. 

The TDI Leadership Program happened June 19-25, 2021, on the campus of Northern  Vermont University, in the heart of the beautiful Green Mountains. The goals of the  Leadership Program included guiding our teens to learn about themselves, leadership,  ethics, teaching, and living as a responsible citizen in the world. Participants took  traditional Leadership classes in the morning, and then they were involved in an  assortment of learning, assisting, and teaching scenarios in the afternoons. Evenings  allowed for teens to engage with each other, teach each other, lead discussions with  each other, play and laugh together, and relax as needed.  

Ordinarily, the TDI Leadership Program runs concurrently with TDI Summer Camp, which is a summer camp/academic program for advanced, creative, and gifted students  entering grades 4-9, during two weeks each summer. Currently in its 24th year, TDI offers classes of many types—from science to language to arts to tech to humanities—which  are designed to be engaging and fun, and to nurture students' creativity and their love of  learning.  

This year, TDI for campers happened virtually; however, this grant allowed for the  Leadership Program to happen in person, and enabled TDI to more easily weather the  impact of COVID-19 by helping to cover a substantial amount of this year’s program  costs. Another impact of lowering costs was that it allowed for reduced tuition for the  families of teens that attended the Leadership program in-person for the summer of  2021. 

In addition, “one of the successes of the program has been to ensure the vitality of the  Leadership Program for future years,” says co-director Lucy Bogue. “We had teens from  15 different Vermont towns, plus two from out-of-state. We had a wonderful and joyous  week on campus. It has been healing to be together in what has become a favorite  place for most of us. There have been many conversations of all sorts--silly, deep,  robust. There have been fun and meaningful activities of many kinds, as well as 

friendships renewed and newly formed. Energy and spirits have been high, and we have  marveled at the resiliency of us all. We really needed this after the social isolation many  of us have felt this past year.” 

Governor Scott has put an emphasis on helping Vermont kids recover from the  pandemic and the isolation it caused, including creating opportunities for them to safely  reconnect with their peers and their communities. The purpose of the grant program is  to increase access to summer enrichment opportunities for K-12 youth statewide during  Summer 2021. This was a highly competitive process with 188 proposals submitting  $7,427,584 in requests, which far exceeded available funds.  

The grants, funded by federal dollars secured by Senator Bernie Sanders and  administered by Vermont Afterschool, were awarded to a variety of programs, including  summer camps, libraries, municipalities, teen centers, non-profit social services  organizations and more, to expand the number of weeks and slots, as well as to increase  affordability and accessibility of summer programs. These offerings will supplement  school-based programs, as districts in Vermont received separate federal funds to  support summer learning and afterschool programs. 

“Summer is the perfect opportunity to help kids reconnect and recharge. We  are incredibly grateful to our state leaders and policymakers for their commitment to the  development of the Summer Matters for All Grant Program,” said Holly Morehouse,  Executive Director of Vermont Afterschool. “With this funding, communities and youth serving organizations across the state will be able to create a great summer for Vermont  children and youth that will help them make new memories and emerge from the  pandemic strong, resilient, and hopeful.” 

For more information on TDI’s programming, you can visit www.tdivermont.org. The Talent Development Institute is under the umbrella of the Green Mountain Center for Gifted Education, and is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization, with the mission of affirming, educating, and supporting Vermont's gifted and talented youth and their families.