L&G’s Terry Davison-Berger Named P3 Partner of the Year
From day one, Leland & Gray’s Flexible Pathways Coordinator, Terry Davison-Berger, has stood out as an exceptional P3 partner. As a member of the P3 Advisory Board which has designed, launched and guided BDCC’s High School program for the past five years, she has helped shape P3 into a successful, integral part of L&G offerings. The programming that she has helped to develop and pilot at L&G has made possible career ed offerings at all of the Windham County High Schools.
This year, Terry received the first-ever BDCC P3 Partner of the Year Award, alongside her colleague, Mark Gebo of Bellows Falls Union High School. According to L&G Principal Bob Thibault, “Terry’s hard work and dedication to ensuring that every student at L&G leaves with a post-secondary plan is remarkable! She strives to make relationships with every student and connect them with resources in the community to assist them in their planning. Simply put, she’s a rock star.”
Terry has worked with P3 to provide students with career education opportunities like the annual Sophomore Summit and several worksite tours. Terry and BDCC’s P3 Program Manager Christy Betit started collaborating on L&G’s well-established Coop Class led by Terry four years ago. Since that time, inspired by Coop, they’ve worked together to develop and implement a new version of the Senior Survival Course that was taught to previous generations of L&G students. This revised version of Senior Survival is a required course for every senior – a goal that Terry strongly advocated for. It covers topics from punctuality, handshakes, and tie tying, to understanding the importance of flexibility, resilience, and maintaining a good reputation. Every student finishes a series of challenges like resume and cover letter writing, mock and informational interviews, and a host of other assignments in order to “survive” their senior year.
First implemented during the COVID shutdown as a virtual course, Senior Survival has since blossomed into an in-person, seminar-style, experiential course that allows students to spend time understanding their strengths and challenges, exploring things they like and don’t like to do, identifying their personal values, and connecting that self awareness with career and educational pathways where they can thrive. The goal of the course is to ensure that every senior has a solid postsecondary plan in place on the day they cross the graduation stage to accept their diplomas.
“Terry is an incredible teacher, and she cares deeply about our students and their postsecondary outcomes,” said Christy. “She has contributed countless lessons, ideas, and career-related anecdotes to the curriculum. The hilarious parody videos about the do’s and dont’s of interviewing that she shares during class show that she knows what engages kids. We have a blast co-teaching the course,” she said. “But she does the heavy lifting, correcting resumes, hounding kids to make sure they turn in assignments on time, and truly offering a safe space where all students feel comfortable expressing and being themselves. I could not do this work without her. L&G found a true gem!”
Terry’s support of the Pipelines and Pathways Program is just part of what she does to contribute to her school, the community and the county at large. She manages early college placements, as well as finding and managing nearby coop placements that are the right fit for each participating student. She provides unwavering social/emotional learning support for all students, and works closely with Guidance Counselor, Sarah Grasso, to support students pursuing college, credentials of value, direct to work and other flexible pathways to postsecondary success. She understands the urgent need for more work-based learning opportunities for all students and provides the support needed to make those opportunities happen. Of note, she has attended many meetings in support of the Pipelines and Pathways Program. Her testimonials at these meetings have played a part in acquiring financial contributions to the program from the West River Education District. This financial support is an invaluable resource that contributes to the longevity of P3 and helps the big picture shift in Windham County schools educational culture to one that truly believes in and strives toward postsecondary success, no matter what pathway each student has chosen.
“Terry has been able to take a concept, helping students find a post graduation path, and make it a reality for each and every student,” said William Anton, Windham Central Supervisory Union Superintendent. “She partners with businesses, community members, and the Brattleboro Development Credit Corporation to turn students’ interests into careers. Her impact will have positive ripple effects for generations.”
On the horizon, Terry will work with P3 to develop and implement the BDCC Teacher Training Series that will help core content teachers learn more techniques for integrating career education content into their everyday classrooms. Terry, Sarah and Christy will also look for ways to parse out lessons from Senior Survival that could be benefit students at earlier grade levels prompting the continued evolution of Senior Survival that will add even more robust content. Christy and the BDCC Team look forward to another successful year of collaboration with the Terry and L&G’s guidance team, administration, and faculty starting this fall.
About Pipelines & Pathways
BDCC’s Pipelines and Pathways Program (P3) provides employment oriented career-planning for the region’s high school students. It brings training in 21st Century skills, work-based learning, and personal learning plan (PLP) engagement opportunities to all four public high schools in Windham County. The program assists in developing workforce-oriented curricula, expanding classroom relationships, and growing work-based learning through opportunities with local employers. It also supports teachers working face to face with students to implement personal learning plans and seize the myriad opportunities presented by Vermont’s Flexible Pathways Initiative under Act 77. Pipelines & Pathways is a BDCC Workforce Center of Excellence program based on SeVEDS strategies to increase the size and quality of the workforce. For more information please visit https://brattleborodevelopment.com/workforce/
Funding for P3 is provided by the McClure Foundation, Vermont Training Program, Vermont Community Foundation, the Windham County Economic Development Program, The Thomas Thompson Trust, the George W. Mergens Foundation, People’s United Bank, Tom Smith – Omega Optical, and Chroma Technology in Bellows Falls.
