Local Impact, Institutional News, Awards and Honors

Bennington's Quantum Leap Program Honored

The New England Board of Higher Education (NEBHE) has honored Bennington's Quantum Leap program with the Vermont State Merit Award—one of six state merit awards given annually as part of the New England Higher Education Excellence Awards.

New England Board of Higher Education

The awards recognize individuals and institutions that have made substantive contributions towards improving higher education opportunities for New England students.

The Quantum Leap program, developed in 1999 by faculty members Susan Sgorbati and Danny Michaelson, helps at-risk elementary, middle, and high school students in the community return to school. As an alternative to dropping out and being processed through the court system, these students work one on one with Bennington students and faculty to develop individualized educational plans modeled after the ones that Bennington students use to structure their studies at the College. The program aims not merely to get these students back in school so they can make it through, but to help them discover a love for learning that will allow them to prevail.

The Vermont State Merit Award will be presented at NEBHE's 2010 New England Higher Education Excellence Awards Dinner on Friday, March 5, at The Long Wharf Marriott hotel in Boston.