What We Do

VEOP provides professionals working in educational opportunity programs a chance to enhance their professional skills, improve program effectiveness, and gain support for effectively delivering services to students. The organization brings together Vermont and New York program personnel who provide students with access and success in education at all levels, with the ultimate goal being completion of a program of post secondary education. VEOP is particularly concerned with those students, who because of socioeconomic status, ethnic background, physical challenges and other obstacles to achieving their academic potential, find themselves in a position of disadvantage with respect to traditional students.

Vermont Educational Opportunity Programs History

North Country TRIO Directors (NCTD) was among the first groups in New England to organize statewide leadership for TRIO professionals. It was through NCTD that the Educator of the Year Award and the VEOP scholarships were originally created and administered. NCTD has and continues to provide support, mentoring, technical assistance and direction for TRIO directors in Vermont and at Plattsburg State University .

Branching off from NCTD, a separate grassroots organization was created with a constitution and bylaws designed along the lines of NEOA's (formerly NEAEOPP) the regional professional association. At the time of its inception in 1990 the name of the organization was the North Country Association of Educational Opportunity (NCAEO). Under the leadership of its first President, Katherine Veilleux , the name was changed to the Vermont Educational Opportunity Programs (VEOP). VEOP provided a forum for the participation and leadership of TRIO staff beyond the program directors. Since then VEOP has been a strong presence in Vermont for providing leadership opportunities, direction for political advocacy efforts, a vehicle for recognizing professional excellence, and a source of scholarship funding for TRIO students.

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