Tag: Education

Before the start of the new school year, the teachers from the Outer Islands Teaching & Learning Collaborative (TLC) gathered in Rockland for their (now) annual Teacher Retreat. The focus of the retreat is to allow work time and planning for the year ahead, but what became the driving focus for the day, though, was not the “what” or “how” of our work, but the “why.” By taking time to clarify and (re-)define the “why,” the purpose for our work this year, all the other components more or less fell into place.

Island schools may be small, but the needs and interests of their students are big and varied. How then do island educators provide the wide range of support and rigor needed to ensure a student’s success? Personalized learning plans, trauma-informed classrooms, and integrated creative arts are just some of the innovative approaches that were featured at the recent 2017 Island Teachers Conference.

In mid-July, 22 educators from 11 schools and organizations gathered at College of the Atlantic for an intensive three-day workshop focused on experiential and place-based learning. Learn more about the workshop and the important role differentiation plays in island education from Education Director Yvonne Thomas.

Tess Beem, our TLC Project Coordinator, reflects on the past year and what she’s learned about the elusive mixing and melding that happens when the TLC island schools get together for at an in-person field trip, and the importance of downtime, free play, or unstructured time — what she calls magical mix time.

The Mentoring, Access and Persistence (MAP) program for high school juniors launched in March with a lunch and learning session in Northport. 16 students will be supported as they apply to and begin post-secondary education.
We sat down with Caroline Moore, Community Development Associate, to learn more..