December 20, 2023 Read Time:
adult learning
As 2024 approaches, I want to thank you all for investing in the Essex County Learning Community and embracing our new non-profit, Power of Place Learning Communities. It is our privilege to work with educators every day to design and implement learning experiences that are rigorous, relevant, relational, and rejuvenating. We know that adults, like students, deserve to grow and develop as professionals - and as people. We also know that when educators get what they need, students prosper.
Our commitment to adult learning drives our annual ECLC Learning Agenda, and this year has inspired us to pursue more in-district, customized engagement with our communities. The most recent examples started in Lynnfield and Andover.
This Fall the Lynnfield Public Schools expressed interest in building the capacity of their paraprofessionals to support issues related to student behavior, mental health and resilience. Because of our commitment to cross-district collaboration, we asked them to recruit at least two other districts, and Hamilton-Wenham and Wakefield agreed to participate. We reached out to our partners at the Program in Education and Resiliency, who have agreed to offer five virtual learning sessions this year, with face-to-face sessions in between led by in-district facilitators. Forty paraprofessionals attended the first session with enthusiasm.
Also this year we heard from the Andover schools, where the social work department is seeking to build more equitable mental health practices districtwide. Working together we co-designed a learning series featuring psychologist, scholar, and author Maureen Walker, who will conduct five workshops during the school year. These will be augmented by additional sessions, led by the ECLC team, on data and root cause analysis. As a single district, Andover is contracting directly with Power of Place/ECLC on a fee-for-service basis.
We pride ourselves in knowing the educational landscape well and identifying the right, highest-quality match for the needs of our member communities. We vet our guest faculty carefully, and only partner with those who are aligned with our commitment to creating learning environments that are relational, inspiring, and collaborative.
In 2024 we hope to do even more of this in-district work, and urge you to knock on our door to discuss what you need. Working together, we will find a way to make it happen.
In the meantime, enjoy the well-deserved rest next week, and happy holidays!
