August 28, 2024 Read Time:
LeadingLearningSharingMental Healthadult learninglearning agendawelcome back
Welcome back! I hope you had a summer filled with rest and renewal, and that you are returning refreshed and ready for another year of learning, growth, and making a difference in the lives of your students.
The Essex County Learning Community team has been bustling with activity all summer. Here’s a quick recap:
- Our annual Summer Institute brought together educators from 15 of our 20 school districts, where we explored what motivates learning. We are deeply grateful to our valued partners—Mike Anderson, the WPS Institute, and Greg Coles Dance and Drum—for leading such inspiring and memorable sessions. Check out the full photo gallery! We are grateful to Tracey Westgate Photography for capturing the dynamism of the day.
- Our first-ever Principals' Day of Reflection gave school leaders a chance to learn from one another, plan for the upcoming school year, and build lasting relationships to support their work. At the end of the day, participants asked to form an ongoing community, with ECLC facilitation.
- ECLC also welcomed our four newest partner school districts—Georgetown, North Andover, Peabody, and Pentucket—with ice cream socials. A big thank you to Treadwell's Ice Cream and owner Tom Gould for their enthusiastic scooping!
Perhaps most importantly, this summer the ECLC team curated the new 2024-25 Learning Agenda. The Learning Agenda details this year’s professional learning experiences, including some exciting new opportunities. Also new this year: all learning experiences are now eligible for Professional Development Points. We urge you to read the Learning Agenda carefully, bookmark the link, and spread the word with your colleagues, peers, and friends.
We like to say that ECLC is a team sport: participants benefit most when they come to learning experiences in teams, to lighten the load of diffusing the learning back home. Every adult who works in a school or district has the capacity to influence children for good, which means every adult deserves a chance to reflect, learn, and grow. We hope you all find something—or many things—that speak to your interests. If there is something else you would like to learn, please let us know! We will continue to build on this agenda throughout the year.
If you are new to our community, welcome! ECLC is the flagship of Power of Place Learning Communities, and is made up of educators from 20 partner school districts in Essex County who come together regularly for deep learning, conversation, reflection, and connection. We do not believe in “one and done” professional development, and instead believe that adult lifelong learning is key to deeper student learning. We also believe that healthy relationships are the foundation for effective learning, beginning with how educators form connections with one another. Fundamentally, we believe that growth is fostered in connection.
This bi-weekly newsletter is intended to keep us all connected, to share reminders and announcements, and to provide you with a curated set of resources. This one is longer than usual, so be sure to read through to the end, and note the Save-the-Date for the Fall Gathering on November 5.
Best wishes for a smooth and joyful start to the year. We can’t wait to see you!
