Dear Colleagues and Friends,
The sunlit lobby of Pentucket Middle-High School was abuzz on Election Day as nearly 300 educators from Essex County gathered for the 2025 ECLC Fall Gathering.
“The Heart of Learning: Building Connections Across Classrooms, Schools, and Communities,” was a day focused on relationships, which we all know intuitively are critical to learning. Science tells us that humans need healthy relationships to thrive, but too often they take a back seat to curriculum, instruction, and assessment in our schools.
Throughout the day, participants had opportunities to explore different aspects of relationship building. Keynoting the day was psychiatrist and educator Dr. Amy Banks, who reminded us that maturity is less about “standing on your own two feet” and more about the strength of our connections. She introduced the emerging field of relational neuroscience, and offered concrete strategies for leveraging the power of the nervous system to build and enhance healthy connections. Dr. Banks introduced the C.A.R.E. program, a tool she developed for assessing the quality of relationships and strengthening neural pathways for connection.
Seven distinct, but related, hands-on workshops followed, focused on storytelling, fostering and sustaining emotional resilience, using UDL to cultivate student learning, and building thriving classroom cultures. We are grateful to our guest faculty, including Laura Tavares and Carrie Wihbey from WPS Institute; Joel Gluck, Teresa Dias, and Margie Zohn from Inspiring Educators; 2025 Massachusetts Teacher of the Year Luisa Sparrow; Project Adventure’s Josie Martin and Gabbie Viens; and PoP’s Bryan Mascio.
Thank you to all of the educators who joined us. For those who were not able to be there, be sure to review the LinkTree of resources from each of our sessions. We also want to thank the Pentucket Regional School District, including Superintendent Justin Bartholomew, Assistant Superintendent Brent Conway, and their entire team for their hospitality and partnership.
Lastly, I want to thank the PoP team. Each of our quarterly gatherings take months to plan out down to the last detail, and this was no exception. Special shout out to Laura Tota, Senior Director of Professional Learning, whose talent and passion for relational and rigorous adult learning is a joy to behold.
Now more than ever, we need to strengthen our ties with one another. We all need support, ideas, and sometimes a shoulder to lean on. Strong relationships can be life-giving in big and small ways every day, and can give educators the energy, compassion, and encouragement they need to focus on what matters most: The care, wellbeing, and education of every student.
In connection,
Jane
Read the full newsletter here.