Ever wonder what happens what teachers and staff do when the students are not in the school buildings? Let's pull back the curtain for a moment and find out.
Schools are busy places and students are our priority. But our educators also need time to reflect, collaborate, and grow as professionals in order to continue providing the level of education that our students deserve and that families have come to expect of our exemplary school system. Each year, the school calendar allows for early release time on most Wednesdays along with five full days built into the school year for dedicated professional development. The district's Strategic Plan helps guide the work of our staff in focusing and prioritizing the areas of general professional development, with each school developing their own Site Improvement Plans aligned with the district's priorities. The fifth and final full day staff development took place on March 14 and below is a peek inside some of the activities that our staff participated in that day. 
Beginning with the top left: GMS 4-5 staff dug further into ways to provide meaningful feedback and promote academic engagement with students, as part of their Site Improvement Plan.
Top right: MIW staff work through tabletop exercises related to the ALICE approach.
Bottom left: Dr. Anita Stewart-McCafferty, a professor at USM, worked with GHS staff on how to use Brain-compatible principles & Brain-friendly strategies with students.
Bottom right: Teachers Lindsey Horowitz and Mark McDonough work with grades 6-8 staff around strategies connected to the Multi-Tier Systems of Support (MTSS) model for student intervention. Following this, teacher Jacey Morrill introduced new district guidelines for using AI in the classroom.