A great beginning. Perhaps that’s the best way to describe the 2003 Island Teachers Conference held on Oct. 2-3 at the University of Maine Hutchinson Center in Belfast. Over 80 island educators attended from Chebeague, Cliff, Frenchboro, Isle au Haut, Islesboro, Islesford, Long, Matinicus, Monhegan, North Haven, Peaks, Deer Isle/Stonington and Vinalhaven. They brought with them the dedication, passion and skills that make island schools the remarkable institutions they are. The conference was the beginning of a much larger effort that seeks to strengthen the connections among island schools, creating a larger professional learning community of teachers and students.
Organized by the Island Institute, the conference was made possible in part by grants from MBNA and the Maine Community Foundation.
The conference began Thursday night with a roundtable discussion with John D’Aneiri of the Great Maine Schools Project (GMSP), state Rep. Hannah Pingree (D-North Haven) and Education Commissioner Susan Gendron. Each speaker briefly addressed the strengths and challenges facing island schools in the current environment of state and federal reform. Rep. Pingree shared her experience attending school on North Haven along with her transition to college and now to the state legislature. Commissioner Gendron talked of the many challenges facing Maine, the most rural state in the country, in implementing the federal No Child Left Behind Act. She also commented on the state’s policies toward regionalization, consolidation and local assessment. John D’Aneiri spoke about the Great Maine School Project, a major educational reform movement occurring in Maine funded by the Gates Foundation. The project envisions schools becoming smaller, more personalized and rigorous, incorporating technology and their local communities. The point was made that many of these characteristics, if not all of them, are already present in Maine’s island schools.
A vibrant discussion with the island teachers followed. Educators shared with the policymakers many of the challenges they face in trying to implement the numerous new regulations coming down from the state and federal governments. Teachers eloquently expressed their struggle to implement the local assessments required by state guidelines that are meaningful to both students and communities. The panelists listened and offered insights and suggestions. The three panelists repeatedly stressed the importance of islands pooling resources and sharing work (such as assessment development), and continuing to communicate with policymakers. Much of the remainder of the conference was dedicated to realizing this vision of cooperative island schools engaged in collaborative projects.
Thursday morning began early, and throughout the day educators attended six one-hour breakout sessions, having chosen from a lineup of 25 sessions made available and led by island educators, Island Institute staff and organizations involved in coastal education. Teacher input determined topics covered. Island educators shared best practices, discussed challenging issues and gathered resources. Lorna Stuart of Frenchboro lead a hands-on session focused on “showcase portfolios.” The portfolios are student-chosen examples of their best pieces of work and are filed according to Dr Howard Gardner’s “Eight Ways of Knowing” or multiple intelligences. Another big draw was Sarah Conefry’s roundtable discussion on being a new teacher in an island community. Conefry shared her own experience on Monhegan and then invited other teachers, those new to island education and veterans, to discuss the unique benefits and challenges of teaching on an island. Gloria Smith, the fourth grade teacher on Vinalhaven, offered an extremely popular (and animated) session on “The Responsive Classroom; an approach to teaching and learning that fosters safe, challenging, and joyful classroom in schools K-8.” This is accomplished by putting as much importance on the social curriculum as the academic. Practices such as a morning meeting, where students and teachers gather and share at the beginning of each day, help foster student investment, responsibility and learning as well as decrease in problem behaviors. John Deitter and Mark Jackson described the boatbuilding classes of Vinalhaven and North Haven for other interested teachers, many looking to begin such projects in their communities.
A feature of this conference was its focus on connections. During the “Connections” session, teachers met with colleagues in their fields and brainstormed ways to create a larger professional learning community offering support and fostering collaborative projects between schools. This session gave birth to the Inter-Island Arts Coalition (see related story), which will work to bring together the arts programs on the islands. Many important ideas and future initiatives took shape as well.
The Conference concluded Friday night as teachers came together over dinner to figure out where to go from here. The ideas birthed during the “Connections” session developed further during the debriefing. Steps for creating a professional learning community of teachers and students that connects and strengthens island schools were discussed and listed. A few of the initiatives brought to the floor by educators included: