The ECLC Team

The May issue of ECLC's monthly newsletter, Learning in Community, is now available on our website. This month's theme is "Looking Back to Go Forward to School" Check out our newsletter for recent ECLC news and notes to see what we are up to this spring!

Each month, Learning in Community brings current news highlights and resources from within the Essex County Learning Community (as well as the region) to our membership. The newsletter is archived monthly on our website. Please visit our "About Us/Newsletter" page to access our current newsletter edition and all past editions from 2019 through 2021. If you are interested in joining our mailing list to receive Learning in Community regularly, please do not hesitate to reach out to Emily Wilson, ECLC Project Manager, at ewilson@fullframecommunications.com and request to be added to our newsletter list. 

The ECLC Team

Earlier this spring, ECLC presented a dynamic two-part discussion on educator learning and professional development, called "Everybody Grows" across the months of February and March as part of our monthly Community Convenings events (or CommCons as we affectionately refer to them). Part 1 was held in February, led by key members of the ECLC team including Diana Lebeaux, Director of District/School Design, and Laura Tota, Senior Associate of District/School Design, both at the Center for Collaborative Education (CCE). This session focused on "Building Structures to Optimize Educator Learning and Development." Part 2 focused on "Connecting & Co-Learning with a Trauma-Informed Lens," and was led by ECLC Project Manager Dr. Emily Wilson during the month of March. 

We are pleased to share out some selected participant resources below following these two Community Convening sessions and encourage all ECLC members to check them out, whether they were able to attend back in February/March or are looking to catch up. As a reminder, all Community Convening resources are archived regularly on the password-protected District Hub section of ECLC's website.

Resources from February/March "Everybody Grows" Community Convenings:

• Six Guiding Principles to a Trauma-Informed Approach by CDC
• Nine Mindfulness Exercises to Help you Manage COVID Stress by Amy Rigby at Mindful Leader
• Hosting a Trauma-Informed Virtual Meeting by Trauma-Informed Oregon
• Mindful Virtual Meetings Checklist by Zoom

The ECLC Team

Calling all ECLC Cohort 1 and 2 members - please join us on Tuesday, April 27th for our next monthly Community Convening ("CommCon"), which brings together educators from across 11 districts to discuss timely issues, exchange ideas, and engage in community building/support. This month's theme, "Bless This Mess," will feature a lively discussion in which we will embrace the tumult of the current moment and share any burgeoning ideas we have in response to the following question: what might a return to school look like in your wildest dreams? No serious prep is required - please come with any "messy ideas" or works in progress to share with colleagues across this community of practice. Since these are "messy" times, we are keeping this month's CommCon brief, just one hour (from 3:00-4:00pm), and we hope you can join us! 

Please also check out our monthly schedule of Community Convenings below and let us know if you have any questions. Our final spring Community Convening will take place in May and we will start back up again following the summer in September!

Press Release

FOR RELEASE ON:  March 10, 2021
Contact:
Jane Feinberg, Full Frame Communications

Phone:
(617) 285-8386

Email: jfeinberg@fullframecommunications.com

Tower Foundation Recommits to Essex County Learning Community Network for Educators to Better Meet Students’ Diverse Assets and Needs Addresses Post-Pandemic Realities and Opportunities 

March 9, 2021 — At its most recent Board meeting, Trustees of the Peter and Elizabeth C. Tower Foundation voted to continue funding the Essex County Learning Community (ECLC) for another five years, beginning in January 2022.  The ECLC, which has been funded by the Foundation since 2018, supports educators in meeting the diverse learning assets and needs of students in the County’s public schools, especially those with learning disabilities, learning and attention issues, and exposure to trauma—as well those who have not been served well under past and current systems because of structural inequities based on race, culture, income, language, and gender. 
 
The ECLC was created in response to several interrelated challenges that fall under one umbrella: too many students in our public schools today do not receive the learning and skills they need in order to thrive as adults – while too many teachers in today’s public schools lack what they need to help students succeed. A 2019 national study revealed only 17% of educators feel “very prepared” to teach diverse learners.
 
“We are committed to building the brightest future possible for Essex County, which translates to providing all young people with what they need in order to sustain themselves and strengthen their families and communities. The pandemic has only exacerbated the already-existing challenges,” said Tracy Sawicki, Executive Director of the Tower Foundation. “The ECLC has demonstrated that it is well-positioned to meet students’ needs by providing gold-standard professional development to educators and offering them a collaborative space to embrace shared challenges.”
 
Currently, the ECLC consists of 11 school districts. Each district constitutes a team of approximately a dozen members, including superintendents, assistant superintendents, department directors, principals, data specialists, guidance counselors, and general/special education teachers.  This cross-fertilization ensures that the cutting-edge inclusive practices are diffused across each district and across Essex County.  Members participate in a two-year intensive professional development journey. Thereafter, they continue to participate in a variety of learning and leadership development experiences. To date, two cohorts of districts have participated. Cohort 1 includes Beverly, Danvers, Gloucester, Haverhill, Rockport, and Swampscott.  Cohort 2 districts are Andover, Essex North Shore Agricultural & Technical School, Hamilton-Wenham, Manchester-Essex, and Saugus.  Recruitment for Cohort 3 will begin in May 2021.
 
Small and medium-sized school districts such as those in Essex County are especially hard-pressed to innovate on their own. The ECLC serves as an innovation laboratory for member school districts—creating the time and space for facilitated conversation and reflection, state-of-the-art learning with national and regional experts, and customized coaching.  Topics include inclusive instruction, racial equity, and change leadership, as well as social emotional learning and mental health for both educators and students. Evaluation results show that the ECLC increases both cross- and in-district collaboration; promotes positive mindset and changes in practice; and empowers participants to receive more support and resources to better balance the demands of their jobs. One educator described it as “the best professional development of my career…empowering, energizing, and inspiring.”
 
The ECLC is directed by Full Frame Communications in partnership with the Center for Collaborative Education, a national non-profit. Additional funding for the ECLC is provided by the Essex County Community Foundation.
 
“On the heels of a pandemic, we must think carefully about how to optimize the talents of every young person and our educators are pivotal in our youths’ success,,” said Beth Francis, President of the Essex County Community Foundation.  “Our support of ECLC’s mission and work ensures that our educators are equipped to serve the whole child and counter the stigma that attaches to far too many students. We believe that in difference lies strength and with additional supports from ECLC, our educators can achieve success for students.”
 

The ECLC Team

We are thrilled to share resources from the recent Beyond the IEP virtual event with ECLC's partner organization Eye to Eye, which took place on March 3rd. Please visit the ECLC District Hub for Eye to Eye's handouts and the event recording will soon follow!

The ECLC Team

As our nation undergoes seismic shifts, the educator workforce is expressing an urgent need for more opportunities to engage deeply in meaningful conversations about race and equity. In response, ECLC is pleased to launch a new, multi-part series on diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) in partnership with the National Seeking Educational Equity and Diversity (SEED) Project. SEED is an educator-led professional development program that creates conversational communities to drive personal, organizational, and societal change.

Please see the flyer below for all series information, SEED faculty bios, and registration.

The ECLC Team

The January issue of ECLC's monthly newsletter, Learning in Community, is now available on our website. Check out our newsletter for recent ECLC news and notes, and to see what we are up to this winter/spring!

Each month, Learning in Community brings current news highlights and resources from within the Essex County Learning Community (as well as the region) to our membership. The newsletter is archived monthly on our website. Please visit our "About Us/Newsletter" page to access our current newsletter edition and all past editions from 2019 through 2021. If you are interested in joining our mailing list to receive Learning in Community regularly, please do not hesitate to reach out to Emily Wilson, ECLC Project Manager, at ewilson@fullframecommunications.com and request to be added to our newsletter list. 
​

Emily Wilson

We are thrilled to announce that ECLC will be welcoming Dr. Marc Brackett, psychologist and author of Permission to Feel, for a special event later this month, which is open to all Essex County, Massachusetts educators! Here is a description of the upcoming event, with more information available including registration in the flyer below... We hope you can join us for this exciting afternoon of learning in January during our first special event of 2021!

"Emotions matter. What we do with our emotions is especially important. The goal of this interactive session is to (1) inspire a new mindset around the power of emotions to transform our lives, (2) describe the five key underlying skills of emotional intelligence, known as the “RULER” skills, and (3) provide innovative strategies and tools for developing emotional intelligence so that our emotions help, rather than hinder, our well-being and success at home, in school, at work, and in everyday life." 

Please reach out to Emily Wilson, at ewilson@fullframecommunications.com, with any questions.