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instruction, and joint initiatives. The Life is Good community read initiative was a
product of these discussions ultimately resulting in a year-long Tri-Town wide event
focusing on the ten superpowers identified in the book, with both school districts, the
town librarians, and Tri-Town Council. These ten monthly superpowers (openness,
creativity, gratitude, compassion, authenticity, love, fun, humor, simplicity, and courage)
were infused into the existing curriculum in a variety of creative and meaningful ways.

Professional Development: Educators participated in a variety of professional
development courses during this past school year. Below is a list of the in-district courses
offered.

● Reader’s Workshop (K-2)
● Reader’s Workshop (3-6)
● Pedagogy- Best Instructional Practices (PK-6)
● Close Reading (3-6)
● Fundations Training for grade 3 Teachers
● Bar Model Bootcamp- Math problem solving with the bar model method
● Mindful, Not Mind Full
● ESL- Making Content Comprehensible
● Close Reading
In addition to courses, teachers have been engaged in various workshops to improve and
enhance their professional skills. Although not exhaustive, the following describe many
of the key workshops offered during the past year.
Tech Talk: The Tech Talk workshop series is currently in its third year. A variety of new
topics are being addressed in addition to many in-demand repeat sessions being offered
for those unable to previously participate. Currently there are many offerings related to
Google applications as our teachers work to more fully utilize Google applications for
education. We look to continuously update these workshops, and continue to focus on
improving student learning as a focus of this teacher development opportunity.

W.I.S.E: The W.I.S.E. (Workshops in Education) is in its second year. There are a wide
variety of topics offered related to special education and meeting the needs of diverse
learning styles. Sessions take place weekly throughout the school year and are led by Tri-
Town educators.
Professional Development Grant: Both schools received a professional development
funding from BEST and PTO to support teachers in the study of “Effective Use of
Teacher Language”. The total amount received from these two organizations was
$15,391.55. Teachers finished working with consultant Mike Anderson to study this topic
using the following two books: The Power of Our Words by Paula Denton and Mindset
by Carol Dweck. This past fall, Mike Anderson came back to Cole and Spofford Pond
Schools to lead workshops on the power of giving students choice in their own learning
using his recent book called Learning to Choose Choosing to Learn.
Science from Scientists: Now in its second year, Spofford Pond School has received
$7,500 in funding through the granting process of BEST and New England BioLabs to
support a “scientist-in-residence” program for grade five students. The students have a

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