Welcome

Dear ECLC Members and Invited Guests,

I hope this email finds you and your loved ones safe and well. It is a trying time on so many levels. Our team holds you all in our hearts as you prepare for a school year unlike any other in our lifetime.

Tomorrow at 8:30 am, we will gather for the third annual ECLC Summer Institute--the first to be held virtually due to the pandemic. In writing this welcome to you, which is intended to obviate the need for a long introduction tomorrow, I had the urge to revisit the dictionary definition of "virtual". The word kept striking me as wholly inadequate to what I aspire for us to create together this week. The definition I found was "almost or nearly as described, but not completely or according to strict definition." If that's the case, then pretty much every life experience is virtual because not much happens according to strict definition, especially these days. So I can live with that word, but the term "social distancing" troubles me more, as we should be anything but socially distanced from one another when comfort and support are so desperately needed. So let us agree to make the next few days as socially connected as possible, and to regard our virtual space and physical distance as simple acknowledgements that life isn't perfect. I know that all of you, along with our guest faculty and musicians, possess the individual and collective creativity to make this a memorable learning experience for yourselves and each other.

It is our hope that this year's Summer Institute accomplishes the following:

  • Support you in easing back into the school year and preparing for a successful transition
  • Strengthen your relationships and sense of interconnectedness with one another--within and across district teams, as well as with partners in the wider community
  • Build community resilience and educator resilience, and offer programmatic supports to ensure student resilience, using a variety of strategies
  • Deepen understanding of the community’s assets and needs in support of students with learning differences and other underserved populations, employing equity-driven, data-based inquiry.

The new Summer Institute website is intended as a one-stop shopping experience. Please familiarize yourself with it before tomorrow and make sure to check out this link, which has important announcements. Ordinarily, we would be sharing these aloud, but in order to maximize our in-person time together, we have posted them for your convenience.

I would like to take a few moments to thank those who are making the 2020 ECLC Summer Institute possible. First and foremost, of course, is the Peter and Elizabeth C. Tower Foundation, our magnanimous funder and trustworthy partner in this work. Thank you to the Trustees for providing this much-needed space for educators in Essex County to learn, reflect, and grow so that their students can do the same--and to Tracy Sawicki, the Foundation's fearless Executive Director.

The ECLC's other generous funders include the Essex County Community Foundation, for whom we have great respect and with whom we have been collaborating more closely. Linzee Coolidge, a warm-hearted and generous philanthropist in Essex County, recently provided us with additional funding that enables us to do more on your behalf. We also thank the Van Otterloo Foundation, which has brought Lesley University and two guest faculty to this year's Summer Institute.

Additionally, I want to personally express my gratitude to the dream team that has put in countless hours, much thought, and unbridled passion into planning this Summer Institute. To Emily Wilson, ECLC project manager extraordinaire; and to our cherished partners and colleagues at the Center for Collaborative Education: Oscar Santos, CCE's Executive Director, Diana Lebeaux, CCE's Director of District and School Design; Senior Associates Dawn Shearer-Coren, Soraya Ramos, and Laura Tota; and to Office Manager Allison Plesz. It has been the utmost pleasure to watch this team row in the same direction with such tireless commitment.

Finally, don't forget to join us in the Teacher's Lounge during the breaks, where you can say hello to one another, and in the Performance Studio during lunch to hear music from artists representing the best of the New England folk/indie tradition (family members welcome). And if you are a fan of trivia games, optimize your chance of winning a $25 gift card by participating in our customized ECLC Summer Institute Trivia Bonanza.

Thanks so much for your participation in what we hope will be an enlightening, engaging, and helpful few days. We look forward to being socially connected with all of you at 8:30 tomorrow morning!

Warmly,

Jane, on behalf of the entire ECLC ExecutiveTeam