The BEF allocated $100,000 to support Brookline’s teachers in building a robust remote learning model for the Fall.

In March, the school year was turned on its head as we all faced the first 100 days of a worldwide pandemic. Given the need to pivot all learning to a new, uncharted, remote environment, it’s no wonder that our teachers, students and school community struggled. While online teaching improved as the weeks went on, it was clear that there were still ways to develop more robust instruction for every student. The BEF saw this unprecedented need, combined with grave fiscal cuts at the district level, and we knew we needed to help.

As always, the BEF looked to the teachers to tell us what they needed. This spring, we held multiple focus groups with teachers and specialists, at all grade levels, and meetings with district leaders. We heard that teachers needed time this summer to collaborate and engage in professional development around remote learning. The BEF’s Board voted to allocate up to a $100,000 to help teachers and curriculum coordinators do this important, difficult work. While many of these efforts are still ‘in progress,’ we are getting great feedback about all the learning that is happening, in such a short time. Brookline is so fortunate to have such dedicated educators who care so deeply and want to make their students’ remote learning experience the best it can be.

Below, you will find an overview of the various ways in which this BEF grant is funding meaningful action this summer. If you have any further questions about the work, or wish to support these efforts, please reach out to us.

BHS Distance Learning Working Groups

Over 114 educators came together over the summer to synthesize their distance learning experience, and expand their knowledge by researching, reading and collecting resources for improving their remote learning practice for the fall. In late August, BHS faculty came together at an ‘UnConference’ where the working teams shared out their findings, strategies and best practices to their BHS colleagues. Please check out the UnConference website for more info!

Curriculum Coordinators Grants

The BEF provided stipends for summer work for every curriculum coordinator in the district, not already covered with the BHS grant, including performing arts, visual arts, and libraries. These team leaders will be examining their content areas and developing plans that better fit remote content delivery. They will then work with teachers at every school to move toward a more uniform learning experience across the district.

Social Emotional Supports in a Remote Environment

The BEF supported the District in purchasing an annual membership to Massachusetts Partnership for Youth which will provide access to the website. This allows for all professional development seminars and workshops to be available for free and are regularly advertised to teachers, principals, coordinators and paraprofessionals from the district to attend the professional development offerings. MPY focuses on the health and safety of students and is committed to bringing cutting-edge information and high quality trainings to our constituents and endeavors to provide solution-oriented, community-based, multi-disciplinary approaches to reducing and ideally eliminating risky behaviors for youth.

Supporting K-5 Teachers

The BEF is supporting professional development targeted to teachers of our younger students to help them use new technology tools and platforms that they may not have used in the past. These sessions are coordinated through the Director of Professional Development for Brookline and the Director for Ed Tech and Libraries.