PRESQUE ISLE, Maine — A local educator is coordinating a statewide teachers’ workshop to be hosted by Alpha Psi State on Saturday, March 18, 2017, at Gardiner Area High School in Gardiner, Maine.
Elaine Hendrickson of Presque Isle, currently the first vice president of Alpha Psi, taught for 34 years in Aroostook County and was the 2001 Maine Teacher of the Year. She said the S-T-R-E-T-C-H Your Teaching workshop invites teachers of all levels, and will draw many Maine educators from all grades and subject areas, who will share their expertise with attendees.
One of the presenters is Bill Guerrette of Presque Isle, eighth-grade social studies and language arts teacher at Presque Isle Middle School. He will present Helping Students Live in the Past, during which he will focus on ideas that help connect students with their community’s past.
Guerrette was recently recognized as the Presque Isle Historical Society’s Director of the Year for the work that he has done in promoting the history of Presque Isle to his students.
Hendrickson said Alpha Psi State is a chapter of Delta Kappa Gamma International Society of Women Educators. DKG promotes the professional and personal growth of women educators and excellence in education. Worldwide there are 82,000 members in 17 countries.
Well-known educator Dr. Mike Muir will keynote the workshop. He has been the Learning Through Technology Director at the Maine Department of Education since January 2015.
According to Hendrickson, Muir would like educators to think more about the kinds of learning experiences they’d like for their students and how technology could help achieve those, rather than have schools put too much focus on the devices and tools themselves.
In his keynote, titled Keeping Learning First, he will share how important it is to keep learning the priority as teachers implement technology into their classrooms. Muir will also present two sessions. In Motivating Underachieving Students, he will discuss how teachers can re-engage and motivate these learners. In the second, he will describe what microcredentials are and what they have to do with professional development.
The S-T-R-E-T-C-H Your Teaching workshop runs from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. There are 5.5 continuing education credits available. The event will also feature educational vendors and a chance to win a door prize.
The registration deadline is March 8; the cost is $40. For more information or to register, contact Hendrickson at elaine.hendrickson@gmail.com.
