What The Milford Education Foundation Did Over Summer Vacation
Summer conjures up images of lazy days, no school, and vacations. This summer, like the past 6 summers, the Milford Education Foundation has been busy developing and cosponsoring the annual OneDayForDayOne program in partnership with the Milford Public Schools.
The program was originally designed to help teachers deal with their own preparedness for the new school year, not unlike what a child goes through in anticipation of the first day of school. Typically the program would consist of various presentations and workshops focussing on personal well-being and social and emotional learning. This year’s program focused along similar theme lines with the added dimension of Community, specifically, how to build stronger community within the school system among various personnel that interact with the students throughout the course of the day.
This year’s event, held on August 22nd at Beardsley Zoo, attracted over 100 members of the
Milford Public School system. Participants went well beyond teachers to include kitchen staff,
custodians, counselors, administrators, and transport workers.
Panel Discussion Yields a Potential New Mini-Grant
To take advantage of this diverse collection of talent, a panel discussion was moderated by
MEF Board Vice President Ed Faruolo, and included an administrator, a principal, a middle
school teacher, a kitchen manager, a secretary, a custodian, and a bus company manager. The objective was to gain perspective from all who see the student during the “on/off education” part of the day, and to explore opportunities to leverage their insights to enhance the education AND work experience.
As the panel proceeded a more complete picture of student life emerged embodied by the
custodian’s comment, “I’m the one that gets to see the kids grow up.”
At the conclusion of the panel, MEF was challenged with the potential of offering a Mini Grant that focuses on greater cross functional community among all who impact a student in the course of the day.
All in all, the Milford Education Foundation, in partnership with Milford Public Schools, provided engaging and Innovative learning for the community of educators and support staff that serve us all.
And it was all one in One Day!
For more information about this program, feel free to reach out to either:
Cathy Berni: cberni@milfordedfoundation.org
Jennifer Ju: jju@milfordedfoundation.org
Ed Faruolo: efaruolo@milfordedfoundation.org
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