There is a place in Leverett where children make friends, explore ideas, conduct experiments, develop a sense of belonging, test hypotheses, build community, and pursue subjects as diverse as gravitational forces, literary devices, and the causes and consequences of human migrations, all the while learning to be informed, thoughtful and responsible citizens and neighbors.

All of this is made possible by the talented teachers at Leverett Elementary school: highly-trained, highly-skilled professionals who—each day—take on an extraordinary number of challenges:

• from constructing curriculum, securing instructional resources, and establishing learning goals, to planning lessons, designing and conducting assessments, and mentoring other teachers;

• from organizing classrooms, managing a roomful of children, and overseeing recess, to dealing effectively with students with special needs, communicating with students’ families, leading field trips, forming after school clubs, and much, much more.

Many LES teachers have Masters degrees and Ph.Ds. They spend hours of their own time reflecting on their teaching, seeking additional training, reading educational journals, increasing their content and pedagogical knowledge, forming professional learning communities, and visiting other schools to observe new and creative teaching practices.

In order for our school to continue to provide Leverett’s children with the education they need, we must continue to stand behind the people who teach and care for them. Through this year’s Leverett for LES Challenge we can help the teachers and staff at our school by offering financial support beyond what the Town can contribute: for courses at the university; to bring to the school other educators to provide specialized training; to fund innovative projects; and to pay for materials and classroom equipment outside the school’s budget.

WHAT WE FUNDED LAST YEAR

Subscription to Online Curriculum Resources

Ropes Challenge Course

Library Bird Nook

Greenhouse Program

Summer @Les Garden
and Nature Program

Cooking Supplies and Equipment

Alternative and Flexible Seating Options

Field Trip to Boston Museum of Science

Social Emotional and Psychodynamic Books

Mental Health Ipads

Mud Kitchen

Walkie Talkies for Afterschool Program