Exploring Professional Development in Creative—and Unexpected—Ways

This school year, eight Grade 4 students are piloting the use of a large-scale building kit known as Rigamajig, originally developed for New York City’s High Line Park by toy designer Cas Holman. The kit—filled with every imaginable type of building material—is designed to encourage collaborative, hands-on, open-ended play. But when Head of School Renée Greenfield first ran the idea by Carroll teachers last summer, Lower School science teacher Kelly Sampar and Lower School speech language pathologist Jen Amos immediately honed in on a secondary benefit: building communication skills.

On November 23, Carroll was abuzz as alumni descended upon the Lincoln campus for the 2022 Homecoming celebration. There was a palpable sense of excitement as classmates reunited with each other. Though the festivities are held in the gym, alums enjoy time strolling around campus, soaking in the memories, fitting in some gaga action, and most importantly, visiting teachers.

To fully create a culture of kindness and empathy at Carroll, we embolden our students to volunteer and give back to the community inside and outside of our campus walls. By providing opportunities for charitable giving—be it their time, advocacy, or donations—our hope is that students will be motivated to continue this important work throughout their lifetime. Here’s what that looks like across our campuses this year.

Carroll School has long been a leader in teacher training, and in providing intensive professional development focused on meeting the needs of students with learning differences. Carroll’s mission to equip and support educators doesn’t end there, however. We want to make these opportunities not just available, but more inclusive to educators from every race, culture, and background.

The Maureen McGuire Myers Endowment Fund for Faculty Professional Development opens the doors for our faculty to discover all the different things “professional development” can mean.

Carroll is a school with a broad geographic reach. This creates challenges for families who want to get to know and spend time with other families—new friends who might live a few towns away, versus down their street. The Parents’ Association helps facilitate these relationships for Carroll families… and helps parents give back to the educators who have changed their lives.

Carroll's attention to onboarding new faculty and staff is most closely witnessed during the week/s before school starts. In addition to joining returning faculty in professional development trainings and team meetings, new employees attend a New Employee Orientation. A cornerstone event during this specialized training is the Carroll Alumni and Alumni Parents panel. Read why it's so powerful.

Gathering in circles is not a new practice at Carroll. Our educators use circles to create a safe space for students to listen, engage, and interact throughout the day. This year, we are being more intentional about circle work at Carroll.

For the first time since installation, every Middle School student will have their dream stored this year in the Dream Wall in Carroll's Arts and Innovation Center.