Mrs. Tyson’s class wrapped up reading The BFG and watched the movie adaptation to compare similarities and differences! 🎬✨ Our students also put their math skills to work by using their own money to buy movie snacks. They practiced the dollar up method to round their totals, make sure they had enough cash, and check for change.

✨ Inspiring the next generation of educators! ✨

Today, the Hancock County Educational Service Center curriculum/ instruction/ leadership team represented K-12 education careers at Raise the Bar’s Career Connections Day!

We challenged students to step into a teacher's shoes with "The 90 Second Spark Challenge" where they taught a skill or shared a passion, sparking curiosity and conversation. 🔥

It was amazing seeing local students light up as they realized that teaching starts with sharing what you love.

Pass it on! Share your spark—teach the world! 🌟

#HancockCountyESC #RaiseTheBar #CareerConnectionsDay #FutureEducators #K12Education #TeachTheWorld #InspireTomorrow

🎶 Ms. Ashley’s class had a special treat this week! 🎶 Miss Lorna stopped by to play music, sing songs, and bring so much joy to our classroom!

Our high schoolers in Ms. Altman's class headed to Suter’s Corn Maze for a day of teamwork and fun! Using their map-reading skills, teams tackled this year’s “A Zoo for You” themed maze—discovering fun animal facts and collecting every stamp along the way. 🗺️🐾

Last Friday, Mrs. Kahle’s class had an absolute blast visiting Challenged Champions Rescuing & Restoring for a day of horseback riding! Before hopping into the saddle, the students spent time grooming and brushing their horses' manes, building a great connection with their four-legged friends. It was a wonderful day full of smiles, hands-on learning, and fresh air.

Mrs. Tyson’s class is bringing the energy for this year's county-wide Can Drive Competition! All of our county schools are going head-to-head to see who can collect the most cans. The school that collects the most will receive a generous donation from Ball!

🍎 Apple-solutely Amazing Week in Ms. Wymer’s Class! 🍏 Our little scientists and chefs spent last week diving into all things apples! From cutting them open to explore the inside and making stamped paint art, to taste-testing different varieties and whipping up our own homemade applesauce (peeling, cooking, mashing, and eating!).

🏈 High Five Friday! ✋✨ Last Friday, the Riverdale Cheerleaders brought all the energy, welcoming our kiddos into the building to get everyone hyped for the big game that evening.

Dancing off those mid-week slumps! Huge shoutout to Power Up Fitness for coming in yesterday and leading our students through a high-energy cardio dance session. We loved seeing everyone move, groove, and sweat together!

An inspiring day with educators from across our 8 districts! "If you want to go fast, go alone; if you want to go far, go together."

When teachers come together across district lines to share their collective wisdom, amazing things happen. Today, our CS3 (Collaborative Systems for Student Success) Teacher-Leader PLC gathered to lay the groundwork for our grade-level and content-area Communities of Practice launching later this year.

We know that true professional growth isn't a one-size-fits-all, "sit-and-get" experience. It’s built on sustained, job-embedded collaboration—where active practitioners co-create solutions, share resources, and elevate instructional clarity and alignment.

During our session, our teacher-leaders unpacked what it truly means to lead from the classroom:
💡 Willingness & Investment: Caring deeply about student well-being and being ready to embrace meaningful change.
💡 Open-Mindedness & Adaptability: Listening, evolving practice, and asking thoughtful questions to solve real-world challenges.
💡 Collective Teacher Efficacy: Building the shared belief that together, we can positively impact every student’s learning journey.

Huge shoutout to the educators taking on co-design our upcoming ELA and Math Communities of Practice. Your leadership, credibility, and dedication are driving real impact across our partner schools!🚀


#TeacherLeadership #CollectiveEfficacy #CommunitiesOfPractice #EdLeadership #CollaborativeLearning #CS3

🍎 Fall is here, and apples were officially the theme last Friday! 🍎 Here’s how we kicked off autumn: 😋 Tasted a bunch of different apple varieties 🎨 Painted some fun apple art 🥣 Made fresh, warm homemade applesauce (and the rooms smelled incredible!) What’s your favorite fall activity? Let us know in the comments! 👇✨

Tail-wags, tummy rubs, and lots of learning! 🐾 Our favorite four-legged classmate, Otis, stopped by Ms. Wymer’s room today to spread some joy and lend a helping paw. The students loved having their favorite furry friend join in on the fun! Thank you, Otis, for making our day extra special! 🐶❤️

No single school district has to navigate the early career journey in isolation. Wrapping up our ⛺Basecamp Resident Educator⛺ orientation sessions this week brought that reality into sharp focus. Watching new educators and mentors from across our member districts come together to connect, share questions, and build shared practice was a powerful reminder of what collaborative regional leadership can achieve. Our induction framework is grounded in Ellen Moir’s seminal research on the phases of first-year teaching. As every educator knows, the initial surge of anticipation inevitably meets the intense rhythm of the "survival" and "disillusionment" phases as autumn settles in. Those phases aren’t signs of failure—they are completely predictable, natural developmental stages of learning the craft. What changes the outcome isn't just grit; it's a solid support structure. By grounding our work in Moir’s phases, we ensure: ⛺Anticipation turns into preparation: Normalizing the emotional and professional arc before the pressure points arrive. ⛺Isolation gets replaced by community: Creating cross-district ties so teachers realize their counterparts five miles away are solving the exact same challenges. ⛺Mentorship moves from reactive advice to proactive navigation: Giving mentors a shared developmental map to guide early-career educators through the valleys and back into rejuvenation. True educator retention happens when people feel seen, supported, and connected to something larger than their own four walls. Thank you to our dedicated mentors, district leaders, and new teachers for leaning in, sharing perspective, and showing the power of learning together. Here’s to a strong year of growth and shared success! #EducationalLeadership #ResidentEducator #TeacherMentorship #ProfessionalLearning #Collaboration #K12Leadership #TeacherRetention

Recycling meets Halloween! ♻️👻 The kids spent some time getting creative this week and transformed leftover recycled wood into the cutest spooky decorations.

Leadership is an art based on enabling others to do the work of a shared vision.

Middle School and High School principals did a deep dive into leadership today with Growth Focused Leadership. Shared leadership is key to the success of the CS3 (Collaborative Structures for Student Success) initiative at HCESC and that starts with our administrators having a full understanding of their individual leadership. This will include a 360-degree leadership assessment and leadership coaching.

This initiative is supported by grants from The Findlay-Hancock Community Foundation and the Martha Holden Jennings Foundation.

Today a local dental hygienist visited our Riverdale classrooms to teach students about proper oral hygiene! Teachers joined in for a fun demonstration using pink disclosing dye to show how plaque sticks to teeth—even after a morning coffee. The hands-on lesson left the kids laughing and excited to practice brushing at home. Thank you to Miss Amanda for supporting our students' health!

Day 1 of the Aide/Paraprofessional PD brought 40 superhero paraprofessionals to the Hancock County ESC represent our ESC classrooms, Riverdale, and Liberty-Benton. 🍎✨

From deep dives into Special Education basics (ETRs & IEPs) to mastering Behavior Basics and nonviolent crisis intervention, our team spent the day building skills to better support our students every step of the way. We also highlighted the power of professionalism, effective communication, and presence with some thought-provoking simulations.

Thank you to our dedicated team for showing up, learning together, and bringing so much heart to our schools! ❤️

#ParaPower #EducationalAides #Paraprofessionals #ProfessionalDevelopment #SpecialEducation #HancockCountyESC #EducationMatters #RuralEd

Today, the HCESC curriculum/instruction/leadership team was honored to facilitate the Culturize Introduction workshop with the incredible staff at Riverdale! We kicked off the session grounded in Riverdale's core mission: Every Child. Every Day. Whatever It Takes.

Together, we challenged ourselves with two big questions for the school year:
❓ What if the most important thing we do this year isn’t something that can be measured on a test?
❓ What if it’s helping a child believe they matter?

Through honest discussions and powerful reflections exploring how our words and actions shape our school environment, Riverdale staff dove deep into what it truly means to make sure every student—and staff member—feels valued and heard.

Thank you, Riverdale educators, for your heart, vulnerability, and commitment to creating a school culture where everyone wants to BE every single day. We're proud to partner with you on this journey! 💙

#ESC #Culturize #EveryStudentEveryDay #WhateverItTakes #SchoolCulture #RelationshipsMatter #PDDay #EducationLeadershi