Virtual Convening Presentations:
Join LIfTS for our fall virtual convening! Voices From the Field, features presentations conducted by practitioners for practitioners. We will highlight three initiatives implemented by educators intending to develop trauma-sensitive, safe, and supportive environments within their schools. These inquiries help illustrate how essential reflective practice is to trauma-sensitivity.

Weymouth High School | Path to a Trauma Lens

Weymouth High School presentation will highlight their steps in the past 15 months towards bringing a whole child and whole school trauma-sensitive lens to our school community, including presentations to administration, introductory professional development for staff, surveys, and the development of a website hub for resources for the school community.

Linda Drew, M.Ed. 

Is in her fourth year teaching at Weymouth High School. Linda has been running Tier II interventions at the high school since 2019 and Leads the Pathways Diploma Program, a work-study pathway to graduation, since 2021. She is a committed lifelong learner and works to improve school culture through a trauma informed lens. Linda earned her certification on The Impact of Trauma on Learning  through Lesley University’s LIFTS program in August of 2022. 

Kathleen McDonald, M.Ed.

Is in her 18th year of teaching at Weymouth High School.  In her tenure, Kathleen has served as the Lead Teacher of the Special Education Department and has taught in various capacities including an inclusion teacher, reading teacher, and learning center teacher.  Kathleen completed the LIFTS certificate program in August of this year.  She is excited to share her knowledge so as to improve the overall culture at Weymouth High School.

Mary Stefaney, M.Ed.

Is in her 16th year of teaching at Weymouth High School. During that time, Mary has taught both subseparate and inclusion classes within the Special Education and Mathematics Departments, and has also served in the positions of Senior Class Advisor, Capstone Advisor and as a Lead on the WHS PBIS Team. She was excited to enroll in and complete the LIFTs certificate program courses in the Impact of Trauma on Learning through Lesley, as the program fit well with her own philosophies on student learning and allowed her to expand her knowledge in the area in a way that meshes particularly well with secondary level students.

Cape Elizabeth Schools | Mindfulness in the Classroom

A sharing by two teachers in Maine who are using Mindfulness in the Classroom and in their own lives to benefit the Social Emotional Wellbeing of students and the classroom community.

Tara Bucci, M. Ed.

With nearly a quarter century in the field of education, Tara Bucci is currently a fourth-grade teacher at Pond Cove Elementary School in Cape Elizabeth, Maine. She began her teaching career at the May Institute in Braintree, Massachusetts, working with traumatic brain injured students. Her career then took her to Northern Virginia, where she achieved a graduate degree in Literacy Instruction from Virginia Tech, while teaching in the Fairfax County School District. Finally returning to New England several years later, she found herself, once again, engaged in graduate studies, this time at the University of Southern Maine. Here, she earned a Certificate of Advanced studies in Educational Leadership and is certified as an administrator K-12 in the State of Maine. This past spring, Tara earned a Graduate Certificate in Trauma and Learning through Lesley University Cambridge, Massachusetts. She continues to work on developing mindfulness, while sharing her extensive background with her students. In her spare time, she enjoys being outdoors in nature and with her husband, Jeffrey and son Jed.

Shelly Haffenreffer holds a Master’s Degree in Special Education and Early Intervention from the University of Maine Orono. She was awarded a Fellowship in Leadership Education in Neurodevelopmental Disabilities (LEND) program , a Maternal and Child Health Bureau interdisciplinary program housed in the Department of Pediatrics Division of Child Development, University of New Hampshire. Shelly also earned a Graduate Certificate in Trauma and Learning, Lesley University, Cambridge, MA.

Shelly is currently a Special Education Teacher at to Lyseth Elementary School, Portland, Maine.

Cape Elizabeth Schools | The Impacts of Workplace Stress on Staff Wellbeing

Our group has been exploring the relationship between workplace stress levels and overall staff wellbeing. To conduct our research, we sent out two surveys to the staff of our elementary school—the first in December 2021 and the second follow-up survey in October 2022. Through quantitative and qualitative measures, we asked respondents to rate their perceived level of stress, the impact of stress on their ability to do their work, and school-wide measures that have helped mitigate their stress. The objective of our research is to identify helpful strategies and make recommendations that will have a positive impact on improving stress levels in the workplace.

Kate Atkinson has been in education for 17 years. She has taught grades K, 1, 3, 4, and 5 in schools in Colombia, New York City, and Maine, including gifted and talented and Special Education classrooms. She holds a Masters Degree in Education and is currently working as an elementary Literacy Coach in Portland Public Schools.

Sarah Adams has been an elementary school teacher for 17 years. She earned her Master of Science in Education (MSEd) degree in Teaching and Learning from the University of Southern Maine. Currently a 3rd grade teacher at Pond Cove Elementary school, she has taught kindergarten, first, and fourth grade during her career. She has also enjoyed serving as a mentor for student teachers and new staff. Sarah lives with her husband and two children in Cape Elizabeth, Maine.

Susan Bahadori is a speech-language pathologist who has been working in schools for the past 13 years. She is originally from a suburb of Washington, DC, but has lived in southern Maine for the past eight years. She has worked with children aged 18 month-adulthood, but has primarily worked with school-aged children. She works part-time for a public school and sees private clients through her private practice. Susan has a specific interest in literacy and executive functioning as it applies to language.

Melissa Bam has been a Special Education Teacher in Cape Elizabeth, Maine for 12 years. She earned her Bachelor's degree in Family Studies at Arizona State University and her Master's degree in Special Education at Regis University. Melissa has been teaching for 19 years. She has taught Special Education in Colorado, California, and Maine and has taught all grade levels from kindergarten to 12th grade. Melissa completed her Impact of Trauma on Learning Certificate with the Lesley Institute for Trauma Sensitivity last year.