Rural Thrive: The Rural Educator Resilience Project will host a day of professional development and learning for early-career teachers at the University of Maine at Farmington (UMF) on Friday, March 6.
The Spring 2026 Rural Thrive Foundations Retreat is open to any Maine public school teacher in their first three years in the classroom, even those who do not teach in a rural school. Participants will explore strategies that support resilient, meaningful and effective teaching practices through learning walks in local classrooms and building connections with fellow educators.
The University of Maine College of Education and Human Development launched the Rural Thrive project with a goal of facilitating effective mentorship and support at three key moments in an educator’s career: early-career — years one to three; mid-career and those in building or district leadership. In addition to UMaine, the project includes educator preparation programs at other public universities across the state — such as UMF — as well as Thomas College and Colby College.
The retreat is free and includes lunch. Travel reimbursement is available for attendees traveling more than 25 miles to the conference. The UMaine College of Education and Human Development can also help find substitute teachers to cover the classrooms of teachers who attend. Participants will receive contact hours toward teacher recertification.
Teachers interested in participating in the retreat are asked to sign up by Feb. 6. More information and a link to register is online. For questions, contact Rural Thrive Mentor Teacher in Residence Laura Bean at laura.bean@maine.edu.
Rural Thrive was established with a $3.3 million Congressionally Directed Spending award secured in Fiscal Year 2024 by U.S. Sen. Susan Collins, chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee, and U.S. Sen. Angus King.
