This show was inspired by the article written by Susan Conley for the November issue of of Maine Magazine. We know that kids learn differently, and that no matter how kids learn, education is of paramount importance. Maine is working to find ways to educate our kids in new ways, through programs such as charter schools. We hope you enjoy our thought-provoking conversations with Susan, Glenn and John.
Guests
Susan Conley
Susan Conley’s novel, Paris Was the Place (Knopf, August 2013) is an Indie Next Pick and an Amazon Fall Big Books Fiction Selection. Her memoir, The Foremost Good Fortune (Knopf 2011), won the Maine Literary Award for Memoir, was excerpted in the New York Times Magazine and was an Oprah Magazine Top Ten Pick of the Month. Other work of hers has also appeared in The New York Times Magazine, The New York Times, The Paris Review, The Huffington Post, Ploughshares, The Harvard Review and elsewhere. She’s received fellowships from the MacDowell Colony, the Breadloaf Writers Conference, and the Massachusetts Arts Council. A former faculty member at Emerson College, she’s currently on the faculty at the University of Southern Maine’s Stonecoast MFA Program. She also teaches at Colby College and is a contributing writing to Maine Magazine. She is the co-founder of The Telling Room, a nonprofit creative writing lab in Portland, Maine.
Dr. Glenn Cummings
In 2010, Dr. Glenn Cummings became President and Executive Director of Good Will-Hinckley, the historic 121-year-old parent organization of the Maine Academy of Natural Sciences, Maine first charter school. Cummings simultaneously received appointment to a full-time, tenure-track post of Assistant Professor of Educational Leadership at University of Southern Maine. Before returning home to Maine, Cummings served in President Obama’s administration as Deputy Assistant Secretary for the U.S. Department of Education. Cummings also is former Speaker of the House in the Maine House of Representatives, Majority Leader, and Chairman of the state’s Joint Committee of Education and Cultural Affairs, where he sponsored the bill to create the state community college system.
John D’Anieri
John D’Anieri comes to HCA with extensive experience in start-up public schools. He was part of the founding faculty of Poland Regional High School, led the start-up of Casco Bay High School in Portland on behalf of Expeditionary Learning Schools and has worked as a consultant to public charter schools in Ohio, New York, Massachusetts and Rhode Island. John also brings 12 years of work in professional development and school leadership to HCA working with schools affiliated with the Great Maine Schools Project, the National School Reform Faculty, and Expeditionary Learning Schools, with a particular interest in designing, developing, and maintaining strong professional learning communities. In addition to his school-based work, John’s been an independent facilitator and strategic planning consultant for businesses and non-profits. He’s a member of the Kappa class of the Institute for Civic Leadership, a trained mediator, and serves on the Steering Committee of Slow Money Maine. John received an Associates degree in Humanities and Social Sciences from Schenectady County Community College, Bachelor of Arts in Literature from S.U.N.Y. Binghamton, (Binghamton,N.Y.) and a Master of Arts in Teaching from Union College.
More from the Show
Our financial wellness tip of the week is brought to you by Tom Shepard of Shepard Financial. While Dr. Lisa Radio Hour business advisor, Marci Booth of BOOTH Maine, offers better business tips, Ted Carter of Ted Carter Inspired Landscapes shares important talking points, andBlack Bear Medical covers health and fitness updates.