In February 2024, the Bread Loaf School of English (BLSE) launched its first Winter Institute: a dynamic weekend of professional education, themed around “Teaching, Writing, and Acting across Difference” and supported by the KWDCC grant. The Institute attracted a full house. Fifty K-12 teachers came to the Bread Loaf mountain campus, many from the northeastern regions including and surrounding Vermont: 70% of the attendees were joining the School of English community for the first time. Led by veteran BLSE faculty and staff, the group engaged collaboratively throughout the snowy weekend in discussions of inclusive teaching practices. Workshops and other interactive sessions focused on various modes of visual, verbal, historical, and theatrical storytelling, providing participants a chance to experiment with strategies for cultivating voice and presence within and across diverse learning communities. Institute attendees and faculty alike were exhilarated by what they learned from each other and what they could take back to their schools. Eager for more, they described the experience as “transformative,” “energizing,” “rejuvenating,” and “fun.” An exciting (and, we anticipate, permanent) addition to the School of English’s summer programs, the Winter Institute has invited a new cohort of K-12 teachers into Middlebury’s conflict transformation conversations and will continue to extend the School’s reach as a Kathryn Wasserman Davis Collaborative in Conflict Transformation partner.

“The retreat-like quality of the environment as well as the invigorating and useful pedagogical conversations were both absolute gamechangers for my semester. I arrived at school today with excitement, energy, and innovative ideas for my classroom and department.”

“Overall, I am reenergized by so many different ideas, from so many different people (instructors and fellow students) that will guide my practice–that is the Bread Loaf experience.”

-2024 BLSE Winter Institute Participants