Northern Essex Community College English Professor Lisette Espinoza

This summer Northern Essex Community College English Professor Lisette Espinoza completed the Andover Bread Loaf (ABL) Writing Workshop at Phillips Academy, along with other educators from New England, New York, and Louisiana, and Kenya, Haiti, and El Salvador.

During the two-week workshop, participants composed poems, worked side-by-side with students from Lawrence public schools, and were mentored by regional artists including hip hop artists, spoken word poets, and actors and actresses. They also went on a field trip to Middlebury College, where they mingled with its alumni, including novelist Julia Alvarez – who was awarded the National Medal of Art on July 28th, 2014.

ABL started as a member of the Bread Loaf Teacher Network, a professional development network established by Middlebury College’s Bread Loaf School of English. This summer the ABL program was one of the 2014 Essex County Community Foundation Awards Summer Grant recipients.
 
“The ABL workshops taught me to see the value of students’ own imaginative contributions in the learning process. Approaching new material with drawings, writings or performing creative pieces builds their confidence as learners because they express their own cultural rich perspectives as they learn,” says Espinoza.  “My 2014/2015 pedagogical upgrade entails borrowing teaching techniques from ABL and members of its growing community of educators.”

For more information on the Andover Bread Loaf, visit the website.