Staff from Bi-County Collaborative participated in team-building exercises at the Eleanor N. Johnson Middle School during an engaging day of professional development held on Friday, March 28. (Photo Courtesy Bi-County Collaborative)
WALPOLE — Under the banner of “Building Our Community,” Bi-County Collaborative (BICO) staff gathered for the organization’s 2025 Professional Development Day at the Eleanor N. Johnson Middle School on Friday, March 28, providing a vital opportunity to reflect on the importance of working as a team, teaching each other best practices and even having some fun together.
Professional Development Day 2025 was not simply a day away from the classroom to listen to seminars, it was a chance to foster community and a culture of positivity. The Professional Development Day activities emphasized effective communication, personal growth and teamwork.
“At BICO, we work with students with a variety of complex issues. Working seamlessly as a team is imperative to optimizing the supports we have in place to provide the maximum benefit possible to our students,” said BICO Executive Director Jeanne Sullivan. “The team-building activities, presentations and training sessions that our staff took part in during our Professional Development Day were all designed to help contribute toward this essential goal.”
After a continental breakfast and coffee, the Professional Development Day invited staff to engage collaboratively in a dynamic presentation and Q&A session, featuring Sara Young, a lifetime user of Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC). Staff got to hear first-hand about the challenges that their students are facing and how they can best engage, empower and educate them.
The bottom line, Young said, is the need to always “treat people like real people” and to remain patient with students. For example, Young suggested that teachers, paraprofessionals, and others should ask a student to repeat a statement instead of guessing or assuming based on a response that seems unclear.
“Be forgiving,” Young said, noting that some of her text-to-speech messages have unintentionally come across as rude. “Don’t guess or assume because you feel bad. It is important to be patient, flexible, and most of all to be kind.”
Ann Buckley, Professional Development and Curriculum Specialist, said this professional development day is an example of why working in a supportive, collaborative environment like BICO is so important for employees and students.
“This day really offered our employees many opportunities to collaborate, learn new things and better meet the needs of their individual roles,” Buckley said. “BICO really values our staff, and has made it a goal to support our growth and collaboration. As an employee, that feels really good, to feel that I’m valued, have a voice, and that I can continue to grow in a collaborative, supportive environment.”
Staff members then broke into smaller groups for team-building activities, including “escape rooms” that challenged participants to work together to solve puzzles. One challenge, “Master Schedule Mayhem,” called on teachers, paraprofessionals and administrators to communicate and collaborate in order to fit all their activities onto a master schedule, with a poster board listing all the time slots and index cards representing academics, staff meetings and extracurricular activities.
“Having been in multiple roles over the last 18 years at BICO, this helps them to better understand what goes into a day’s planning,” said Ben Giuffrida, Principal and Program Director for BICO. “For the paraprofessionals, it helps them see more about what the teacher’s responsibilities are. From the teacher’s perspective, it helps them to see how busy their paraprofessionals are. From the administration’s perspective, it allows us to better understand the day-to-day needs of our staff. These are things we may otherwise lose sight of when looking at the bigger picture.”
Another “escape room” challenged small groups to work collaboratively to complete a STEM challenge by constructing a free-standing structure using dry spaghetti sticks, some tape and marshmallows, promoting team spirit, cooperation and leading to a lot of laughs in the process. This was representative of a hands-on approach to learning that may take place in the classroom.
“The escape room activities during this year’s Professional Development Day were so much fun, but at the same time we learned so much about how we can address problems and challenges that inevitably come up in our line of work,” said Director of Student Services Julie O’Connor. “We got to see firsthand how staff members can best use their unique skills and strengths to work collaboratively with peers so that all of our students can benefit most.”
The Professional Development Day also provided opportunities for improved safety practices, including a driver training session provided by Jack Raeke, owner of TimPat Transportation. Nurses and other school staff took part in a lecture and Q&A session led by pediatric nurse practitioner Beth Klements from Children’s Hospital Boston, discussing how to respond when a student shows signs of bronchitis, pneumonia, gerd, sinusitis, asthma, cystic fibrosis and airway obstruction, and the red flags that would warrant outpatient or emergency treatment.
In addition to the interactive presentations, hands-on sessions and team-building activities, the Professional Development Day provided opportunities to meet with BICO benefits partners to learn more about how to get the most out of their employee benefits, including retirement plans, dependent care benefits, workers compensation and professional liability insurance.
The Professional Development Day also included opportunities for group meetings and office hours with Executive Director Jeanne Sullivan, held in the “cozy corners” set up in the hallways. Staff members then got together and chatted over lunch.
During the afternoon session, BICO staff took part in a hands-on, interactive presentation from professional speaker, counselor, and coach JoAnne Woods Young. The presentation, titled “The Growth Mindset Perspective,” emphasized the importance of personal responsibility and effective communication to drive team success, create a culture of positivity and produce a harmonious school environment.
“We’ve always had a strong team of individuals that work for the benefit of our students. But we rarely have the chance like this during our packed schedules to pull together as a full collaborative team to develop our skills and build relationships,” Executive Director Sullivan said. “This year’s Professional Development Day was a fine example of our organization coming together for that very purpose. This was an important opportunity for our staff, including paraprofessionals, teachers, therapists, nurses and Central Office staff, to grow in our common purpose and to increase effective collaboration, always with the eye on how that benefits the student and their educational development.”
Bi-County Collaborative provides specialized education programs to students from approximately 50 sending school districts in Massachusetts. BICO programs employ about 180 staff and provide educational services to approximately 180 students, ages 3 through 22. BICO programs address the needs of students with autism, communication issues, physical impairments, and other emotional, health, intellectual, and neurological learning disabilities.
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Sara Young, who earned her high school diploma in 2021, delivered a speech to BICO employees during the professional development day about her experiences learning using her Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC) device. (Photo Courtesy Bi-County Collaborative)
Ann Buckley, Professional Development and Curriculum Specialist, displayed the screen for the AAC device that Sara Young uses to communicate. (Photo Courtesy Bi-County Collaborative)
The Master Schedule Mayhem Escape Room involved finding time for employee development on top of classroom teaching responsibilities. (Photo Courtesy Bi-County Collaborative)
One of the escape rooms involved a STEM group challenge to build a structure made from dry spaghetti and marshmallows. (Photo Courtesy Bi-County Collaborative)
The STEM Challenge escape room empowered BICO employees to work together to solve problems. (Photo Courtesy Bi-County Collaborative)
Jack Raeke, owner of TimPat Transportation, gave a presentation on safety precautions to drivers and other employees. (Photo Courtesy Bi-County Collaborative)
BICO nurses learned from Beth Klements, pediatric Nurse Practitioner from Boston Children’s Hospital, about children’s coughs and administering inhalers. (Photo Courtesy Bi-County Collaborative)
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