Registration is open for an online nonviolent communication program, Teaching from the Heart, at the University of Maine Hutchinson Center in Belfast. The three-day professional development program for educators, teachers and those working with preschool-third grade children runs August 24 - 26, from 9 - 11:30 a.m.

The emotional implications of the COVID-19 pandemic will require teachers to think in new ways in order to support their students, according to Hutchinson.

“The reliable systems taught by Simm will provide participants with empathetic training to help children transition back into the classroom,” said the school.

Participants in the Hutchinson Center online course will learn how to manage classrooms and learning environments with a practical, simple curriculum based on instructor Gina Simm’s book, Heart to Heart: Three Systems for Staying Connected (A Manual for Parents and Teachers). Skills that help maintain the heart-to-heart connections that support children’s ability to self-regulate and improve their emotional intelligence are at the core of this course. Participants will also learn how to use children’s literature to teach principles of nonviolent communication.

Simm has taught in early childhood education for over 30 years. Her background in Montessori education and children’s theater launched her into the world of public schools, where she spent most of her career as a first grade teacher (including a year spent teaching English in China). Simm worked closely with Miki Kashtan, a co-founder of Bay Area Nonviolent Communication.

Simm’s knowledge of nonviolent communication has transformed her classroom into a place where systems of the heart create a child-centered environment for moving through conflict, according to Hutchinson Center, in a news release.

Simm lives in the Pioneer Valley Cohousing Community in Amherst, Massachusetts. More information about her work is online.

The cost is $125 (need-based scholarships available). More information is available on the Hutchinson Center website.

Participants will earn a UMaine certificate in nonviolent communication, and 0.7 CEU/7 contact hours are available. Reliable internet is required for all participants.

For information or to request a reasonable accommodation, contact Michelle Patten, michelle.patten@maine.edu; 207.338.8002. More information about upcoming UMaine professional development programs, registration and need-based scholarship applications are online. 

About the Hutchinson Center:

The Hutchinson Center is an outreach center for the University of Maine in Orono, that serves as an educational and cultural center for the midcoast area. It is named for University of Maine President Emeritus Frederick E. Hutchinson. The mission of the Hutchinson Center is to broaden access to University of Maine academic and non-degree programs and services, lifelong learning opportunities, and professional and career development experiences using innovative approaches that increase synergy among University of Maine System entities, University of Maine departments and divisions, and that engage a wider Maine community. 

About the University of Maine: 

The University of Maine, founded in Orono in 1865, is the state's land grant and sea grant university. As Maine's flagship public university, UMaine has a statewide mission of teaching, research and economic development, and community institutions in the Northeast and attracts students from Maine and 49 other states, and 67 countries. It currently enrolls 11,240 total undergraduate and graduate students who can directly participate in groundbreaking research working with world-class scholars. The University of Maine offers 35 doctoral programs and master's degrees in 85 fields; more than 90 undergraduate majors and academic programs; and one of the oldest and most prestigious honors programs in the U.S. The university promotes environmental stewardship, with substantial efforts campuswide aimed at conserving energy, recycling and adhering to green building standards in new construction. For more information about UMaine, visit umaine.edu.