Laura Thomas
Core Faculty & Director of the Experienced Educators Program, Antioch University New England
Maura is the most flexible, positive, creative facilitator I've worked with in my 25-year career in teacher professional learning and school coaching. She is incredibly responsive to the needs of the teachers and deeply respectful of teachers' expertise and goals. Most importantly, Maura's approach to this work is inherently collaborative, building on both her own knowledge of evidence-based practices and the growing edges of the individuals and groups she's serving. No matter the need, Maura is always my first choice of co-facilitator, instructor, or program designer.
Katie Guilmett & Kim Bryant
1st-2nd Grade Classroom Teachers, Madison Elementary School
The time spent with Dr. Hart is always a highlight of our year. Whether we are engaged in a Professional Learning Community facilitated by Dr. Hart or receiving feedback after a classroom visit, we always walk away feeling proud of the work we have done. She has a unique ability to help staff identify their individual strengths and use them to grow their practice. Dr. Hart has been a part of Madison Elementary School even before we began our careers here. She has led the staff through the formation and implementation of an RTI team, guided us through peer coaching, and introduced us to the benefits of using checklists. Dr. Hart is a treasure trove of knowledge when it comes to different evidence-based practices! We look forward to working with Dr. Hart for years to come.
Heather Woodward, MEd
Principal, Madison Elementary School
I first met Maura seven years ago in her role as an educational consultant. I was instantly impressed by her strong knowledge base, communication skills, professionalism, and work ethic.
Over the past seven years, Maura has worked with me and my staff on a diverse set of instructional support. Some examples of her role at Madison Elementary School includes: structuring our school leadership team; providing an instructional coaching course; facilitating and scaffolding a peer observation process; conducting personalized Professional Learning Communities; supporting our implementation of Universal Design for Learning and mindfulness.
At a larger SAU level, Maura has led our administrative team through the improvement cycle process identifying strengths, areas for growth, and helping us develop a greater capacity for leadership. Maura also led our SAU through the development of our competency-based education system as she worked with administrators and teaching staff to construct a plan for development, communication, and follow-up.
I appreciate Maura’s ability to support our school as we moved forward as a team but also knowing when leadership decisions need to happen. Maura’s facilitation of our meetings demonstrates her knowledge of content and of people. She recognizes when people need to work things out to see the big picture, but she also recognizes when some decisions need to be made so that we can make progress.
My greatest compliment however for Maura has to be the support she has provided me as an administrator these past seven years. She was instrumental in supporting our philosophical change to a multi-age school six years ago and we continue to have successful full implementation. Maura has become a trusted colleague among my staff and myself. I can’t sing her praises enough for the work she has done and continues to do at Madison Elementary School.
Nancie D. Murphy
Director of Curriculum, Instruction, & Assessment, Mascoma Valley Regional School District
The Mascoma Valley Regional School District has worked with Dr. Maura Hart from Lean-In Consultations for several years. She stepped in after the school received a tough NEASC report and helped our teachers develop the Mascoma Improvement Team (MIT). They used backward design to work on improving education based on the NEASC feedback. Her ability to facilitate the MIT to do positive work that strengthened our culture, climate, and academics was remarkable. Her help has been invaluable in turning our high school around!
Aaron Cinquemani
Principal, Charlestown Middle School
Dr. Maura Hart's work with my staff was inspiring. She guided us through creating a sustainable and teacher-led instructional coaching model focused on evidence-informed high-impact engagement strategies. This was the next step after her support in sharpening our school's multi-tiered systems of support (MTSS).
Michael McSheehan
Evolve & Effect, LLC
Maura brings passion and excitement to her work. Whether it’s with systems or with professional development, her talents combine to meet people where they’re at and help them realize their next best step.