FARMINGTON — For 14 Wednesdays this school year, elementary students in Mt. Blue Regional School District are being released at midday.

The practice gives teachers time to meet in small groups and share ideas, discuss activities, work on improving literacy and math skills for struggling students, and prepare for new state learning standards that go into effect next year.

A group of teachers reported on the early-release day program to the school board Tuesday. Last year, directors agreed to expand the program from nine days to 14 this school year. It was at the request of a broad contingent of teachers who said the additional time was critical as the new Common Core Standards Initiative is prepared for implementation later this year.

“We want to tell you how this valuable time is being used,” teacher Alex Ernst told the board.

Ernst teaches third grade at the W. G. Mallett School. He was joined by first-grade teacher Rhonda Hartford from Mallett and Kim Alexander from Academy Hill School in Wilton.

They described how teachers use the extra time to work with their colleagues in professional-learning communities, opportunities where they can meet in small groups and with other educational specialists, including math and literacy interventionists, special education teachers, and education technicians who work one-on-one with students who have difficulty learning.

It is a time to explore ideas in depth, share information, and keep track of students’ progress, they said.

One example, Ernst said, is that many students receive instruction from multiple teachers, but there was often no time for the them to sit down and discuss a student’s progress.

“We focus on problem solving so every student in our school is successful. We try to help students become successful before they fail,” he said.

“It means we have opportunities to problem-solve,” he said.

Another benefit is that teachers have time to share knowledge and skills they may have learned from educational conferences, and have time to talk with their peers about ways new ideas can be implemented, Alexander said.

There is also time to talk about schoolwide projects.

A service-learning project is going on at Academy Hill School. An reading-and-writing workshop is in its first year at Mallett. An after-school program is in full swing at Cascade Brook School in Farmington, and all students are involved in a special math project at Cushing School in Wilton, the teachers said.

At Mallett, teachers were able to plan a project in conjunction with the Koviashuvik Local Living School in Temple that teaches sustainable living and ties in with a study unit on Native Americans, Ernst said. Director Chris Knapp has been at the school twice to teach nature-based crafts, and in the spring, students will visit the school in rural Temple.

There is also time for teachers to learn and implement new technology tools, work on grant writing, complete report cards and write progress reports. They also have time to get training from the school nurse on diabetes as more children are being diagnosed with the disease.

Having time during the day has also opened the door to improved communication with parents who may only be available for conferences or phone calls during the day, Ernst said. And there is more time to work on newsletters and write notes home.

After an early-release day, teachers come back to school motivated and energized, Alexander told the board.

“Teachers are ready to roll and that spills over to the students,” she said.

“Teachers are making incredibly good use of this time,” Superintendent Michael Cormier told the board.

“We feel it has helped morale to have that time and that teachers feel more efficient and effective,” he said.

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