ORONO – Some 500 kindergarten through eighth-grade teachers will participate in a series of workshops from Veazie to Bucksport during a collaborative Regional In-service Day on Friday, March 15. The third annual event, pooling the resources and expertise of eight school districts and the University of Maine, is sponsored by the Penobscot River Educational Partnership: A Professional Development Network.

Fifty sessions will be offered during the day, presented by area educators and practitioners in a variety of professions. Topics focusing on instruction, information, standards and assessment across the curriculum range from algorithms and writing to mythology and music.

In addition, programs dealing with well-being and safety are offered, such as service animals in the classroom, nonviolent physical intervention and a workshop on asthma for school nurses. The sessions also will feature the latest software and strategies for integrating technology into instruction.

Three years ago, participating superintendents agreed on a calendar that would allow a common in-service day among schools in the network.

The goal of the collaborative event is to provide as much relevant professional development and immediately usable information as possible in single-day workshops and experiences, according to network director Nancy Yoder.

By working as a consortium, the school districts are able to offer teachers more options and be more cost-effective, she pointed out.

Partners are school districts in Brewer, Bucksport, Old Town, Hampden, Orono, Veazie, Milford, Orrington and Indian Island, as w

The schedule of the Regional In-service Day workshops is available at www.preppdn.org, or from Kay Hyatt, 581-2761.