Thursday, June 22, 2023 -- Hundreds of educators from around Alabama gathered at Mountain Brook High School for professional development on Tuesday and Wednesday this week as part of the Mountain Brook Schools annual Learning Conference.

"The purpose of this conference is to bring educators together to learn and to build community. Now, more than ever, educators must rely on the wisdom and expertise of each other to meet the increasingly challenging demands of the profession," Mountain Brook Schools Professional Development Specialist, Holly Martin, said. "Those in the profession must work to stay relevant and keep pace with evolving changes and ever-emerging innovations. We can meet these changes and challenges with creativity and wisdom by sharing our knowledge and shouldering this noble work together. That is what this conference is all about."

This year's theme was engagement and featured renowned author and speaker, Weston Kieschnick. He opened the conference on Tuesday morning, speaking and answering questions for two hours in the Mountain Brook High School Fine Arts Center. For the remainder of the day and all day Wednesday, educators broke out into a variety of learning sessions around the school.

"This is some of the most engaging and empowering professional development that I've ever had," Jacksonville High School English Teacher, Theresa Shadrix, said. "This is my third year at the conference and each year it increases my skills and challenges me."

Learn more about the Engage Learning Conference by visiting the conference website. Mountain Brook Schools would like to thank the Mountain Brook City Schools Foundation and the various event sponsors for their support in making this an effective, free professional development opportunity for all attendees.