TLC Alumnus, Joe Flores
Joe grew up on the Cranberry Isles, one of Maine’s year-round “outer islands”. Growing up on an island can be lonely for young students with very few peers of the same age or grade level, and Joe’s life was forever changed by participating in Island Institute’s Outer Islands Teaching & Learning Collaborative (TLC), a teacher-led group that provides a virtual community for the smallest island schools where students and teachers can access an inter-island peer network.
Recognizing the importance of collaboration and socialization for student development, Island Institute started TLC creating a lifeline of support for students and teachers to sustain Maine’s one- and two-room island schools. Joe is paying it forward by serving the Islands he loves with the Beal and Bunker Ferry Service.
“Going from an outer island school to a large high school is a very hard transition for a lot of students, and I think that the TLC really helps make that a little bit easier. The TLC helped me advance to be the person I am today.”
– Joe Sanchez-Flores
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