Meet Maple Bear Trainer Gail Read

At Maple Bear, our Canadian trainers are an incredibly important component as they ensure proper delivery of the Maple Bear curriculum using the Canadian methodology which is child-centered and experiential.

Fortunately, trainers like Gail Read have thrived on the experience of going into Maple Bear classrooms around the world.

Gail has had the opportunity to train in twelve Maple Bear Schools in two countries. Notably, she has gotten to know one of the two countries, Brazil, in-depth on a particularly memorable training experience that took her through a tour of the country from the Amazon in the north to Sao Paulo in the south, from Goiania in the central west to Natal in the east.

Now that is a storybook Maple Bear adventure!

Gail brings an impressive portfolio of experience to Maple Bear: her educational credentials include a BA in developmental psychology, a BEd in K-9 education and a MEd with a focus on language acquisition and special education.

The Ontario native also has extensive experience in the field including teaching 4 years in a program for developmentally-delayed students, 15 years in elementary grades and finally 18 years in vice principal and principal roles.

Gail’s devotion to the professional development of teachers and her experience in administration have been assets in establishing the goals, policies and routines that make up the Maple Bear program. Running workshops for the dedicated and eager Maple Bear teachers in particular is a source of joy for Gail, especially when she has the opportunity to return to schools she has trained at previously:

“Getting to know the staff, build the next step program and then return to raise the educational bar of excellence has been most memorable,” says Gail, noting her return trips to several Brazilian schools, Goiania and Natal among those.

“Maple Bear offers a very strong program that has demonstrated strong gains in student performance,” believes Gail — a program that could not exist without the commitment of our trainers to implementation, staff support and ongoing assessment.