Brewster Summer Institute: Preparing Teachers for Excellence
Before students return each year, Brewster teachers return to learning.
Every summer, educators from Brewster Academy and Brewster Madrid come together for the Brewster Summer Institute (BSI), an intensive professional learning experience designed to prepare teachers for the year ahead. First established in Wolfeboro in 1993, BSI has become an important part of the Brewster experience, helping educators understand not only what we teach, but how and why we teach it.
In 2026, 14 new teachers from Brewster Madrid took part in BSI alongside colleagues from Brewster Academy in Wolfeboro. While each campus has its own community and context, there is plenty of crossover throughout the experience. Teachers from Madrid and Wolfeboro take part in shared sessions, learn from experienced Brewster educators, and have opportunities to build relationships with colleagues across campuses.
For new teachers in particular, this is about much more than an introduction to a new school. BSI gives educators the opportunity to experience Brewster's approach to learning for themselves. Sessions explore our mission, Portrait of a Graduate, and Shared Understanding of High Quality Learning, while interactive workshops model the same engaging, student-centered approach that teachers are encouraged to bring into their own classrooms.
Learning also extends beyond the classroom. During BSI, teachers experience Learning Expeditions of their own, including opportunities to explore Madrid through a different lens. This year, teachers visited the Thyssen Museum, experiencing firsthand how a cultural space can become an extension of the classroom. They also spent time together outside of school, including a trip to El Escorial, where the team took part in a learning expedition and shared a potluck picnic.
These experiences matter because great teaching is not simply about knowing a subject. It is about knowing how students learn, creating meaningful experiences, building relationships, and understanding how to support different learners. BSI gives teachers the time, tools, and shared understanding to do that well.
It also helps build the sense of community that sits at the heart of Brewster. Teachers begin the school year having already formed connections with colleagues, understood the values that shape the school, and experienced the type of learning we want our students to experience every day. The connection between Madrid and Wolfeboro is an important part of that, giving educators the opportunity to learn from one another and recognize that they are part of a wider Brewster community.
The impact of BSI has been reflected in feedback from previous participants. One 2025 participant described it as “the best onboarding of any school I've ever worked in,” while another highlighted the “supportive, inclusive, and close-knit culture” it helped create at Brewster Madrid. Others described the experience as fun, creative, engaging, and genuinely useful.
BSI was founded on the belief that investing in teachers is one of the most important things a school can do. That belief remains at the heart of the program today. When teachers are well prepared, supported, and connected to the school community, students benefit too.
For more than 30 years, BSI has helped Brewster educators begin each school year with a shared understanding of what great learning can look like. At Brewster Madrid, that preparation continues to shape the experience we create for students every day.
