Carl J. Lamb Elementary School in Springvale opened its doors on Saturday, April 11, 2026, to host the second annual Maine Adaptive Music Summit. Organized by Carl J. Lamb music teacher Hattie Skvorak, the summit brought together music educators, special education teachers, and educational technicians for a full day of professional development focused on adaptive music education.
Adaptive music is about finding creative ways to make music class work for every student, whether that means modifying instruments, adjusting teaching approaches, or finding new strategies to support students with disabilities or learning differences.
The summit was born out of a gap Skvorak identified in available professional development.
“We were hearing feedback from ed techs that they wanted professional development on how to support their students in the special areas, with music being one of them,” Skvorak explained.
Skvorak said hosting the summit at Carl J. Lamb was an excellent opportunity.
“It was so wonderful to have other people in our space and see all the great things that our special educators and teams are doing,” Skvorak expressed. “It was so nice to hear them speak so highly of our school and all the work that we’re doing and the collaborative efforts being made between specialist teachers and special education teachers.”
A standout moment from this year’s summit was a presentation from Julia Edwards, the 2026 Maine Teacher of the Year, who spoke about making concert settings accessible for students, performers, and audiences alike.
“One of the things that is particularly meaningful about this event is the focus on collaboration,” Edwards said. “The focus spreads beyond the music classroom and celebrates the role music can play in other therapies and classrooms.”
Other sessions at the summit included “Opening the Doors to a Unified Choral Rehearsal” with choral music teacher Michael Gallagan, “Assisting Students During Specials” with special education teacher Ashley Walker, and “Music and Communication in Speech Therapy” with speech language pathologist Fran Bodkin, among others.
This year’s lineup also intentionally expanded beyond general music to include sessions relevant to secondary ensemble teachers, ensuring that band, choral, and orchestra educators all left with practical takeaways.
“Hattie Skvorak has done a remarkable job seeing a need and using her organizational magic to highlight innovative practices and celebrate the diversity in how our students learn,” Edwards added.
Carl J. Lamb ed tech Janelle Brooks attended the summit for the first time this year and described the day as eye-opening. She said her favorite moment came during Gallagan’s session, when the whole room was brought together to sing and keep rhythm.
“Listening to everybody come together with their voices making music was definitely my favorite part,” Brooks acknowledged.
Brooks said she also found it valuable to see how other districts approach adaptive music.
“It was really good to hear them talk about how their district does things,” Brooks added.
With presenters traveling from as far as New Hampshire, and additional participants joining via Zoom, Skvorak said she hopes to eventually include all of New England in the summit and is already thinking about what next year could look like.
“It seems like it’s starting to catch on beyond Maine,” Skvorak said.
This story was submitted by the Sanford School Department. To submit a good news story to the Maine DOE, please fill out the good news submission form.
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