(Pictured: Nasra Houssein, who served as the student speaker on Tuesday night, pauses after receiving her diploma.)

Submitted by Mike Reagan, Education and Marketing Coordinator, Lewiston Adult Education.

Nasra Houssein praised the people who convinced her to return to her studies during Lewiston Adult Education’s graduation on Tuesday night in the Lewiston High School gymnasium.

The native of Djibouti dropped out of her classes last year because she could not fit them in with her work schedule. She credited Lewiston Adult Education teachers Don Roux and Amy Hatch for their encouragement along with coworkers at Trinity Jubilee Center in Lewiston.

She returned to her classes after a three-month absence. On Tuesday, served as the student speaker at graduation.

“Without all your help, it would have been difficult for me or anybody else. So thank you all for giving us your time to help us succeed,” Houssein said.

The 30 Lewiston Adult Education graduates at the ceremony received their high school credential by taking the High School Equivalency Test. The HiSET exam has replaced the GED for high school equivalency.

Beth Derenberger received the Lifelong Learner Award for her commitment as a teacher and for exemplifying the sharing of knowledge at Lewiston Adult Education. She learned rug braiding from an adult education course in Oxford Hills. After a few years of practice, Derenberger ended up teaching in Oxford Hills and at Lewiston Adult Education.

She taught rug braiding at Lewiston since 2004 and retired at the end of the Winter-Spring 2019 semester.

“I have made so many friends from my teaching. It’s awesome. Students come because they want to come. People come because they’re interested. And that’s half the battle,” she said before the ceremony.

Outgoing Superintendent of Schools Bill Webster served as the keynote speaker at graduation and received a round of applause for his support of adult education. Lewiston Adult Education Director Bill Grant gave retiring teacher Diane Whiting a bouquet of flowers during the ceremony to thank her for her service of more than 25 years.

Submitted by Peter Harrison, Principal at Young School, Saco Schools. Text Written by Ken Studtmann, Wokka Wokka Coordinator. Photos by Dr. Peter Harrison and Ken Studtmann.

For several years the Young School students have participated in a much beloved walking program during their Wednesday’s lunch time recess. The students fondly named it “Walking Wednesday”.

During Walking Wednesday, the students walk, skip, hop or move in creative movements 1/8-mile laps around the school while parent and adult volunteers track and tally the number of laps each student completes. The number of laps completed are recorded for individual students and collectively tallied for  classroom, and the entire school. For every 2.5 miles the student walks they receive an incentivizing award of a “toe token”. At the end of the year, the classroom from each grade level with the highest number of laps receives an extra recess.

Geography Lesson

For the past two years, a lesson in geography has been integrated into the program. Last year, the laps walked by the students represented a unit of distance along the Appalachian Trail. The students successfully completed 1,378 miles of the Appalachian Trail; Maine to Virginia. The student’s progress was tracked on a large map displayed in the school’s front entry hallway for students, teachers and staff, and visitors to watch the progress. This year the laps represented the number of times the students crossed the Penobscot bridge; 3,541 times and growing.

Language

As a means to further enhance the program, a language component was introduced in the beginning of this current school year with the reading of “HOW DO YOU WOKKA-WOKKA”, c 2009 by Elizabeth Bluemle, art by Randy Cecil. The book was a great inspiration to the students, staff, and adult volunteers of the program. The book’s premise of finding your own walking style was embraced by the students with lots of styles emerging. The students even changed the program’s name into “Wokka Wokka Wednesday”. The Wokka Wokka Wednesday is a much-loved program at Young School.

Fun Fact #1: The Appalachian Trail is among the longest continuously marked trails through 14 states; Maine to Georgia. The trail is marked with approximately 165,000 white blazes along the trail guiding hikers all 2,186 miles.

Fun Fact #2: The Penobscot bridge spans 2,120 feet from the east shore to the west shore of the Penobscot river. The design of the bridge’s two towers was inspired by the Washington Monument.

Fun Fact #3: Young School Students love to Walk! Last year, the Young School students collectively walked fictitiously from Maine to Virginia on the Appalachian Trail and this year they walked 3,541 times across the Penobscot the bridge.

For additional information to learn how to implement a walking program at your school, please contact Dr. Peter Harrison, Young School Principal.

Submitted by Heidi McGinley, Executive Director, Maine Curriculum Leaders’ Association.

Julie Meltzer, Director of Curriculum, Assessment, and Instruction for the Mount Desert Island Regional School System (AOS #91) is Maine’s 2019 Curriculum Leader of the Year. “I’m truly honored to join the group of curriculum leaders recognized in Maine. I’m honored to have them as my colleagues. I don’t know another group of people so focused on teaching and learning practices,” Julie said.

Julie is a passionate advocate for the learning and development of all students, leading the development of common standards the staff will “go to the mat” for across the district. She has developed community partnerships, found necessary resources, and introduced evidence-based instructional practices. But she credits widespread staff engagement in decision making for what superintendent Marc Gousse calls “marked improvement in learning and achievement and increased student success” across the district.

When she joined the district six years ago, Julie wanted all staff to have a voice in decision making and be engaged in professional learning opportunities so they would have the tools they needed to “do the best job they can for kids”. She wanted to maintain the strengths and uniqueness of each school and honor the professional autonomy of teachers while increasing student learning. The innovative professional learning and decision making structures she created made a difference.

“I’m proud of how everyone is starting to play a similar rhythm,” Julie says, “although the melodies are different, as they should be.” This year, 110 teachers and education technicians voluntarily served on a “collaboratory” – a temporary task force formed around a problem of practice, working to identify solutions, make decisions, and develop all the learning, strategies and tools needed to implement those solutions. In the process, staff and administrators became partners in professional development both in and outside the district. 100 teachers, education technicians and administrators led internal professional development sessions and 30 presented their work at state or national conferences. “Good things are happening for kids,” she said. “We’re getting to the ground of student learning and walking the talk in more ways.”

Julie’s journey to Mt. Desert began when her work at the Regional Laboratory led to a three-year content literacy consulting project in Washington County. She fell in love with Maine and with Acadia, eventually buying an old farmhouse in the area, which she and her husband started renovating on weekends. Her consulting work took her all over the country, so she ended up with two homes — a Portland rental to be closer to the jetport and a close-to-Acadia farmhouse. Her daughter started high school at Mount Desert and encouraged her to apply when the curriculum position opened. “I was lucky to be hired,” Julie said, “and I’ve been honored to have this position. I’ve learned much more in the last six years than I did earning my doctorate.”