The Windham Eagle Lifestyles: Manchester school students celebrate National Farm to School Movement

This article was written by Maine student Joe McNerney.

Hands were washed and chef hats were on as fourth and fifth grade students entered the cafeteria. In the middle of many tables, freshly grown carrots were set and ready to be used. This is what the scene looked like on Monday, November 4 at Manchester School. In a recent press release, it was announced that the Maine Department of Agriculture, Conservation & Forestry and the Maine Department of Education teamed up with the Manchester School to promote the growing farm-to-school movement in Maine.

“The students participated in a day of activities to celebrate growing, harvesting and eating local food. The event was designed to raise awareness about the importance of local food, school gardens and the relationship schools are developing with local farms to provide fresh, quality fruits, vegetables and produce to Maine schools,” stated the press release.

Stacey Sanborn, fourth grade teacher, explained how the food is grown by the students. “We tend to the hoop house all school year,” she said. “Students help maintain and pick vegetables and sometimes we are able to send the food home that has been produced by the student for students in need.”

Briefly, a hoop house is a form of greenhouse that consist of a series of large hoops or bows—made of metal, plastic pipe or wood covered by heavy plastic. It is heated by the sun and cooled by the wind. Although winter is coming, and some students may be less than thrilled to trudge through snow, they will none the less keep up on the hoop house.

Ryan Roderick, head chef and nutrition coordinator for and Jeanne Reilly, director of school nutrition,
led the educational sessions with the students. During the class, students from fourth and fifth grades made fresh curried carrot soup and carrot muffins.

Students had the opportunity to wash, peel, chop carrots and onions as well as sauté the vegetables. For the muffins, students grated carrots, measured and mixed the ingredients and portioned them into muffin cups. At the end of the class, students and teachers all were able to try the soup and muffins made with carrots from their school garden and fully experience what the farm-to-school experience is all about.

“It was refreshing to see young faces so excited about cooking,” stated Pam Lanz who had worked with the school for 21 years as a guidance counselor prior to taking up her post as garden leader. “Many of the students are hesitant to try most of the vegetables. However, when peers try, they are more likely to give it a chance.”

Once the ingredients were ready, some students prepared muffins while the others prepared the carrot curry soup. Which was garnished with Greek yogurt and chives.

Students all agreed and said with pride after eating the food they had prepared, “The food tasted better because we cooked it.”
Teaching kids at a young age that there is value to growing and making your own food is outstanding. It teaches the art of horticulture and self-sustainability. “Many of our students tale home what they learn,” Sanborn said. “They share it with parents and hopefully they in turn will start gardening more.”

Lanz quickly agreed, “We want to make backyard farmers out of them all.”
The Manchester School is one of the more than 400 Maine schools that participate in a farm-to-school program. The event was designed to raise awareness about the importance of local food, school gardens and the relationship schools are developing with local farms to provide fresh, quality fruits, vegetables and produce to Maine schools.

Portland High School Partner Spotlight: Tyler Karu

Submitted by Andrea Levinsky, Extended Learning Opportunities Coordinator, Portland High School. Each month we will feature a community partner. We are excited to open this series with Tyler Karu!

Tyler Karu of Tyler Karu Design and Interiors has been an incredible partner of Portland High’s Extended Learning Opportunities since November of 2016. She has participated in every possible opportunity including hosting students for job shadow day and internships in addition to serving on career panels and doing mock interviews for 9th graders.

Tyler was inspired to start working with Portland High because she wanted to set an example of a strong woman in business. She says, “I wanted to be example of someone who can make a mark in my own little community…[I wanted to show that] women have a seat at the table and can do anything we want.”

She has continued to work with Portland High School over the years because she is inspired by the students. She finds that the student body is interested and engaged. She says, “There aren’t a lot of high schools that prepare students for real life. I think Portland High just does such a good job with that and it makes kids more interested in job and professional life and learning about careers and future directions. I think Portland High is preparing the students for life skills.”

To other businesses that want to get involved, she says that, “It is our responsibility as business owners and professional people to reach back out into the community and offer help and support. What better group to reach out to than high schoolers who are thinking about the next step in their lives?”

Through Extended Learning Opportunities, Tyler is able to “make a difference on a fundamental and pragmatic level,” she says. “there’s nothing more valuable.”

Business partners make a profound impact in students as well. In her internship with Tyler, Gloria Sanchez was able to solidify her passion for her chosen career path of interior design. She gained experience in creating designs and working with clients. Gloria was even hired by the company for a summer job following her internship!

We are so grateful for Tyler’s continued partnership and her leadership in supporting our students. If you are interested in getting involved with Portland High School’s Extended Learning Opportunities program through job shadows, mock interviews, internships, or career panels. Please contact Andrea Levinsky, Extended Learning Opportunities Coordinator at levina@portlandschools.org.

Reaching for the Stars Starts with a Strong Ground Crew

Jessica Meir declared in first grade that she wanted to be an astronaut – and she meant it. Meir made history with the first all-female space walk from the International Space Station nearly 25 years after graduating from Caribou High School. While it may seem to have been a certainty in the rear view, getting to the ISS wasn’t always a sure thing. Meir was denied acceptance to the space program on her first application. Perseverance paid off and Meir eventually became the astronaut she had always envisioned.

When Caribou High School principal Travis Barnes learned in January that Meir was likely to be going to space, he wanted his students to get involved. No one knew then that Dr. Meir would be making history as a member of the first all-female spacewalk, but Barnes knew his students had a rare opportunity to participate in a space talk. He began the monumental work required to secure a NASA “uplink” to provide students in RSU 39 the opportunity to speak to Meir in real time.

Being an astronaut’s alma mater is not reason enough to be accepted. The application had to demonstrate extensive support and involvement of the whole community and significant impact on student learning and aspirations. Developing the application for NAS meant Barnes and his teachers had to develop a myriad of opportunities to both inspire and support RSU 39 students to dream big in a small town. The RSU 39 ground crew had to include staff, students, and community to meet the rigorous requirements set by NASA. The space talk was only part of the big day.

Assembling the Ground Crew: Staff

Middle school teachers Kim Barnes, Susan Keaton, Arik Jepson, Twyla Learnard, Cheryl Pelletier, Jennifer Crawford and high school teachers Shannon Sleeper, Jessica Bell, Kayla Brown, Peg Conologue, Jessica Doucette worked with students through an inquiry process to develop a deeper understanding of the International Space Station, the current mission and tasks, issues facing the space program, and Jessica Meir’s personal journey into space. Motivated by the opportunity to speak to Meir, students worked to review and revise the questions forwarded to NASA. See those questions here.

Assembling the Ground Crew: Community

CHS Alum

CHS alum visited the school and provided students other lenses into career development and goal setting. While Jessica Meir stayed focused on her goal throughout her life, many others meandered to find their pathways and develop careers, some never considered or even known. Dustin Damboise and Jamie Corrigan created a trivia game with facts about their high school, college, and work experiences, asking students to match the facts with the person. With more than two majors listed and neither matching either job title provided, Damboise and Corrigan demonstrated to students how exploration and an open mind can lead to identifying a gratifying career. CHS alums Dan McCormack (’91), CEO of InterMed, and Darcie McElwee (’91), Assistant United States Attorney, also shared their “space walks,” encouraging students to take advantage of different opportunities, such as an internship or the military. McCormack and McElwee stressed how perseverance learned at Caribou High School shaped their journeys to career success. In total, more than a dozen graduates of CHS returned to the launch pad to support student aspirations.

Caribou and All of Maine

Other activities during the day demonstrated the importance of staying healthy despite rigorous work, sessions that focused on health and wellness, and sessions to explore potential career paths in the medical field. Denis St. Peter, PE President and CEO of CES, Inc. as well as a 1986 CHS graduate, brought three engineers with him to expose students to new experiences in the engineering world including: Game of Drones with Josh Maker (Survey Technician, Surveying Division); Watershed Down with Justine Drake (Engineer, Engineering Division); Go with the Flow with Andrea Dickinson (EI, Senior Project Engineer, Environmental Division). Students learned about the science behind protective gear, research about creating jet fuel from wood, coding, outdoor survival and much more thanks to support from agencies such as the Caribou Fire Department, Maine Emergency Management, and the Maine Forest Service. [insert photo here?] See a complete list of all the companies, agencies, organizations who were part of the RSU 39 Ground Crew.

Blast Off: Uplink with the International Space Station

Middle and high school students assembled in the auditorium of the Caribou Performing Arts Center as NASA prepared the uplink. Selected students presented questions directly to Dr. Meir. Dr. Meir was appropriately impressed by the demonstration of understanding of her work on the ISS and of other issues regarding technology and the environment as well as Dr. Meir’s personal journey to the ISS.

Students in grades K-5 remained in their respective buildings, remotely watching Jessica Meir talk to students at Caribou High School. Their day included student choice STEM activities led by classroom teachers designed to develop student creativity and problem-solving skills. Some of the sessions included Sphero rockets, designing space helmets, virtual reality, catapult execution, launching straw rockets, and trying astronaut ice cream.

A tremendous amount of time and planning was involved in making this day such an overwhelming success. The “ground crews” ensured everyone who participated had a blast!

This article was written by Maine DOE English Language Arts Specialist, Morgan Dunton in collaboration with school staff from Caribou schools. The article is part of the Maine Schools Sharing Success Campaign. For ideas or submissions for Maine Schools Sharing Success, email Rachel at rachel.paling@maine.gov.

Maine Forest Collaborative Brings Together Rural Students for Resource-Based Educational Opportunity

Maine students from rural communities came to the Maine State Capitol last week as part of a unique learning opportunity offered by The Maine Forest Collaborative. The collaborative, created and administered by the Rural Aspirations Project, is a cooperative of rural schools embedded in forest industry communities in rural Maine, which aims to give students in rural communities the opportunity to develop deeper connections to their community through participating and contributing in ways that make it stronger.

In its first cohort, with around 30 students participating last week, there were students from Buckfield, Forest Hills, Jackman, and Greenville, and more on deck to start in the next semester. The learning opportunity provides students with a three-unit curriculum: Identifying Challenges, Rapid Prototyping Solutions, and Investigating Solutions. Grounded on the question, “How can we use natural resources to positively impact local communities,” the lesson invites students to work together to identify challenges that their community is facing, and then find solutions to those challenges by using resources available within the community.

students standing with poster presenting

person presenting in front of a large audience

list of challenges written on chart paper

The second unit, Rapid Prototyping Solutions, is what students were working on last week at the Maine State Capitol’s Fall of Flags. The location was chosen as a way to raise awareness about the project, but also to show participating students the impact they have on decision making at the State level, as they work among lawmakers and politicians who grapple with many of the same challenges and problem solving, whether they are rural and community-based or State level.

Students started the day by presenting the story of their community, with posters they made ahead of time. Their presentations included information about the geography of their community, the natural resources present, who they are, what is amazing about their community, their hopes and dreams, and questions they still have. After the presentations, they began working in groups to identify challenges, pick a challenge to work on, and brainstorm a solution to that challenge. Maine forest industry professionals were also present to help facilitate the group work and lend a helping-hand. lending their years of work experience in Maine’s forest industry with Maine’s many natural resources.

Students left the State House last week with a deep appreciation for not only their own community, but for their rural neighbors was well. They also got to participate in an interdisciplinary, project-based learning experience that strengthens their connection to their own community and the State as a whole, and aims to tackle a community challenge that they care deeply about.

Following last week’s lesson, students will embark on unit three, which will identify the economic, environmental, and social impacts of the solution they came up with, and they will also make a plan to communicate the solution to the public.

For more information about the Maine Forest Collaborative, the curriculum, or how to participate in this unique learning opportunity, please contact the Rural Aspirations Project.

WCC Washington County Educator Profile: Mary Anne Spearin

Submitted by Sarah Woog, Executive Director at Washington County Consortium.

Meet Mary Anne Spearin, Principal of Calais High School

I first met Mary Anne when we were Middle School teachers together at Indian Township School. We connected pretty quickly, and would often share our books, our ideas, our practices, and our struggles. It was clear the way Mary Anne engaged with me as her colleague was not accidental or incidental. Mary Anne, then and now, has professional habits learned and practiced over time. Life-long learning and commitment to personal and professional growth are essential values that define how she teaches, how she leads, and how she engages with colleagues. I asked Mary Anne if I could interview her for a profile because I wanted to understand how she developed these habits, and how they impacted her steep trek up the professional ladder, from Ed. Tech, to teacher, to principal.

Mary Anne began her career in education as an Ed. Tech I at Charlotte Elementary School. She had previously substituted in schools and had about 2.5 to 3 years of coursework behind her. Once an Ed. Tech at Charlotte Elementary, she gained two invaluable mentors, who served to push her, help her expand her vision of what is possible, and to understand professional growth as a welcome and wonderful professional responsibility. These mentors, Principal Peggy White, and Teacher Ann Luginbuhl supported Mary Anne in deciding to go back to school and she began accessing coursework at the Washington County Community College. They also encouraged her to learn and grow outside of the coursework and fostered a supportive community of educators who learned and grew together. Mary Anne soon went from Ed Tech I to Ed Tech III and began to believe she could become a teacher. When a teacher was out for medical leave, Mary Anne stepped in as a long term substitute, and realized that not only could she be a teacher, but that she loved it too. She enrolled at the University of Maine at Machias and finished her Bachelor’s degree in 2007, ten years after she first stepped into the classroom as an Ed Tech.

Mary Anne caught the learning and growing bug. Charlotte Elementary Principal Peggy White tapped her to start a Master’s cohort together immediately after Mary Anne finished her Bachelor’s degree, which they completed two years later, in 2009. Soon thereafter, Mary Anne was at it again, and completed a Certificate in Advanced Graduate Study (CAGS) from the University of New England. With this degree, Mary Anne also became a certified principal in 2011. She didn’t stop there, and she hasn’t stopped yet. Mary Anne participated in Educate Maine’s Education Leadership Experience Beta Class in 2012/2013, and achieved her Superintendent’s certification in 2017. To this day, Mary Anne continues to engage in educational learning communities and still lends me books (and advice and support, too).

I admire Mary Anne. She is clearly admirable. I’m grateful she is my friend and colleague and I know a lot of other educators and students who are grateful for her too. She is a model of ambition and growth, collegiality and camaraderie. But Mary Anne’s career trajectory also imparts some important lessons we can all stand to gain from. I asked her what she attributes her trajectory and success to. First, she said, she attributes it to her colleagues, supervisors and administrators who supported her professional growth. Let’s be those colleagues. Second, she attributes it to the lesson she learned from Peggy and Ann, “that there is no finish line.” Let’s share that lesson with our students and in our professional communities. And, last, to an understanding she’s developed over time: “If we are going to work in education, we need to support education.” Let’s be those supporters. Let’s also take moments to express gratitude to those who have supported us along our paths, too. Thank you, Mary Anne, for giving me what others gave to you.

Hannaford Donates $1M to Support “Fuel Kids at School” Hunger Relief Efforts

Hannaford Supermarkets announced a $1 million donation as part of its new “Fuel Kids at School” initiative that is designed to directly address food insecurity and improve access to fresh and healthy food for children.

“Children can’t be at their best if they’re hungry—or thinking about where their next meal will come from. It is our hope that Fuel Kids at School will take us one step further in nourishing our communities, one child at a time,” said Mike Vail, President of Hannaford. “We want access to food to be easy for kids. Locating food pantries where they are—at their schools should make a lasting and deep impact on child nutrition across our five states.”

Hannaford, in partnership with area hunger relief organizations, will establish over two years, 90 school food pantries across Maine and other northeast states. In Maine, Good Shepherd Food Bank received nearly $300,000 to establish school-based food pantries in 30 Head Start preschools throughout the state.

“The correlation between access to nutritious food and early childhood development and learning makes Head Start locations the ideal match for our next phase of school-based pantries,” said Kristen Maile, President of Good Shepherd Food Bank. “We know that expanding our pantry sites to serve pre-school-aged children and their families will play an important role in ensuring a bright future for Maine’s youngest citizens.”

Designed to serve as a vital and convenient resource to students and families in need while also increasing access to healthy and nutritious food, the in-school pantries are dedicated spaces where students can select food they enjoy according to preference and cooking abilities to provide nourishment both during the day and after the school day.

“The Fuel Kids at School funding, with its focus on Head Start programs, will enable us to make nutritious food readily available to more families at risk of hunger in the critical years before their children enter the public schools,” said Kathryn Sargent, Executive Director of the Locker Project.

The announcement took place in conjunction with a donation of $1,000 in school food pantry staples to the East End Children’s Workshop along with chef-prepared food for the parents and students at the local pre-school.

Hannaford Supermarkets has a longstanding commitment to supporting hunger relief in its communities. In 2018, Hannaford donated nearly 26 million pounds of food throughout the Northeast, including 5.3 million pounds in New York; and raised $1.1 million in partnership with its shoppers to feed individuals in need through the annual Hannaford Helps Fight Hunger program. Earlier this month, Hannaford announced that it has donated more than $1 million to non-profits throughout New York and New England as a result of its reusable bag program, a portion of which is dedicated to hunger relief organizations and has funded more than 1.8 million meals to date.

Maine School of Science and Mathematics Earns No. 8 Spot on List of 5,000 top STEM High Schools

Submitted by Ryan McDonald, Summer Programs Director and Public Relations Coordinator at Maine School of Science and Mathematics.

Newsweek announced its ranking of the top 5,000 STEM high schools for 2019, honoring excellence in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. Maine School of Science and Mathematics was named number 8.

With its long history of reporting on scientific breakthroughs, technological revolutions, and societal challenges, Newsweek partnered with STEM.org to rank America’s Best STEM High Schools. The list includes schools in every region of the country that offer skilled teachers who keep up with developments in these fields and who create dynamic learning environments to engage their students.

The top 5,000 schools were curated from STEM.org Educational Research™ (SER) using a proprietary scoring logic that took into consideration a broad set of quantitative and qualitative data inputs collected from Q2 2015–Q3 2019. The purpose was to determine which primary/secondary institutions in America best offer students experiences in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM)—as defined by the Congressional Research Service—while preparing them for post‐secondary outcomes. Additional factors, including affluence and median household income, were taken into consideration in compiling the rankings.

“Children don’t realize it, but they’re natural STEM students,” says Nancy Cooper, Newsweek Global Editor in Chief. “We need to make sure that innate drive, curiosity, and creativity aren’t lost along the way. These high schools are helping to ensure America’s future in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics is in good hands.”

Newsweek’s November 15 special double issue is available on newsstands now and includes the top 500 STEM high schools. The full list of 5,000 top STEM high schools will be available on Newsweek.com on November 8, National STEM Day.

About Newsweek

Newsweek is a premier news magazine and website that has been bringing high‐quality journalism to readers around the globe for over 85 years. Newsweek provides the latest news, in‐depth analysis, and ideas about international issues, technology, business, culture, and politics.

About STEM.org Educational Research™

STEM.org Educational Research™ is the longest continually operating, privately held STEM education research and credentialing organization in America, based in Southfield, Michigan.

Portland High School Students Begin Internships

Submitted by Andrea Levinsky, Extended Learning Opportunities Coordinator, Portland High School.

Portland High School students are beginning internships in the community. One student is interning at Planned Parenthood, working on their youth education programming and political advocacy. She said about her first day, “It was great, the environment is so positive and everyone there is so intelligent!! I’m very excited to be doing it.”

Another is interning with Little Chair Printing, learning about design, working with customers, and running a print shop. The Maine Medical Center Research Institute is hosting a student do help a researcher in his lab. A senior is interning at Lyseth Elementary School learning about teaching and working with children. Three juniors are sharpening their research skills interning with the New England History Association through teacher Gavin Glider. There is also a student interning at Portland Stage Company in their costume shop, learning about the world of professional theater. The Portland High School Athletic Trainer is working with an intern to learn about how to work with injured athletes.

If your student is interested in doing an internship or you know of a business or organization who would like to host an intern, please reach out to Andrea Levinsky, Extended Learning Opportunities Coordinator at levina@portlandschools.org.

Manchester School of RSU 14 in Windham Celebrates National Farm to School Movement

Students, teachers, school garden coordinators, and school nutrition staff from Manchester School in RUS 14 along with representatives from The Maine Department of Agriculture, Conservation & Forestry and the Maine Department of Education participated in a day of activities to celebrate growing, harvesting and eating local food on Monday November 4^th.

The event included education about the importance of local food and the relationship schools are developing with local farmers to provide fresh, quality fruits, vegetables, and produce to Maine schools. Students worked with recently harvested carrots from their school garden to prep, cook, and sample fresh carrot curry soup and carrot muffins.

A fixture at the Manchester School for the past 20 years, the School Garden has become a big part of the community providing fresh produce for the school nutrition program, local shelters, as well as students, staff, and community members who provide a helping hand in keeping the garden going.

To optimizing the growing season, the Garden features a hoop house and raised beds that allow students and school staff to grow fresh produce for almost the entire year-round. The Garden is also rooted in the curriculum, providing a bases for many lessons from science to English, and community development. “The learning continues even though we’re not out in the soil,” said Stacy Sanborn, 4^th Grade Teacher and School Garden Coordinator. Staff members from the Manchester School wrote grants and utilized local volunteers, and local experts to put the hoop house in place, and it has been a huge success for them.

It was an exciting day of activities drawing TV cameras and photographers to capture students happily engaged in chopping, cooking, and learning for the very purpose of celebrating a moment that is quickly moving across Maine. The Manchester School in Windham is one of the more than 400 Maine schools that participate in a farm-to-school program.

The collaboration between the Department of Education and The Maine Department of Agriculture, Conservation & Forestry continues this fall. The two departments are producing a series of public service announcements to showcase how more Maine farms can establish relationships and sell their produce to Maine schools.

For more information about the Farm-to-School Program, please visit this website.

‘Fridays with Finn’ Provides Lewiston Students, Teachers, and School Leaders with Invaluable Experiences and Information

A new leader brings along new practices and fresh ideas. In Lewiston Public Schools, Superintendent Todd Finn’s new idea is turning heads, not only in the news, but more importantly, getting the attention of the staff and students as well. Fridays with Finn aims to take on the very important goal of staying connected with students, teachers, and staff in Lewiston’s 10 schools and programs. Recently, Maine Department of Education staff got the unique opportunity to experience Fridays with Finn by being cordially invited to tag along.

The morning started in the busy lobby of Lewiston Regional Technical Center (LRTC) as students were arriving for class. One of 32 Career and Technical Education (CTE) Centers and Regions, LRTC is connected to Lewiston High School, providing Lewiston students with the chance to experience hands-on, career-based curriculum only steps away from their general education classes. In addition to serving Lewiston residents, LRTC also caters to an abundance of surrounding schools – all of which arrive in droves as an eventful Friday with Finn begins.

The first stop is to drop baked goods off at the front office at LRTC, a tradition many school leaders swear by to keep in good graces, knowing the vital role front office staff play in school operations. The second stop is to find a certain student enrolled in the Education/Development of Children Program who tweeted at Mr. Finn earlier that day, inviting him to stop by during his visits – an invitation he was eager to accommodate. An avid communicator, like many school leaders tend to be, Finn takes to Twitter on a regular basis to stay connected and share his thoughts and ideas with the community. Tweeting about Fridays with Finn ahead of the day’s visits was no exception.

Popping in and out of LRTC classes happening that morning, Mr. Finn had many interesting and pertinent conversations along the way, including a talk with welding students about new ways to learn and appreciate math. He also took an impromptu quiz in the nursing assistant class and stopped to fist bump a student in the digital media class who follows him on Twitter. We finally found the Education/Development of Children Program student as she was working with pre-school children who attend LRTC’s Education & Development of Children class. True to form, Mr. Finn sat right down to share the moment and connect with the students, teachers and children in the class, taking the time to ask for feedback at each and every turn.

Mr. Finn talking with students at LRTC.

Mr. Finn talking with a student from LRTC.

“These weekly visits are vital to me because they provide me with an opportunity to connect with students and staff regularly,” said Finn.

Before heading out to visit another school, Mr. Finn made a stop at the Store Next Door to check in with store staff Jamie Caouette and Katie Karantz just in time to help bring in a load of donated items. A well-known fixture in the Lewiston School Department for the past 20 years, the Store provides homeless students with clothing, food, supplies, and other necessities they may not have access to. When asked about Fridays with Finn, Katie eagerly responded, “It’s a big thing, it gets his face out there and gives him the opportunity to get to know the kids.”

Following the visit to LRTC, were visits to Montello Elementary School, Farwell Elementary School, and Connors Elementary school, 3 of Lewiston’s 5 elementary schools. At each stop, Mr. Finn made his way around the halls, poking his head into open doorways. While some students were working on understanding different emotions, others were painting during art class, playing basketball during physical education class, testing buoyancy in a science experiment, or reading their own original Halloween stories out loud to their classmates (among many other activities happening that morning). As usual Mr. Finn took the opportunity to ask for feedback whenever possible and always greeted students and staff along the way, many of whom recognized and appreciated his presence.

Mr. Finn playing basketball with students.

Farwell Elementary School Principal Amanda Winslow talking with Mr. Finn.

The eventful morning was enough to see that students, staff, and teachers are certainly appreciative of their regular face-time with the new leader and the opportunity to engage in conversations that help shape the evolution of education in the district and the community.

This article was written by Maine DOE Staff Rachel Paling in collaboration with school leaders from Lewiston Public Schools as part of the Maine Schools Sharing Success Campaign. For more information or to submit an idea or a write-up, email Rachel at rachel.paling@maine.gov.