How Saco Middle School is Integrating Technology into Student-Driven Curriculum

(Pictured: Saco Middle School 7th grader, Keegan Wong, pilots a drone during a skill-building portion of the drone piloting club.)

This year, Saco Middle School (SMS) has three exciting student technology projects that highlight highly engaging, student-driven learning. These projects are a combination of projects funded through the Maine Department of Education (DOE) Maine Learning through Technology Initiative (MLTI) as well as a student project submission to the Samsung Solve for Tomorrow STEM competition.

Lyla Picard, 8th grader, shows off her drawing that was then imprinted onto cardboard using the Glowforge printer.

The Maine DOE #TeachWithTech grant enhances teaching and learning through the use of innovative technology. Saco Middle School’s grant award of $19,517.50 funded two initiatives at Saco Middle School, a laser-cutting and engraving printer to be utilized in their STEM program and an afterschool drone pilot training club. Both of these projects reflect the school’s commitment to advancing education through cutting-edge tools and a focus on engaging students in learning.

The Glowforge printer purchased for the school’s STEM lab uses laser technology to cut, engrave, and shape a variety of materials, including wood, acrylic, leather, and paper. Under the direction and initiative of STEM teacher Sam Blunda, students have been able to create intricate prototypes for design projects and produce personalized and custom items on a variety of materials.

“These printers have enabled students to bring their ideas to life, including the printing of wooden staff desk placards and Saco Schools engraved beach stones,” said Saco School Department Assistant Superintendent Meg Parkhurst. “Students have been able to recycle old materials to create functional and artistic items.”

One project included the printing of cutout pieces that could then be assembled into small toys. This served as a way to repurpose materials that may have otherwise been thrown away, such as old file folders, and also provided a gift that students were able to donate to children in the area to build.

The drone pilot training extracurricular activity run by staff members Chris Hayden and Lisa Ronco used professional drones and has provided students with a dynamic and engaging learning experience after school. Through small group sessions, students have mastered the basics of drone flight, navigated obstacle courses, honed their search and locate skills, and even tackled blind multi-directional courses using only the camera image for navigation. The acquisition of two Mavic 3 Classic drones and five Mavic 3 Mini drones has facilitated hands-on learning.

Beyond the technical skills, students are now well-versed in the requirements for FAA Remote Pilot certification for search and rescue, motion picture cinematography, and working with law enforcement.

As part of their journey to the National Samsung Solve for Tomorrow competition, Saco Middle School (SMS) 7th-grade students crafted this compelling video to highlight their project’s impact. Knotmarkers, conceived and executed by the inventive minds of SMS’s Maine State winning students with the guidance of Ms. Lindsay Girard, revolves around creating 100% biodegradable, sustainable, and refillable markers. This innovative solution aims to combat the staggering environmental impact of the 400 million markers discarded annually in landfills throughout the United States. The team’s commitment to utilizing locally sourced materials and an efficient production process underscores their dedication to reducing the carbon footprint.

Samsung Solve for Tomorrow is a national competition that challenges students in grades 6-12 to use their STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) skills to address real-world issues in their communities and affect positive social change. Outshining their high-school competitors from across the state, SMS secured a remarkable $12,000 Samsung prize package, a video kit to assist in the national competition, and a designated Samsung Employee Mentor. The Top 10 National Finalists will be chosen by March 26, 2024, at which time the Community Choice voting will take place for the Top 3 National Winners announced on April 29, 2024.

Students share their solve for tomorrow project with Saco's City Council. Their new video - https://youtu.be/KZWD43b76GM - provides additional details about their project. — Students share their solve for tomorrow project with Saco’s City Council.

Learn more about the Maine DOE #TeachWithTech grant here.

This story was submitted to the Maine DOE by Saco School Department. To submit your school’s good news, use our submission form.

Windham High School Students Welcome Peers from Poland Regional High to Practice Civil Discourse

(Pictured: WHS freshman James Arthurs, left, and Poland Regional High senior Audrey Fryda engage in a courteous conversation regarding a current legislative issue.)

For the second consecutive year, a student group from Windham High School (WHS) volunteered to participate in the Can We? Project and hosted their peers from Poland Regional High School (PRHS) in mid-February to practice skills needed for civilized conversations.

The Can We? Project is an initiative intended for high school students to rejuvenate democracy by learning the abilities necessary to engage in respectful civil dialogue. This is Poland High’s first year participating in the Can We? Project. At last month’s gathering, students from both schools had the opportunity to discuss diverse perspectives and complex issues, doing so by showing a level of maturity and respect needed in difficult discussions.

“My experience with Can We? reinforced my admiration for this generation of students,” a PRHS social studies teacher and Can We? Project liaison Elaine Fryda said. “They are mature, earnest, and articulate. I was impressed by how seriously they discussed important current events.”

Jen Dumont, a WHS JMG specialist/teacher, and Can We? Project liaison agreed, saying that any time a space is provided for students to meet and communicate with peers, in a safe and solution-oriented way, it opens students’ perspectives and encourages empathy.

“Having the opportunity to host Poland Regional High School Can We? Project students gave our Can We? participants a chance to exhibit leadership skills and showcase some of the conversation tools they have developed during our past Can We? Project retreats,” Dumont said. “It is always edifying to realize that there are other students with similar stories and concerns from around our state.”

A few students from both schools shared their experiences from participating in the project.

Audrey Fryda, a PRHS senior, admitted that in an age of internet, it is easy to be swept into a biased and stereotypical way of thinking.

“I think it is easy to be sucked into an echo chamber of sorts, where you find things on the internet that align with what you believe to be true,” she said. “By engaging in conversations, we are having today with peers who think differently, we break those stereotypes and expand our empathy for others. By being able to do this, we are taught how to deal with important and controversial issues in an intelligent and respectful manner.”

WHS freshman James Arthurs said that if you take the moment to listen to one another, even if you don’t agree on a topic, you can come to an understanding or simply agree to disagree and remain civil.

“I enjoy participating in these conversations because it helps me learn different sides of a story – so I can understand where others are coming from,” Arthurs said. “It also helps me better understand my own perspective and has sometimes changed my viewpoint a bit. I also have understood my perspective more thoroughly where I am better able to support and advocate for it.”

PRHS senior Jonathan Crump said this was the first opportunity he had to talk about laws being passed and enjoyed hearing what everyone had to say. His involvement with the Can We? Project provided a deeper understanding of real conversations.

“Most of my experiences with Can We? were positive, but I want to point out that the project isn’t a ‘utopia of open mindedness’ if you will,” Crump said. “I still felt that I was being judged by people around me, just to a lesser extent. In all, it was fun to engage in dialogue with my peers and Can We? is definitely a step taken to bridge the gap between our country’s political divide.”

The Can We? Project was founded in 2018 by Third Thought Initiatives for Civic Engagement at Waynflete School. Originally a weekend retreat serving 35 students, the project now works throughout the school year with nearly 300 students in 14 public partner schools in Maine. Can We? is a collaborative effort between Waynflete, Maine Policy Institute, a non-profit that works to expand individual liberty and economic freedom in Maine, and Narrative 4, a national storytelling exchange program that teaches the skills of compassion through active listening with others.

Dumont explained that as adults, we have a certain responsibility to students to provide the space for active listening, and it is the reason why she is a teacher and a Can We? Project liaison.

“It’s important we provide the structure and safety to share students’ personal stories and have solution-oriented conversations that build bridges between people of various backgrounds and opinions,” she said. “I feel very honored to have been able to participate. I look forward to seeing the Can We? Project evolve and take on an incarnation here that can have further impact on our student population and staff.”

Elaine Fryda agrees with Dumont.

“Can We? provides students a unique opportunity to practice empathy, communication, and reflection,” she said. “Participation in the project fosters curiosity, courage, and caring. It goes without saying that we all could use more of these traits in our lives.”

This story was submitted by Windham High School. To submit a good news story to the Maine Department of Education use our Good News Submission form.

A Day on Fahi Pond Ice Fishing with Upper Kennebec Valley High School’s Wildlife Studies and Maine Woodsmen Classes

On February 9th, 2024 Mr. Atwood’s Wildlife Studies class and Mr. Davis’s Maine Woodsmen class ventured out to Fahi Pond in Embden, Maine for a day of ice fishing and outdoor skills practice.

Mr. Atwood’s class was tasked with the assignment of manually drilling half a dozen holes in the sixteen-inch ice to set traps for a chance to catch some local fish. Everyone took turns dragging and/or carrying all the necessary equipment out onto the ice. Hauled in by manufactured and makeshift sleds alike, a camp for the day was soon on its way.

While the Wildlife Studies students were learning how to bait their hooks and set traps from Mr. Atwood, the Maine Woodsmen class, with help from their teacher, Mr. Davis, were in full swing setting up their fifteen-foot, pop-up ice fishing shack and preparing their kitchen within. The woodsmen students took turns cooking meals, cleaning, and serving everyone food and drinks. The morning started with a breakfast of chocolate chip pancakes, sausage, and locally harvested maple syrup with orange juice, milk, and hot chocolate.

When students weren’t busy tending to traps or providing creature comforts to their peers, everyone was able to relax and enjoy the calm sunny weather and one another’s company. Several students tried their hands at drilling holes for jigging both outside and inside the shack as well as making a comfortable campfire. As everyone began to cool down, it was soon time for lunch, and once again, the woodmen students were busy in the kitchen. This time making a meal of grilled cheese sandwiches and tomato soup that really hit the spot.

Though only one flag flew and not a fish was caught, the day was a great success.

Upper Kennebec Valley HS students Ice Fishing

This story was submitted by MSAD 13. To submit a good news story to the Maine Department of Education, fill out this submission form.

Katahdin Schools’ Nutrition Team Receives National Award for Innovation

(Pictured: members of the nutrition team at RSU 89.)

Four school districts in Alaska, Iowa, Maine, and Ohio received awards for their trailblazing and innovative efforts to improve the nutritional quality of meals for their students. This announcement was made in front of nearly 850 school nutrition professionals at the School Nutrition Association Legislative Action Conference during National School Breakfast Week recently.

Regional School Unit 89, Maine’s own Katahdin Schools received the “Innovation in Preparation of School Meals” award for incorporating more scratch cooking into menu items, such as homemade sub rolls using their oatmeal bread recipe, homemade croutons, pickles, and roasted chickpeas.

RSU 89 has also partnered with a local farm, Keep Ridge Farm in Benedicta to source produce like squash, onion, eggs, carrots, and kale. They host monthly taste tests allowing the student body to determine what the next new menu item will be.

“At our annual Thanksgiving meal, we featured Keep Ridge Farm roasted squash, local farmer Steve Crouse’s potatoes that we boiled and mashed, and turkey from USDA Foods in our homemade gravy and homemade stuffing,” said Denise Tapley Proctor, food service director at RSU 89. “The meal was well received by the community, and the reactions of our kids make us love the change in direction our school is making to more scratch cooking.”

The three school districts that received awards are the first winners of the Healthy Meals Incentives Recognition Awards, jointly created by the U.S. Department of Agriculture and Action for Healthy Kids as part of USDA’s Healthy Meals Incentives Initiative, also known as HMI. These awards celebrate school districts that embrace opportunities to take their school meals to the next level. HMI is one of several ways that the Biden-Harris Administration is supporting schools to provide kids with nutritious meals that support their health and well-being.

Here are more pictures of the RSU 89 nutrition team preparing mashed potatoes from Keep Ridge Farm, homemade oatmeal rolls, USDA hamburger made into hamade gravy, USDA corn, and homemade apple strawberry crisp:

Maine DOE Podcast Highlights Calais Schools Implementing BARR to Strengthen Relationships and Student Engagement

Maine Has More Than 70 Schools Implementing the Building Assets Reducing Risks Model (BARR), With Additional Funding Available for More Schools to Implement the Program

On the latest episode of the Maine Department of Education’s (DOE) “What Holds Us Together” podcast, Education Commissioner Pender Makin talked with Calais Elementary School Principal Sue Carter and Calais Superintendent Mary Anne Spearin about their experiences implementing the Building Assets Reducing Risks (BARR) model in their district. BARR combines relationship-building and the use of real-time data to strengthen student engagement, wellbeing, achievement, educator wellbeing, and connections across the school community. Listen here.

Calais Elementary School began implementing BARR this school year in fifth and sixth grade through a statewide grant opportunity provided by the Maine DOE through federal funds. More than 70 schools across Maine are now BARR schools, with additional funding available for schools that want to implement BARR in the next school year.

Makin spent the day at Calais Elementary School to experience the successes the school is having with BARR firsthand and taped her podcast onsite with the school leaders. Read more about her visit here.

“I’m so grateful that you hosted us today from the Department. We brought a team and we got to visit all of the classrooms. We also got to sit in on some of the BARR activities, including what’s called U-Time. When I asked ‘What is U-Time?’ she said, ‘Well, it’s an activity that we do where we learn a little bit more about ourselves and about our classmates.’ And it was just so well said. And then we also got to sit in with a group of teachers having a conversation that’s called a small block conversation, where they were discussing students in this particular case, who are appearing to be thriving across the board who are high academic achievers, and they discussed each student in terms of possibilities, ways to be more challenged, and also any concerns that might otherwise have gone unnoticed,” said Makin during her podcast intro.

Makin asked Carter what she and educators are experiencing through their BARR implementation.

“We started BARR at the elementary school in September. We applied for the state-provided program and it has really grown and become part of our school, culture, and climate,” said Carter. “Recently, we looked at our attendance. We usually don’t look at attendance until it’s a problem, and [now we] identified some kids that have been out seven days, taking the opportunity to send a letter home to say, ‘Hey, your kids missed seven days. We don’t want them to be truant, how can we help to make sure that they get to school?’ The data is inputted every week. You talk about and see that data over time.”

Spearin implemented BARR while she was an administrator at the middle/high school and provided a longer-term view of the BARR experience.

“The Calais Middle/High School adopted the program in 2016. I’m a true believer in the program. We originally brought it on because the main focus was grades and the transition into ninth grade. For us, it really made a difference when we could see the number of failures in our coursework had changed significantly in the first year and then changed again the next year. And then as time went on, it went into more of the behavioral and checking in with the students and making sure they had trusted adults and really working on how they created a culture within the ninth-grade cohorts,” said Spearin.

While at the school, Commissioner Makin had the opportunity to participate in a sixth-grade U-Time activity called “What’s on your plate?” Every U-Time is different, and in Carly Davis’s sixth-grade class, it was all about self-discovery. Sixth graders and DOE team members were each given a paper plate, which they folded in half. On one side were the participants’ responsibilities, and on the other were the things they did in their free time. After making the plates, Davis engaged the students through a series of discussion around having a balanced plate, which portions are taking up too much time, which portions they love, which portions they wish they had less of, and so forth. On the back of the plates, students wrote one thing they wished they could add or take away from their plate.

Students learn about one another through these activities, about themselves, and teachers about their students in a deeper way. Teachers also share these valuable insights at their block meetings so the entire teaching team has that information. Block meetings happen weekly, with teacher cohorts discussing not just academic-related data but every student’s strengths, passions, and personal goals. This opens a broader, more positive discussion around the whole student. The team works off a spreadsheet that builds a picture of each student by reviewing a variety of in-school factors, including progress in class, attendance, and behavior. The team also discusses factors outside the school, such as extracurricular interests, personal health, issues with other students, or troubles at home. All this data collection allows the team to flag challenges early and work together to solve problems. Importantly, teachers track not just problems but student strengths to identify achievable goals to get or keep students on track for success. For students coping with the toughest situations in and out of school, BARR’s model requires a weekly Community Connect meeting that involves more specialized staff, such as the school nurse and school psychologist along with school administration.

“The other piece that’s really important about BARR is we always talk about the kids who are struggling or you know, not doing so well. But today we actually talked about four kids who were doing very well,” said Carter. “So it identifies those kids and we talked about those kids as well, which I think you need to have a balance, and the program forces you to do that. [The teachers] are very, very committed to it.”

Makin asked Carter if she is seeing any changes in student outcomes or differences in school culture now that she is more than halfway through her first year of implementing BARR.

“I would say so. Last week, the kids had posters that they wrote on about what BARR has done for them. [And they wrote] it helped me be aware of myself, it helped me to be more friendly, it brought me joy, it taught me empathy. So absolutely, every person, adult and student, is able to vocalize what they are gaining from BARR without having to think about it,” said Carter. “There’s not any way that can’t carry over to outside of school as well because it’s in them. It’s a part of them, and they’ll take that with them and as they move on to middle school, which is very important. It will help them be successful there as well.”

Makin asked what Carter and Spearin would say to other school leaders considering BARR.

“From the superintendent role and perspective, I would say that I am 100 percent in support of BARR. I loved it as a building administrator and as a team member. I saw the changes that it made for our freshmen students coming in. It supports our students. It gives them additional resources because it forces you to bring in resources from your community,” said Spearin. “The other part is the fact that teachers are out there alone and this forces time together. It forces them to look at the kids as our kids, not my kids. It also forces them to really look at the positives. It forces them to look at the challenges and to come up with a community solution to what’s going on with those students in the positive times and in the challenging times. And so it really does give the teachers the ability to have a team to work from and it also allows them to sit and look at the positives that are coming from all the work that they’re doing. We do not have enough time built into the day to do that unless you have a program that really encourages that.”

Makin asked how activities like U-Time, the regular data collection that educators are engaged in, and the conversations in block times create better grades and fewer failures in ninth grade.

“We had kids who would be looking at not doing their homework. You had an entire team of teachers saying I know that the basketball season is coming up and this is really important to this kid. Who knows this kid well enough to be able to go have that conversation about what they need to get that work done so that their grades don’t drop below the athlete eligibility piece? Or I know this student and they’re really having some challenges at home. Who knows a student well enough and has a connection to be able to reach out [to them]? We even had liaisons with the community that came in and we could then open those conversations up with them as well,” said Spearin. “Instead of a student that went through eight different periods in a two-day time and nobody had the opportunity to reach out and say, we know there’s something going on, how do we support you? And it wasn’t doing the work for them. It was saying what do you need to be successful?”

Applications are now open to all willing and qualified public schools that would like to become a BARR school. Click here to apply. Applications are due by March 22, 2024, by 5 pm EST. The Maine DOE will cover all costs of implementing the program for schools new to BARR for the 2024-2025 school year.

The Maine DOE used American Rescue Plan funding to create a competitive BARR grant to help schools invest in the model.

Calais Elementary School Strengthens Relationships Through BARR

(A Calais Elementary Student celebrates what he’s learned through BARR)

Nestled in the tight-knit community of Calais, Maine, is Calais Elementary, a pre-k through sixth-grade school full of enthusiastic students and dedicated teachers. Calais Elementary is one of more than 70 Maine schools using the Building Assets Reducing Risks (BARR) education model, and this week, Maine Education Commissioner Pender Makin visited to experience BARR in action.

“We started BARR at the elementary school in September,” Principal Sue Carter said. “We applied for the state-provided program, and it has really grown and become part of our school, culture, and climate.”

The BARR framework combines relationship building (staff to staff, staff to student, and student to student) and real-time data to strengthen engagement and wellbeing for all students. By building solid relationships with students and fellow educators, teachers work together to support the whole student.

At Calais Elementary, they are implementing BARR with fifth and sixth-grade teams. Fifth and sixth grade teachers hold weekly block time to discuss student strengths and what they need to thrive. Teachers also engage students through weekly U-Time activities.

“U-Time is the classroom activity part of the BARR Structure where educators and students in their classrooms dedicate a little bit of time to building relationships, deepening their knowledge of themselves as learners, as individuals, and really helping to understand one another,” said Makin.

Commissioner Maiken and Chief Innovation Officer Page Nichols sit at a school table working on their BARR U-Time activity. — Commissioner Makin and Chief Innovation Officer Page Nichols working on their “What’s on your plate?” U-Time activity.

Delilah, a sixth grader at Calais Elementary, described U-Time as a class where you learn “about your classmates, the people around you, your teachers, and you.”

Jackie, a fellow sixth grader, said that in U-Time, she has learned “to help people if they are going through a hard time, and that if you see someone crying, you should go over there to talk to them.”

“It really sparked a lot of conversation,” said Commissioner Makin. “I could see how it was creating relationships within the classroom, building trust and knowledge of themselves and others.”

For example, after the “What’s on Your Plate?” exercise, Davis brought a few of the sixth grader’s plates to a block meeting. “[Davis] talked about the two plates, what they said, and that was put down,” Principal Carter explained, “and we will come back around to that in our next block meeting.”

Block meetings happen weekly, with teacher cohorts discussing not just BARR-informed data but every student’s strengths, passions, and personal goals. This opens a broader,

Six educators sit in a classroom facing the front of the class. They are BARR teachers holding a Block Meeting. — Calais Elementary’ s BARR teacher cohort uses recess as an opportunity to hold Block Meetings.

more positive discussion around the whole student. The team works off a spreadsheet that builds a picture of each student by reviewing a variety of in-school factors, including progress in class, attendance, and behavior. The team also discusses factors outside the school, such as extracurricular interests, personal health, issues with other students, or troubles at home. All this data collection allows the team to flag challenges early and work together to solve problems. Importantly, teachers track not just problems but student strengths to identify achievable goals to get or keep students on track for success. For students coping with the toughest situations in and out of school, BARR’s model requires a weekly Community Connect meeting that involves more specialized staff, such as the school nurse and school psychologist along with school administration.

“BARR really does give the teachers the ability to have a team to work from,” said Superintendent Mary Anne Spearin. “It also allows them to sit and look at the positives that are coming from all the work that they’re doing.”

At this week’s block meeting, the team spent most of their time discussing highly successful students. These students can often receive less attention than students exhibiting behaviors or academic performance requiring intervention. Those students still get the support they need, but BARR focuses conversations on all students.

“To see that data over time is pretty amazing,” remarked Principal Carter. “No other programs that we had held us to that level of accountability.”

“BARR offers two things you don’t usually see in other programs and that is a curriculum that you could work from and the data to prove that the curriculum is working,” said Superintendent Spearin.

Calais Elementary is not the only Calais school utilizing BARR. In 2016, Spearin implemented BARR for ninth graders at Calais Middle/High School.

“It really made a difference. We could see the number of failures in our coursework had changed significantly in the first year and then changed again the next year,” recollects Spearin. “From the superintendent’s role and perspective, I would say that I am 100 percent in support of BARR. When I speak to people, I tell them they should consider the BARR method. It is just crucial to the things that are happening in our world right now. Everybody needs somebody.”

An educator from Calais Elementary school holding up a poster that says "my students have taught me joy" — One of Calais’s BARR teachers.

When Commissioner Makin asked Principal Carter if she would recommend BARR to other schools, she enthusiastically responded, “Absolutely!”

“Every person, adult and student, is able to vocalize what they are getting from BARR,” Principal Carter told Makin. “There’s no way that can’t carry over outside of school because it’s in them. It’s a part of them, and they’ll take that with them when they move on to middle school.”

Interested in joining Calais to become a BARR school? The DOE is offering additional funding for schools to become BARR schools. To learn more, please attend the DOE’s March 14^th webinar.

Click Here To Register for the Thursday, March 14^th BARR Webinar at 3:00 PM ET.

Applications are now open to all willing and qualified public schools that would like to become a BARR (Building Assets, Reducing Risks) school.  Click here to apply. Applications are due by March 22, 2024, by 5:00pm EST.

The Maine DOE will cover all costs of implementing the program for schools new to BARR for the 2024-2025 school year. (Note: if you are already a BARR school with an existing contract, your costs will be covered for the 2024-2025 school year as well, and you do not need to reapply.)

The Maine DOE used American Rescue Plan funding to create a competitive BARR grant to help schools invest in the model.

Mt. Blue High School Eases the Ninth Grade Transition with BARR

(Through BARR, Mt. Blue High School students McKylee and Kenzee developed a strong bond with their ninth-grade counselor and BARR Coordinator, Anna Peterson, that continued into their sophomore year.)

For five years, Mt. Blue High School in Farmington has used the BARR (Building Assets Reducing Risks) model to ease ninth graders into high school. As a result, they have seen increased attendance, lower failure rates, and stronger bonds between educators and students and among educators.

“Freshmen have always been a demographic of students who have struggled,” said ninth-grade Earth Science teacher Kerry Schlosser, “I think BARR leads to just an additional level of support. Especially when you go from middle school to high school, it’s such a vulnerable year, a vulnerable time.”

The ninth-grade educator team at Mt. Blue know their students deeply. They greet them by name in the hall, know who their best friends are, and their dreams for the future. BARR helps facilitate those strong relationships.

Mt. Blue High School is one of more than 70 schools across Maine implementing BARR. Last summer, the Maine Department of Education (DOE) provided an opportunity for any school in the state to become a BARR school and join schools like Mt. Blue that have been experiencing incredible success through BARR.

BARR is a model that combines relationship building (staff to staff, staff to student, and student to student) and real-time data to enable schools to strengthen academic outcomes and wellbeing for all students. By building strong relationships with students and fellow educators, teachers can work together to support the whole student.

Educator teams meet in Block Meetings, where they discuss each student individually, focus on their strengths and connections to school, share personal knowledge and observations (e.g., a student’s mental health, family life, goals, etc.) and analyze benchmark data (e.g., grades, attendance, behavior, etc.).

Schlosser explains how Block Meetings work at Mt. Blue.

Mt. Blue's Community Connect meeting is where educators and school community members meet to discuss at-risk students. Mt. Blue educators and school community members sit around a conference table talking about BARR with laptops in front of them. — Mt. Blue’s Community Connect meeting is where school community members meet to discuss at-risk students.

“We have a Big Block at the end of the week where we discuss students as a big team with the administrator, school counselor, and social worker. Then, at the beginning of the week, we have our Small Block meeting, where we as teacher teams and then discuss students and small interventions there,” she said.

Students whom educators identify as at risk are discussed in Community Connect meetings, which involve greater school community members including school resource officers and administrators. At Mt. Blue, they hold weekly Community Connect Meetings, which include Peterson, the ninth-grade Assistant Principal Greg Henderson, school social workers Angelica Levy and Jack Turner, school nurse Vicky Gerstenberger, special education building coordinator Mike Hanson, and school resource officer Matt Brann. During their meetings, the Community Connect team develops strategies to intervene and limit poor behaviors before they result in a suspension.

Makylee, a sophomore, feels that the support she got through BARR in ninth grade set her up to have better relationships with her sophomore teachers.

“Teachers talk and have meetings. They let each other know how you are as a student, so you don’t have to go in as a fresh start,” she shared. “Then, your bond just increases to grow.”

These positive relationships with educators are built during I-Time. Much like Block and Community Connect Meetings, I-Times can vary from school to school. At Mt. Blue, each ninth-grade teacher has twenty freshmen they see during multiple I-Times. I-Times involve everything from relationship building activities to life skills development. Most importantly, these I-Times allow students to meet and bond with peers and teachers, and students are able to bond on a deeper level.

“Not only did your teachers get to know you, you got to know them, and you bonded as a class and a community,” Makylee said.

Before investing in BARR, Mt. Blue saw consistently high suspensions and low attendance rates.

“The year before BARR, suspensions were through the roof, and there were a lot of different behaviors,” remembers Joel Smith, the Mt. Blue Principal. “Hearing that BARR had an impact on academics, attendance, and behavior, that was appealing…especially the behavioral component, and we’ve seen a difference since then.”

Since starting BARR, Mt. Blue’s suspension rates have gone down, their attendance is up, and the failure rate was below five percent in the first semester of the 2023-2024 school year.

“Our failure rate, since implementing BARR, has gone down each and every year,” said Smith.

Mt. Blue BARR Students sit in a science classroom at long black lab desks, facing the front of the room where a teacher sits in front of a laptop talking to them. — Dr. Patricia Millette teaches her ninth-grade I-Time students about using critical thinking to decipher manipulative advertisements.

Outside of the data and inside the classroom, educators are experiencing those positive trends firsthand and they are sustained past freshman year. Sophomore English teacher Meadow Sheldon, who has been teaching at Mt. Blue since before BARR was implemented, sees a real difference in her post-BARR sophomores.

“They work hard, and they can advocate for themselves,” Sheldon conveyed. “They have an understanding of what [their grades] mean and ask for help more than students have in the past.”

What’s more, students feel better about being at school. Quinn, a freshman, found school unappealing up until this year. Now, he is an honor student who is close to his teachers.

“It feels like the school actually treats me like a person instead of like a kid,” he said.

Peterson is immensely proud of the ninth-grade team’s work with BARR.

“I love the way that we take care of every ninth-grade student. We notice if their grades are slipping if they’re absent, or if there is a problem,” he said.

Smith and Peterson hope to see the BARR model extended to the entire high school someday.

“We are looking at opportunities whenever possible to implement the BARR model,” said Smith.

Interested in becoming a BARR school? Attend this BARR webinar coming up:

Thursday, March 14, 2024 | 3:00pm ET | Click Here To Register

Applications are now open to all willing and qualified public schools that would like to become a BARR (Building Assets, Reducing Risks) school. Click here to apply. Applications are due by March 22, 2024 by 5:00pm EST.

The Maine DOE used American Rescue Plan funding to create a competitive BARR grant to help schools invest in the model.

Belfast Alternative Ed Program Partners with Local Paper for Student Mentorship Experience

(Pictured: Emma Witham, a student at BCOPE, RSU 71’s alternative high school program)

Belfast Community Outreach Program in Education is RSU 71’s alternative high school program, which was funded by a grant from the Office of Substance in 1990.

The program began in a small rental space down the street from Belfast Area High School. In 2002, the district built the program their own building, which was designed by students. The campus includes a 4000 square foot building equipped with four classrooms, a full kitchen, a band room, an organic garden and a greenhouse. The program currently serves 33 students 16 of which have a parent or sibling who has attended there.

“Over the years, we have worked with many community partners,” said Helen M. Scipione, BCOPE Teaching Principal. “One of our most recent partnerships is with Village Soup, The Republican Journal, which is our local weekly newspaper. The editor, Jim Leonard, did an article on BCOPE last year and he was so impressed with what he experienced, he offered to mentor a student reporter. We quickly took him up on his offer.”

Emma Witham, one of BCOPE’s current students is a gifted writer and she accepted the challenge. Emma’s mother, Krystal, and her sister, Abby both graduated from BCOPE. Her twin sister, Ava, also attends BCOPE now.

Emma recently had her first article published and it is not only the history of BCOPE, it is her experiences with alternative learning.

“We are extremely proud of Emma and BCOPE and we’d like to share it with you,” said Scipione.

In Emma’s words, “I have been honored for who I am at BCOPE and it’s an experience I’ve never had before. I am extremely grateful for BCOPE.”

Read the full article here in the Village Soup.

“I can honestly say that we are eternally grateful for our community of learners that spans 34 years,” added Scipione.

This article was submitted by BCOPE. To submit a good news story to the Maine DOE, use our Good News Submission Form.

Five Maine Education Programs Highlighted in National Webinar on Educational Innovation

In December, five Maine educators leading school innovations and working towards systemic change to create powerful outcomes for Maine students were featured in a webinar hosted by The Regional Education Laboratory (REL) Northeast & Islands with nearly 100 educators from across the country present.

The goal of the webinar was to deepen understanding of different types and purposes of educational assessment within the context of implementing an educational innovation. These educators shared a variety of data sources they used to establish evidence of efficacy as they worked toward systemic change.

Students Laughing - outdoor learning — Students from Portland Public Schools

Portland Public Schools

The first team of educators to present in the webinar were Brooke Teller and Katie West of Portland Public Schools. They shared assessment tools to measure the desired outcomes of increased exposure and engagement for all students, teacher joy, knowledge and commitment to outdoor and experiential learning, and a greater awareness and understanding of Environmental Literacy Practices and Indigenous Worldview. They have a district-wide innovation for 3,200 K-5 students. By examining student field journals, conducting interviews, and surveys, these innovators were able to begin to capture the impact of their innovation on not just students but the larger community.

“We’ve been doing interviews and collecting anecdotes and stories because we know how powerful a story can be,” said Brooke Teller of Portland Public Schools.

Falmouth Middle School

Katie Coppens of Falmouth Middle School shared their Rethinking Responsive Education Ventures (RREV) Pilot: The Navigator Program. The goal of this innovation is to foster empathy and responsibility for the community by immersing students in the natural, cultural, and historical elements of the community and to use these as a foundation for the study of science, social studies, and other subjects across the curriculum. The People & Places of the Presumpscot unit was the first step in creating district-wide place-based programming. Katie shared creative pre and post unit assessments that demonstrated student growth.

“When you think of the Presumpscot River what word comes to mind?”

word cloud comparison

“This simple snapshot is a measurement that shows the impact this place based unit has on student understanding and connection to the Presumpscot River,” Katie Coppens, Falmouth Public Schools.

Agnes Gray Elementary School

MSAD 17 Outdoor Learning in the Oxford Hills was the focus of Sarah Timm’s presentation. As a result of capturing outcomes of increased engagement and motivation, improved student behavior, and academic achievement, the program began the second year of implementation by moving from one elementary school in the district to all 8 elementary schools in the district. The success of the innovation with the elementary schools has informed their decision to provide outdoor learning opportunities to preK-12 students.

“We are collecting data about how student behavior in the woods compares to student behavior on metal and plastic playground equipment.” Sarah Timm, Outdoor Learning Coach describes one data measure at Agnes Gray Elementary school a school with a forest playground for students.

Maine Indian Education Schools

Gen Doughty, the RREV Leader for the Maine Indian Education Schools, has been supporting the implementation of Extended Learning Opportunities, Place-Based and Project-based learning in order to increase meaningful student participation and to strengthen connection to the community. It only makes sense that as their innovative pilot focuses on a shared way of life, culture, customs, and traditions, that they assess educational outcomes in a way that aligns with Wabanaki Culture. Gen shared that while they originally tried to measure connection to community and culture through surveys but it wasn’t meaningful information. That led Gen and her team of educators to the challenge of examining how the Wakanaki culture would go about a quest for knowledge. That led to the use of storytelling through small and large talking circles which provided a much deeper understanding of how to respond to student needs.

“The school is a place where many gather , not just a place for our students, our families are involved and we have community meetings and different sorts of activities that happen for our entire families to join in with our students.” Gen Doughty.

The Maine Demartment of Education (DOE) encourages all schools and districts across the State of Maine to learn more about RREV innovative educators and their pilot programs through the RREV website and the online RREV collaborative platform known as EnGiNE. It is through EnGiNE that we hope to continue the momentum to change students’ lives through innovative and responsive educational programs.

Madawaska Shows the Power of Summer Learning Opportunities, Apply for 2024 Funding Today

Last summer, elementary school students throughout Madawaska were provided project-based extended educational learning opportunities with a focus on celebrating the region’s French-Acadian heritage.

After the 2022-2023 school year, Principal Christian Arnold began working with her team to collaboratively develop thoughtful interdisciplinary lessons and exposure to project-based learning and real-world application, critical thinking skills, and social emotional benefits that emerge from confident learners. During a visit by the Maine Department of Education (DOE), staff observed an engaging lesson focused on preparing students for a field trip later in the week to Maine’s Acadian Village.

Throughout the read aloud, students made text to real life connections, shared personal anecdotes, and leaned in to learn more about their region’s rich cultural history. Directly following the read aloud, students and educators enjoyed ployes while listening to local French-Acadian fiddle music. Throughout their family style meal where butter and local maple syrup was plentiful, students and educators eagerly shared stories from their own personal experiences which illustrated how this delicious French-Acadian staple has connected their families and greater community for generations. Woven throughout the discussion were brief vocabulary lessons in English and French.

Madawaska’s four-week American Rescue Plan (ARP) funded summer and enrichment programming supported three certified teachers with three Ed Techs and a dedicated Family Engagement assistant. Attendance was a key focus and was a successful effort with about 20 students participating on a daily basis. Each student had a learning objectives/goals folder used to share with parents and track their progress. 89 percent of students met their growth goals as determined in STAR, and all students showed growth or maintained end of year scores as determined by DIBELS. Madawaska determined that their numbers were comparatively small, but the program was dynamic!

In her end of summer newsletter, Principal Arnold shared “the kids came in as timid students and left as motivated scholars.”

Funding is available to bring summer programming to your school community!

The 2024 ARP Summer Programming and Enrichment grant application deadline is March 29, 2024, at 5 PM EST. Please reach out to ARP Summer Programming Coordinator Jackie Godbout jackie.godbout@maine.gov with questions.