Stephen Bowen, the state’s new Education Commissioner, stopped at HES Wednesday as part of his tour of Aroostook County to get a first-hand look at how teachers were implementing the reading program to students.
SAD 29 was chosen for the visit based on its exceptional strides in reading achievements at the elementary level. At an SAD 29 school board meeting March 14, HES Principal Candace Crane gave a presentation on the district’s Reading First program, a federally-funded grant program aimed at improving reading skills for elementary school children. Some of the money was used to purchase books and other reading equipment, while other portions of the grant was used on salaries for reading intervention specialists.
“I was looking for schools to visit that have shown a real commitment to reading and are real success stories,” Bowen said. “Houlton Elementary School fit that description. They have really embraced the Reading First program and I wanted to see their success first-hand.”
Following the two-hour visit at HES, Bowen met with area superintendents and held a public forum in Caribou. On Thursday, he toured the Maine School of Science and Mathematics in Limestone.
“Houlton Elementary has done an outstanding job with the Reading First program,” said interim-superintendent Ray Freve. “It’s been a very successful program. The commissioner contacted us because he wanted to see the program in action.”
Since 2006, the district has received nearly $1 million in grant money for the program. The 2010-11 school year marks the final year of the Reading First program, unless the funding is picked up at the local level.
Reading First is a federal education program under the No Child Left Behind Act and is administered by the federal Department of Education. Funding for the Reading First project is expected to end this year. Should the district wish to continue to popular reading program, it will have to fund the program locally.
“I wanted to get a sense for what is going on in our schools; what is working, and what is not,” Bowen said. “I also wanted to hear from the teachers. We have a lot of tough decisions to make [in Augusta] on where to spend our money. We have limited resources, but we also have to be as supportive as we can.”
In regard to HES’ success with the reading program, Bowen said he hoped the school could be used as an example for others in the state.
“What they are doing here is remarkable,” he said. “I’d like to be able to take the success in the building and replicate it around the state. We need to learn from what they [teachers at HES] have learned.”
