SAD 29 fills guidance, alternative education positions

By Joseph Cyr
Staff Writer
    HOULTON — SAD 29 officially hired two individuals Monday evening to head two new programs aimed at helping elementary and junior high students achieve success.
    The school board named Katherine Cole as the new Houlton Elementary School guidance counselor and selected Kristin Supa as the new middle school alternative education teacher during Monday night’s regular board meeting.
    According to Superintendent Mike Hammer, the alternative education program’s objective is to provide unsuccessful at-risk students in SAD 29 with an early intervention program. Targeting seventh- and eighth-graders, primarily for the services, some sixth- and ninth-graders may also be included once the program gets up and running.
    Electives will be offered as needed by the students, while career and vocational education and service learning will be integrated within the curriculum. A special room will also be created at Houlton High School for the program.
    The alternative education program will essentially offer a “school-within-a-school” program for students in a controlled environment, which may extend beyond the regular school day for extra instructional time or after-school activities.
    Students who will be eligible for the program will be evaluated on a case-by-case basis, Bouchard said.
    The elementary guidance counselor will cover HES, Houlton Southside School and Wellington School in Monticello, serving more than 700 students. There are currently no guidance services for students in these schools.
    The counselor will plan and manage the comprehensive school-counseling program in collaboration with the other district guidance counselors. The goal is to provide a program promoting student success through a focus on academic achievement, prevention and intervention activities, advocacy as well as social/emotional and career development to meet the need of the students and community.
    In other agenda items, the board:
    • Approved making Sept. 23 an early release day for students and a teacher in-service day for staff development. The board also agreed to a teacher in-service day on March 15 and moving the last day of school to June 14.
    • Accepted a laptop self-insurance policy for all students who take home school-owned laptops. Parents will be required to pay $35 per year, per laptop to cover the insurance premium. In the event that a student’s laptop needed to be repaired or replaced out of warranty, the parent would not be required to pay for the repairs. Any student that does not pay the $35 insurance policy will not be allowed to take his or her laptop out of the school building. A $25 deductible is also required in the event repairs are performed.
    • Gave the superintendent permission to contract No. 2 heating oil for the 2011-12 school year.
    • Learned enrollment in the school district, as of Sept. 6, was 1,293, which is up four students from June 6. There are 401 students in Houlton Elementary School; 60 at Wellington Elementary School; 275 at Houlton Southside School; and 557 at Houlton High School. The largest difference in class sizes is the senior class, which has just 65 members. In 2010, the senior class was 91 students.
    The next regular board meeting is set for Monday, Oct. 3, at 6 p.m. in the Superintendent’s Office.