Ty Thurlow returns to Mars Hill
as elementary school principal
MARS HILL, Maine — Ty Thurlow is happy to be back in SAD 42.
The former English teacher and soccer coach at Central Aroostook High School is the new principal at Fort Street Elementary School. He replaces Elaine Boulier, who was named the new SAD 42 superintendent following Roger Shaw’s retirement.
Thurlow, who had been the assistant principal/athletic director at Ashland District School, was approved by the board of directors Dec. 11, 2014. His first day was Jan. 1, 2015.
When he heard about the opening at Fort Street, Thurlow said he really didn’t give it much thought.
“I had a position in Ashland and I enjoyed what I was doing, but I began to think about it in the back of my mind,” he said. “I finally reached out to Elaine Boulier and asked her how she thought my abilities would translate to the elementary level because I had been at the upper schools for my entire career.
“We talked, and the idea grew on me. It wasn’t that I saw the opportunity and jumped, or was pining away to leave Ashland, but I had lived in this community for a year prior to moving to Ashland, and it was a very good fit for me to apply for the job,” said Thurlow, 30.
Originally from Lee, Thurlow graduated from Lee Academy in 2002. He then attended the University of Maine at Farmington from 2002-04, and then from 2005-06 served a two-year mission for his church.
“I was living in the greater Kansas City area in both Kansas and Missouri for those two years, and then I came back, and from 2007-09 I finished up at Farmington,” said Thurlow. “I received my bachelor’s degree in English, and in 2009 I began teaching and coaching at Lee Academy. In 2010 I continued teaching and coaching at Lee Academy, but was also responsible for the after school administrating of the residential life activities and schedules.”
From June 2013 to June 2014, Thurlow was the high school English teacher and soccer coach at CAHS.
“At the end of 2013, I also completed my graduate degree in educational administration,” he said.
In mid-July, 2014, Thurlow was hired as the assistant principal/athletic director for the Ashland District School. He was in that role until Dec. 31, 2014.
Though he was only the assistant principal for about six months, Thurlow said he learned a lot during that time.
“I had incredible administrative support from both Principal Joel Hall and SAD 32 Superintendent Gehrig Johnson. Between those two individuals, we’re talking about upwards of 50 years of administrative experience, and they were incredibly supportive in showing me the ways to employ multi-tasking,” he said. “In a school with about 300 students in Ashland, and between the academic side, the discipline side, the behavior side, athletics and extra-curricular activities, your head is on a swivel and you’re always moving on to the next piece, the next issue and the next student.
“They were instrumental in being very supportive of me as I found my own process and my own system, but they were also very open to show me what they’ve done in their experience to make it a very easy piece to the day,” he said. “Things are going to come at you during the day — no matter what — but you need to be able to swing at those curveballs and keep going.”
Since the majority of his educational career has been spent at the high school level, Thurlow said there was a little nervousness about heading up an elementary school.
“I think anyone would either be arrogant or lying if they said that they weren’t nervous. The last time I was in elementary school was nearly 21-22 years ago, but I’m glad I haven’t had any elementary school experience because it’s keeping me on my toes in an incredible way,” he said. “I don’t take anything for granted, and I’m asking a lot of questions. I don’t want to miss anything.”
Things have been going very well so far in his new role.
“It’s been a great transition. When I was in the district last year I met all of the faculty and staff here at Fort Street. We’ve been at numerous trainings and various districtwide workshops together, so I had a fairly good idea of who I was going to be working with,” he said. “They’ve been very welcoming. A lot of them — a soon as they heard about my approval — made phone calls or sent emails of support, and were excited for me.
“The students have been wonderful. It’s been several years since there was a male principal here at Fort Street, but the students are embracing the change fairly well,” said Thurlow, noting that there are presently 242 students at Fort Street. “I feel like I’m drinking from a fire hydrant because even though I know what the job entails, when you really dive into it there’s just so much. You can’t work enough hours in the day to get everything taken care of.”
Recognizing that annually Fort Street has been a “very well performing school,” Thurlow said there’s not much in the way of changes he’s looking to make initially.
“My large goals are really to raise — in my opinion — expectations of the community. We have amazing teachers here who are raising standards and their own expectations and — by in large — they’re helping the students to raise their expectations. I’d like to do a bit more outreach into the community,” he said. “We have a lot of young parents of the students here, and it’s important that those parents understand what we are trying to do in terms of setting their kids up for the future.
“This isn’t just about test scores or looking good on some report or a piece of paper, but when we graduate students from the sixth grade and send them into the middle and high school levels, there’s only a few more years before they’re kicked out into the real world,” said Thurlow. “This foundation that they receive here at Fort Street needs to be solid, and it is, but I think we can shore that up just a bit more by helping our community understand exactly what we’re looking at long term.”
Thurlow explained that when a 4-year-old child comes into the district’s pre-K, it’s hard for a lot of people to realize that “we’re looking 14 years down the road.”
“We want to make sure that that 18-year-old who graduates high school is in good academic standing, has great opportunities in terms of college or trade school, or even job opportunities,” he said. “To do that, we need the community on board with us. They’ve been great, but I think we can raise that level a little bit more.”
Thurlow said he’s grateful to be in the community that embraced him so well when he first moved to central Aroostook in 2013.
“I was a virtual unknown to a lot of people here, and they were amazing,” he said. “It’s very nice to be back in that community, and I think because that relationship exists and has existed, it’s going to be a great benefit to both me in this position, but as well to our overall school.”
