PRESQUE ISLE, Maine — People are graduating from SAD 1 adult education in record numbers.
The program will see its highest number of graduates ever for the second year in a row, Adult and Community Education Director Shara Page told members of the SAD 1 school board on May 20.
Last year was a stellar year with 34 graduates, but this year will surpass that with 42 students receiving diplomas and completing high school equivalency requirements, Page said.
Of those, 21 are from within Aroostook County, 16 from Loring Job Corps in Limestone and five from outside the region.
Of 66 adult education programs in Maine, SAD 1 was one of four to meet all state goals, which included showing students having acquired skills, being prepared for the workforce and achieving satisfactory test results, Page said.
Besides diploma courses, staff partnered with the Maine Department of Education and Ignite Presque Isle to offer 43 different hospitality industry training sessions.
The department provided a $400,000 Strengthening Maine’s Workforce Grant to boost the collaboration between SAD 1 and Ignite Presque Isle to prepare more workers for jobs. The money came from the Maine Jobs & Recovery Plan, which aims to create jobs, help businesses and benefit the economy.
The local training sessions drew 273 people, Page said.
The program started last year, according to the DOE. Ignite Presque Isle, which operates the Northeastland Hotel and its co-working space, works to create career opportunities in the hospitality industry. Training programs have provided more than 4,686 hours of instruction for employees and 240 hours for non-employees.
College and career success is another successful grant program, with staff reaching out to more than 342 students, Page said.
The self-sustaining adult education enrichment program, where students of all ages pay to attend a variety of sessions, saw 612 people take courses over the past year, she added.
In other business, Curriculum Director Jennifer Bourassa reported on the district’s comprehensive needs assessment, required by the federal Every Student Succeeds Act.
Absenteeism is one of the district’s ongoing problems which staff are working to improve.
“We and many schools in the nation have a problem with chronic absenteeism,” Bourassa said. “The goal is to have 10 percent or under. We have been hovering in the 30s, but we’re about 27-ish right now.”
Students are marked absent when they are away from school for any reason not related to school, she said.
Before COVID-19, district absenteeism was roughly 17 to 18 percent, Bourassa said. When the pandemic hit, it increased exponentially and has yet to return to prior levels.
SAD 1 is also working to implement new language and math programs, as well as to revise report cards and grading at the elementary school level, she said.
Additionally, Zippel Elementary has plans to create an outdoor learning space for students, and the district is considering a token system that all grades will use, through which students earn tokens for goals reached and good behavior.
In other business, school board members voted on several resignations and appointments.
High school science teacher Shawn Guerrette has resigned, and will be replaced by Liam Daniels.
Mapleton Elementary School fourth grade teacher Kim Wright will retire at the end of the school year.
Guidance Director Allison Reed will become assistant principal at the high school, and Melissa Duchardt will join Zippel as a special education teacher.
