HHS graduation to stay June 2

By Joseph Cyr
Staff Writer
    HOULTON — Barring any additional storm days between now and the end of the school year, graduation ceremonies at Houlton High School will be held Thursday, June 2 as originally planned.
    Interim Superintendent Ray Freve said Tuesday that a plan had been worked out with the senior class to alter some of their end-of-season activities so that more of an emphasis will be placed on academics and less on recreation that will allow the seniors to meet the 170 school day requirement.
    The date for graduation was in danger of being moved because the district had cancelled school four times due to poor weather.
    “The issue has been resolved and the kids [senior class] have been super about it,” Freve said. “There are extra activities they will have to do, but they are willing to do it. They even said they would be willing to come in on Saturday if needed.”
    Because invitations had already been printed and others had made special accommodations to have guests attend from long distances, students wanted to keep the original graduation ceremony for June 2, Freve explained.
    To meet the 170 school day requirement, Freve said the seniors were willing to alter their class trip May 21-23 to feature more educational events such as visiting the Boston Science Museum and several other educational spots.
    “I told the kids if they did that, I would count that as school days,” he said. “They have completely changed their itinerary to make it more educational.”
    In addition, one of the seniors’ “off days” in the week prior to graduation has been converted to an in-house day.
    “I’m very happy with how the kids handled themselves,” Freve said. “I have kids that I can graduate with confidence.”
Education Commissioner
 to tour Houlton
    The newly-appointed Maine Education Commissioner Stephen Bowen will be visiting northern Maine next week as part of his statewide “Listening Tour.” The visit will include a stop in Houlton where he will meet with Freve and tour Houlton Elementary School.
    Commissioner Bowen is expected to visit the school at about 10 a.m. Wednesday, April 6.
    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.
    “We don’t often see these results,” Crane said. “It is a real testament to the teachers, the parents and our literacy staff that we have been able to do what we have.”
    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.
    Crane said that testing in 2006 showed that 52 percent of the students tested were reading at their appropriate grade level. However, tests conducted in January of this year revealed 85 percent of the students were reading at the appropriate grade level.