By Natalie Bazinet
Staff Writer
CARIBOU — With approximately 75 people in the audience, Maine Education Commissioner Stephen Bowen spent the evening of April 6 listening to the concerns of educators from Fort Kent to Houlton. The two-hour long event was part of his Listening Tour.
Aroostook Republican photo/Natalie Bazinet
Maine Education Commissioner Stephen Bowen was at the Caribou Middle School on April 6 as part of his Listening Tour, which took him to Maine’s nine superintendent regions in his first 100 days on the job.
“Tonight isn’t a presentation on my behalf in terms of what I think we should be doing, it’s really more a chance for me to get a sense from all of you about your thoughts on your schools, how things are going up here in terms of school, things you’d like to continue to see happen as we move forward, what are the pieces that are working well that we need to preserve as we move forward,” Bowen told the audience.
The audience seemed more than ready to tell the commissioner what they thought the schools needed the department to do, vocalizing their opinions for the department to have consistency in educational standards, focus and testing.
“I’ve been on the school board right now for about 11 years and quite frankly I have whiplash when it comes to the standards that we are constantly put through,” said RSU 39 school board member Dale Gordon. It would be really nice if somebody came up with a direction and stayed with that.”
It was even mentioned that in the past state administration, educators were subject to the flavor of the year when it came to testing students.
Aroostook Republican photo/Natalie Bazinet
Roughly 75 Aroostook educators attended the April 6 meeting with Maine Education Commissioner Stephen Bowen at CMS as part of the commissioner’s Listening Tour.
Topics from standardized testing to education technology — all peppered with anecdotes — were shared for the full two hours and while the educators had much to say to the commissioner, the overall tone of the evening was respectful and appreciative. The consensus of the educators was that Commissioner Bowen seemed truly interested in gaining the northern Maine perspective on the Maine Department of Education.
“We were very fortunate to be able to host the commissioner here in Caribou for his Listening Tour,” said RSU 39 superintendent Frank McElwain. “The teachers seemed to receive him well.”
