Policy, hirings, teaching focus of school board

By Elna Seabrooks
Staff Writer
    HOULTON — A nearly three-hour meeting of the SAD 29 school board Monday resulted in several policy decisions, staff appointments and a presentation on the future of classroom instruction at Southside School that is evolving from a team approach to meet children’s needs.
    Principal Jason Tarr and several teachers made presentations on a new team approach to teaching at Southside School that will devote more time to social studies, English language arts (ELA), math and science. The new program will integrate reading, writing and social studies while drawing on the strengths of the school’s teachers in specific areas to facilitate learning.
    Tarr says through that interdisciplinary approach teachers can integrate ELA (the reading and writing) with social studies on assignments. Teachers in the fifth and sixth grades along with Tarr have been designing a strategy over the summer to provide intervention and enrichment during the daily schedule while working on students’ individual weaknesses and strengths.
    Some of the stated goals were to boost math from 200 minutes each week to 310, ELA from 400 to 420, science from 200 to 235 and social studies from 200 to 210.
    Curriculum Coordinator, Dawn Dougan, highlighted the overall excellence of students in the district based on Maine Educational Assessment scores. Dougan said reading scores especially were outstanding with only a few lagging in math proficiency.
    She also cited as a real indicator of progress, the higher numbers of high school students taking more challenging preparatory classes for post-secondary education — geometry, physics, calculus, trigonometry and algebra.
    Among the positions approved was the hiring of Dawn Matthews as assistant principal of Houlton Junior and Senior High School. Molly Cowan was hired as Special Education Ed Tech for Houlton Elementary School. 
    Despite concerns over Superintendent Steve Fitzpatrick’s commitment of time managing the district, the board approved him to administer two additional programs — the Gifted and Talented program as well as the No Child Left Behind program. Fitzpatrick said he will receive a stipend for the additional workload and hours he will have to put into the programs.
    However, he said he is looking for a person to eventually take over the Gifted and Talented program. Administering both of those programs had been mostly the responsibility of Dougan until she moved out of the assistant superintendent position into her current role as curriculum coordinator where she is developing a regional plan for the district.
    The board exerted its authority with regard to future hiring of coaching staff by tabling motions on two positions. The hiring of Mike Fogarty as boys varsity basketball coach and Marc Faulkingham as the eighth grade girls basketball coach will be decided at a future date. The hiring of Bill Weber as junior varsity boys soccer coach was postponed until fingerprinting can be completed.
    Board member Lisa Harvey expressed her concern that the board not merely be a rubber stamp when such vacancies are filled. Harvey, with agreement from several other members, said she thought the board should be more involved in the interview process. Fitzpatrick responded by saying that if the board is involved in the interviewing process, it will require a substantial commitment of time.      More stringent restrictions on use of cell phones and electronic communications were discussed and passed prohibiting staff from using them for personal use. Also prohibited was use of cell phones or similar electronic devices by students on school buses or property. The school board’s policy provides for disciplinary action when the rules are violated.
    The board also passed a stricter junior high school attendance policy that provides for “mandatory retention” (not advancing to the next grade level) in the case of excessive absences.
    The next meeting is scheduled for Tuesday, Sept. 8 at 6 p.m. in the superintendent’s office.