Retiring SAD 1 teachers honored
By Scott Mitchell Johnson
Staff Writer
PRESQUE ISLE — Three retiring SAD 1 teachers were recognized June 12 for their years of service and contributions to the district.
Staff photo/Scott Mitchell Johnson
THREE RETIRING SAD 1 TEACHERS were honored June 12 for their years of service and contributions to the district. Pictured are, from left: Gail Hamel, fifth-grade teacher at Mapleton Elementary School, who is leaving with 15 years of service to the district and 18 years’ teaching experience overall; Emily Knight and Marianne Dyer, both special education teachers at Presque Isle High School. Knight has served the district for 29 years, while Dyer has spent 24 years in SAD 1 and has 40 years’ total teaching experience. Also retiring but not attending the recognition ceremony is Cheryl Thibodeau, a cook at Pine Street Elementary School, who has been with SAD 1 for 16 years.
Gail Hamel, fifth-grade teacher at Mapleton Elementary School, is leaving with 15 years of service to the district and 18 years’ teaching experience overall.
“Gail doesn’t want this recognition because she is a true educator at heart, and by definition — as my kids would call her — she’s a Jedi,” said MES Principal Dan Duprey. “She’s a true and effective educator and what that means is that Gail Hamel is passionate about the work that she does every day and she’s excited about her craft. Gail celebrates with her students as they gain academics, and she challenges her students every day to be the best that they can be, and she supports them where they need it.
“I’d like to thank her for the positive impact that she has had on hundreds and hundreds of students and lives that have passed through Mapleton Elementary,” he said.
Hamel said that while she will miss teaching, she’s looking forward to having more free time.
“My kids at school told me I was way too young to retire and that it’s not legal for me to retire, but I’m going to miss teaching,” she said. “I love Mapleton. I love that school and I’m really going to miss being there every day, and certainly miss the kids. But I’m looking forward to spending a little more time with my grandchildren and traveling, but I really will miss the school.”
Two special education teachers at Presque Isle High School — Marianne Dyer and Emily Knight — are also retiring.
“Marianne is the sweetest, nicest, kindest person to these kids in that classroom, which is a self-contained classroom, and the students need a lot of support, love and motivation, and Marianne has pushed them to be their best, and the kids love her,” said PIHS Principal Donna Lisnik. “She is superior, and if I could keep her here I would be very happy.”
Dyer, who has spent 24 years in SAD 1 and has 40 years’ total teaching experience, said she is grateful for the time she has spent in the classroom.
“This is a great school system that is respected and well-known for all the right reasons. I have taught preschool, fourth and fifth grade, middle school and I am so glad I came to the high school, as well. I now have had experience at all the levels,” she said. “To the people who employed me, I can ensure you that every day that I worked in your district, I gave 150 percent and the kids were my number-one priority.”
Knight has served the district for 29 years.
“While her kids will miss her and her teaching, what I will miss most is that she is the best mentor — the best you could ever find — for our new special ed teachers,” said Lisnik. “She has worked with every new special ed teacher that’s come in and she’s amazing because she knows how to do it right. She knows how to expect just enough of the students and how not to let them get away with anything. We’ll all miss Emily very much.”
Knight said she has loved working with the special ed students.
“I had a student tell me the other day, ‘Two more years. Couldn’t you just give me two more years?’ I love the high school age; they’re wonderful,” she said. “I’ve been to a lot of conferences over the years and often after the conferences the special ed teachers complain that they’re treated differently or don’t have supplies, but special ed teachers are not treated that way in this district. I think both the special ed and regular ed teachers work very hard together to make things happen, and I’m happy to have been a part of that.”
The retirees were each recognized with a plaque and a gift certificate.
Also at the meeting, several transfers were announced for next year. Doreen Archer will move from half-time kindergarten teacher at Mapleton to third grade at Zippel Elementary School; Christi Doyen will go from fourth grade at Zippel to fifth grade at Mapleton; Jennifer Espling will switch from first grade at Pine Street Elementary School to fourth grade at Zippel; Julie Gardner will move from eighth grade English/social studies at Presque Isle Middle School to teach eighth grade math/science; Mary Graham will transfer from fourth grade at Zippel to eighth-grade English/social studies at PIMS; Melissa Buck will go from fifth grade to fourth grade at Zippel; and Kelli Beaulieu will go from first grade at Pine Street to fourth grade at Zippel.
“We’ve had a lot of movement that’s occurred in the last month,” said Superintendent Gehrig Johnson, “and we’re not done yet. This has been one of those years where there’s a lot of moving around. There will be more to report on at the next meeting.”
Johnson also provided directors with an update on the service agreements the district has with outlying school systems.
“The Maine School of Science and Mathematics pays a $5,000 service provider fee, SAD 32 pays a $30,000 fee for administrative services, we provide business services to SAD 42 and they pay $12,500, and there are 11 school units all around us that contract with us for bus maintenance. The net profit for providing that service is about $30,000,” he said. “By providing the services that we do, it brings about $85,000 into the district that’s free and clear.”
Two new hires were approved at the meeting. Brittany Morrison will be a special education teacher at Zippel, while Kristi Stoutamyer will be a part-time kindergarten teacher at Mapleton, for one year only.
Directors also:
• Accepted the resignations of Karen Weston, a third-grade teacher at Zippel; Barrett Parks, industrial and farm mechanics instructor at the Presque Isle Regional Career and Technical Center; and Ellen Schneider, assistant superintendent/curriculum director.
• Approved TD Bank’s low bid of for interim financing of .67 percent interest rate for the $2.3 million bond anticipation note, and 2.33 percent interest rate for a lease purchase of two school buses.
The next regular SAD 1 board meeting will be held Wednesday, July 17 at 5:30 p.m. at the board conference room at PIHS.
