ASHLAND, Maine — Joel Hall, who for the last five years was the assistant principal/athletic director at Ashland District School, is moving up the professional ladder. The Ashland native became the school’s new principal effective July 1. He replaces Chris Hallett, who left to become the principal at Zippel Elementary School in Presque Isle.
“[I applied for the position] because I felt like I owed it to the people that I worked with and the community that I’ve lived in … to keep some continuity and give them a face that they’re familiar with,” said Hall. “I’m familiar with the background and history of many of the communities, and I’m familiar with a lot of the parents and people.
“The staff I’ve worked with both as a colleague and as assistant principal, so I’m very familiar with how the school works and how its connections to the community are done,” he said. “That was a big factor for me; it was going to be me or somebody else. We didn’t have anybody in-house that was really ready to take that next step, so my thought was, ‘I can do this job,’ and we’d be in better shape for some of the people and the kids in the school.”
Hall graduated from Ashland Community High School in 1989. His parents — Larry and Anne Hall — both taught in SAD 32.
“My dad taught music for more than 30 years, and my mom taught mostly elementary school for 30-plus years,” said Hall. “They’re both retired and live in the community. They’re still involved here. Dad comes in and does some music lessons and works with the community choir.”
After graduating from high school, Hall attended the University of Maine at Orono for two years. He completed his bachelor of arts degree in math and bachelor of science degree in secondary education at the University of Maine at Presque Isle. He is currently completing his master’s degree program in educational leadership from Saint Joseph’s College.
“Right out of college I didn’t go into education right away. I had an opportunity to work as a business/office manager in a start-up company, which I did for a couple of years,” said Hall. “I started teaching in Ashland in 1998. I taught math and science for 11 years, and then moved into the role of assistant principal.”
As principal, Hall said many of the day-to-day procedures will remain unaffected. There will, however, be some changes as the school moves forward trying to implement state mandates.
“There are some things that I’m going to keep pretty close to the vest that we’ve done because not only are they familiar, but they work,” he said. “For example, we have a specific schedule with a small pre-K-12 school. Our schedule’s very tight and we have shared teachers who do a lot of dual roles. Our schedule remains basically intact, and a lot of the daily procedures are not going to be shaken up a great deal.
“The changes are to progress on these state mandates. We need to make some strides in standards-based grading, as well as the new teacher evaluation and observation system. We’ve had time to work with the introductory pieces; now it’s time to actually attempt these things,” said Hall. “That’s what our major focus for change will be on … we need to take the next step with those mandates and implement at least a pilot system to see how it works and go from there. It’s time to stop waiting for everybody else to start and see what works for them; it’s time for us to start and see what works for us.”
Looking ahead, Hall said he’s optimistic that the economic climate in the Ashland region will improve.
“The industry is starting to make a climb. The biomass plant started back up in the last month, one of the mills has started back up, Irving’s put a second shift on out at Pinkham Mill, and the Bald Mountain mining project is a big one,” he said. “If that goes full steam, they’re talking 700-800 employees, so we’re hoping our enrollment is going to increase and we’re going to have to expand. We’ve got a little wiggle room; we could handle another 100 kids without too much stress, but after that, we’d be looking at a possible expansion.
“If we’re going to have an influx of students, we’re going to have to create more pathways and that includes more teachers and more programs,” said Hall. “I think it’s going to be a very fine balance. We’re on a tipping point. We’re fighting budgetary issues while at the same time trying to maintain as rigorous an education opportunity for our children as possible. Things are getting more expensive and it’s costing the local people a lot of money. At the same time, my responsibility is to balance that. We’re looking for more teachers and more opportunities. Another goal is to increase the amount of technology we have in here without busting the budget.”
Hall said Ashland District School has “really expanded our online repertoire of classes this year.”
“This started two years ago, and expanded a little bit last year. This year we’re working with UMO, the University of Maine at Fort Kent and UMPI,” he said. “A lot of our seniors are trying to get electives that way because we just don’t have enough staff — or the time in our schedules — to offer those things.
“If they really want to get into a pharmaceutical program, for example, they can go and take a higher level chemistry course online than what we’re able to offer,” said Hall. “We have a lot of kids taking math courses that are specific to the fields that they want to go in — macroeconomics, microeconomics and statistics. They can tailor their own education a little bit better than what we have the numbers and money to offer.”
Hall said he’s ready for the new school year to begin.
“I’m excited to get the students back here; hopefully I can do some positive things for these kids,” he said. “Discussions with staff have gone very well this summer, and there’s a good feeling moving forward. I think everybody’s looking forward to a new year. I’m excited for the first day.
“I’ve been here every day this summer just because I like being here. I’ve always liked being in the school building; that’s never been an issue,” Hall said. “I’m here to do the best that I can for the school, but in doing that, we have to serve our communities and a lot of different interests. Our doors are always open for different community projects and that’s the great thing about the school — there’s always something going on in the building. The more people take advantage of the building, the more it becomes a community center and a hub for all the activity in the communities. I’m looking forward to all the possibilities. It’s going to be a good year.”
Hall and his wife, Melissa, have two daughters. Mackenzie, 13, is in eighth grade, while Willow, 11, is a sixth-grader.
“My kids go here, so by doing my job, I’m serving my kids, as well as the other 320 students,” he said. “That’s a big motivator.”
In his free time, Hall enjoys camping, canoeing and music. He’s a member of the local band Too Far North, the Just Folk Singers and the Aroostook River Voices.
The first day of school for Ashland District School students is Thursday, Sept. 4.
