CARIBOU, Maine — When Jane McCall first began teaching in the 1990s, she never thought she would witness so many changes in her career and within education.
In her over 20 years as an administrator, McCall has helped the district navigate a global pandemic, the impact of social media and technology on students and an increasingly difficult education job market.
McCall began tackling those challenges when she became Regional School Unit 39’s interim superintendent last spring. In November, she was promoted to superintendent.
One thing has remained consistent throughout her career, McCall said. No matter what is happening, students and staff need to feel supported.
“It goes back to what I learned early on as a teacher. You need to get to know your students, teachers, ed techs, administrators, cooks, bus drivers, all of your staff as people,” McCall said. “People want to know they’re cared about.”
While growing up in Caribou, McCall considered herself lucky to have supportive and caring teachers who influenced her desire to become an educator.
After graduating from Caribou High School in 1983, McCall did not feel ready for the demands of a four-year college degree, which she needed to enter the education field. So she took another path. McCall opened her own business, Haircuts by Jane, at age 18 after completing a nine-month cosmetology program.
“To this day, I think that experience instilled a lot of the people skills you need as an administrator,” McCall said. “You need to communicate with people when they like what you’re doing and when they’re not as satisfied.”
Ten years later, married and with three children, McCall graduated from the University of Maine at Presque Isle’s elementary education program.
McCall began her career at Fort Fairfield Elementary School in 1994 as a first-grade teacher, later teaching fifth grade reading, science and health. She earned her master’s degree in educational leadership from the University of Maine in 1999.
McCall was in her seventh year at Fort Fairfield when colleagues at RSU 39, then known as Caribou School Department, asked if she would consider applying for the position of assistant principal at Hilltop Elementary, where served students in prekindergarten to second grade.
“At the time, I said no. I was content with teaching and I liked being in the classroom with students. I hadn’t been teaching very long,” McCall said. “A couple weeks later, I received a phone call and was asked if I’d reconsider, and I said ‘OK.'”
Just a few days after interviewing, McCall was offered and accepted the job. One year later, she became Hilltop’s principal.
McCall enjoyed the challenges of running a school but wondered if leaving the classroom so soon was a mistake. She missed being with students, so she started visiting a different class each week. She started a Lunch with the Principal program and often accompanied students on field trips.
Even today, McCall said she enjoys making time for classroom visits at both Caribou Community School, the district’s new pre-K to grade 8 school, and Caribou High School.
“I like seeing the teachers and being around students,” McCall said. “It’s why I went into education to begin with. It helps me not lose sight of who is impacted by decisions the [school] board and I make.”
In 2016, McCall became RSU 39’s curriculum director and assistant superintendent, a position she maintained until this school year after Tim Doak left Caribou to lead York School Department in York County.
In McCall’s earlier years as an administrator, schools had already noticed fewer people applying for teaching positions, but COVID has since made that issue worse, McCall said. She attributed that trend to teacher salaries and the demands placed on teachers during COVID, including with remote learning and addressing students’ mental health.
McCall’s current salary is $128,592. RSU 39 employs 105 teachers, whose combined yearly salaries lead to an average salary of $60,438, according to Mark Bouchard, the district’s business manager.
McCall wants to continue addressing staff recruitment and retention with the school board, especially during budget talks. With federal COVID relief funds ending next fall, the district will need to look at alternative ways to keep some positions, she said.
“This year, we had to start eliminating some positions that we funded through COVID relief, including several ed techs. We’ve begun moving some positions back into our general [non-COVID] fund but we’ll need to determine how to keep what we have while thinking of our taxpayers,” McCall said.
McCall also wants to help school leaders and staff address students’ social and emotional needs and find resourceful ways of using technology in the classroom. As the world leaves the pandemic behind, she also wants to increase opportunities for parents to meet with administrators face to face.
With a leader like McCall in place, Caribou Community School Principal Lee Caron thinks that RSU 39 is in good hands.
“She is a great listener and has already stressed the importance of improving communication within our district,” Caron said. “She has been amazing to work with during my 12 years in this district.”
