For Boothbay Region Elementary School (BRES) Assistant Principal Julianne Hansbury, hearing about a student’s day, listening to their jokes and other regular interactions are a highlight of her job. Now, she is leaving some of that behind as she becomes Alternative Organizational Structure (AOS) 98’s director of special education. However, she said watching a child's progress brings her the most joy and, with more administrative responsibilities, she hopes to keep making a difference.  

Hansbury said she is “a little sad” to leave behind some of those daily interactions. “But I think the impact that I can make for kids on a broader spectrum will be important. I think that being able to work with staff and developing programs and plans for kids that are, hopefully, highly effective in them accessing their education better is really what I want to see happen.” 

May 22, the AOS 98 board approved Hansbury for special ed director; she starts July 1. Director Chris Baribeau, who in March announced his planned departure, is helping with the transition.

AOS 98 Superintendent Robert Kahler told the Register, Hansbury was the hiring committee’s unanimous choice. He said there were a few qualified candidates, but none with her depth and breadth of experience. Hansbury has been assistant principal for two years, and Kahler said she has experience as a service provider, teacher, and administrator in special and general education settings within an AOS, a unique structure. 

“She has demonstrated her ability to connect positively with students, staff, and families even during times of high stress ... She brings a practically based perspective on the relationship between and among general education and special education and of how we need to work cooperatively to meet student needs.” 

Before coming to the district, Hansbury was a speech and language pathologist for 21 years. However, she said she was long interested in specialized education and therapy. Her elementary school in Massachusetts had an integrated deaf education school, where she became interested in how different learners communicate. In her early career, she worked in a children’s rehabilitation hospital then shifted into working with young children with disabilities. She then moved to Maine to work in education. She said she wanted to work in special education for a long time, but this new opportunity came as a surprise.  

“I had seen this as my ultimate goal in this field,” she said. “But I honestly didn't expect to step into this role this soon in my career. But I felt like I couldn't pass up the opportunity when this position opened up in a district I was already working in. And I felt like it really just made sense.” 

Hansbury said this job will expand her responsibilities, and she has program-wide goals to match. She said the biggest responsibility is to make sure staff are upholding special education laws so students’ rights are protected. Another piece is educating staff on how to work effectively with students with special needs, right in those students’ classrooms. 

She wants to work collaboratively with special and regular education staff across the district to help improve differentiation for students with disabilities and make education more equitable and accessible. Hansbury said one benefit of having worked in regular education administration is experience in intervention, which provides support for kids at risk for learning disabilities. Not every student who gets intervention will require special education but, when they do, she wants it to be a seamless process. Having worked on both sides, she said she hopes to help make it more effective. 

“I feel like there's so much to be gained by kids being in classes with their regular education peers. How do we move from that towards increased independence and teaching them skills and strategies that they can use even beyond school.” 

Hansbury said children without special needs also benefit. She said every person has individual learning profiles with strengths and needs. So, someone who might not need special education but has a learning difference benefits from accommodations in the classroom. 

Hansbury hopes to lead the program without losing sight of the individual. For the staff, she wants to better understand what their challenges are to help them overcome barriers. For students, she wants to help provide individualized support by getting to know them.  

 “I want to be able to sit at the table and really have an understanding of what those kids' needs are, not just from the paper in front of me,” she said. “Really have that understanding personally.”