Boothbay Region Elementary School Principal Shawna Kurr gave a tour of the building Sept. 13 to showcase a deal she got for classroom furnishings. Community School District committee members walked the halls peeking into rooms, checking out new tables, chairs and other fixtures Kurr said no public school could afford.

The items came from the old MBNA building in Rockland which is being emptied to make way for multinational company SS&C Technologies. SS&C took over the building after buying out Boston Financial Data Services. Kurr said her sister-in-law, one of the managers of the facility, asked if there was anything she wanted for her classrooms.

“I'm telling you, it is a building four times the size of this school and it is room after room after room of just phenomenal things,” said Kurr. “So I blew up all the pictures and said, ‘Oh my gosh, I want that and that and that,’ and she said ‘Why don’t you just come over?’”

Kurr called on Alternative Organizational Structure (AOS) 98 Facilities Director Dave Benner to help round up a crew and box trucks to transport all of the furniture. Kurr thought it would take a day. Instead, the crew spent several days traveling, moving and packing, sometimes as late into the night as 10 p.m.

“So, there's the donation part of it, but I have to tell you the crew here this summer? I'm speechless. They were phenomenal … On top of getting the school clean and ready, they had all this other work.”

The CSD’s first day of school was a success, administrators told the committee. AOS 98 Superintendent Bob Kahler said meeting with staff on the first day was a vital team exercise to promote communication and cohesion amid the polarity of national and community issues. He said the key to student success will be everyone working together.

“I don't think there's a more crucial time to be an educator just with everything that's going … (We need) to remind ourselves that, at its best, education is a life changer for generations … There's a lot of things we have zero control over, but what we do have control over, 100%, is how we interact with each other and how we communicate with each other and the respect we model to each other.”

AOS 98 Director of Special Services Chris Baribeau said the special education department is well staffed this year and off to a good start. Numbers are also encouraging with 23% of BRES students and 20% of Boothbay Region High School students requiring services. While BRHS's special ed population is about 5% more than the national average, both BRHS and BRES have fallen about 12% in the past two years, said Baribeau.

“We recognize gifted and talented as about 2-5% of the student population – special education does not have a cap. The state average is 19%. To have a high school at 20% and an elementary school at 23%, again, both down from roughly 32-34% two years ago is trending in the right direction.”

Baribeau said one of the AOS 98 contracted psychologists gave a presentation to all special education staff providing guidance and overview about special education referral and eligibility decisions and the process for other common special ed decisions in the district. He said all staff should view the presentation to clarify misconceptions about special ed and its processes.

“The special education department has talked a fair amount about our mindset as educators and service providers: We want to support a growth mindset among students and adults.”

BRHS students have finished reviewing the latest updates to their student handbook, the Keel, said Principal Tricia Campbell. The biggest changes were under dress codes: The proposed changes allowed hats indoors and modest midriffs. Last year, the student government reviewed dress codes from different schools and drew up some surveys to ask the student body and staff if the changes would be appropriate, said Campbell. Most agreed the changes would be.

“Well, I'll have it on record that I'm not comfortable with it,” said committee member Stephanie Hawke. “I just think that you should wear proper clothing in school. It's not a nightclub. You've got plenty of time for that.”

Vice Chair Bruce MacDonald said he agreed with Hawke and suggested the committee could mandate a stricter dress code, but the handbook in its entirety should be approved to move business along and not hold up administrators.

Campbell said 32 BRHS students enrolled in Bath Regional Career and Technical Center this semester: two in carpentry, four in welding, one in criminal justice, two in childcare, six in culinary, two in cosmetology, two in electrical, four in nursing, two in graphic design and seven in automotive.

Kurr said despite the pandemic, BRES continued to make progress on its top goals: Communication and literacy. Pandemic federal relief funds gave access to consultants who work with literacy and programs the CSD would not have been able to afford otherwise. BRES will continue to use the literacy consultants this year and is working on sourcing teachers' professional development for anxiety and trauma in students.