Boothbay Region High School technology integrator Abby Manahan resigned effective April 28 to become Regional School Unit (RSU) 13’s first Distance Learning Coordinator. RSU 13 invited Manahan to join its team and build a first-of-its-kind distance learning program, she said in a sit-down with the Boothbay Register.

Manahan earned her master’s of education in science education in 2004 and her bachelor’s in biology in 1998 from the University of Maine Orono. She started her career as a marine scientist serving projects at UMO School of Marine Science and then landed in Boothbay Harbor to manage the Maine State Aquarium and then served as Community Education Scientist at Bigelow Laboratory in the early 2000s. She committed to science and instructional technology in education through work with Maine Department of Education, the Mid-Coast School of Technology and the Maine International Center for Digital Learning. She also served on the RSU12 school board as Alna’s representative before returning to the peninsula five years ago to serve the CSD.

Excited by the prospect of moving in a different direction and that her new district is embracing that distance learning will persist after the pandemic, Manahan said leaving BRHS is still not easy.

“I really thought I'd be here longer and really wanted to be here longer,” she said, “but I see kind of an unsettling pattern of a lack of regard for the human resources we have inside our buildings. There seems to be a lack of respect and of empathy.”

Manahan said her concerns over workload to the Community School District’s tech team are not new, but kicked into a higher gear starting last year. The team is composed of Manahan, Boothbay Region Elementary School tech coordinator Zachary Gray, and Alternative Organizational Structure (AOS) 98 Data/IT Manager and Director of Technology Brynne Roseberry.

“I said 'I'm a teacher and I want to keep teaching.' My position as a tech integrator from my professional perspective, is that I need to be teaching so I have the credibility with the staff and the students, that I'm not just giving information or advice, but that I'm there with them doing the same thing they’re doing, having the same challenges and sharing successes. It just makes it a much more collegial and team-based position than if I was just sitting in my office waiting for people to come to me for help …” -Abby Manahan

Having gone without a job description since her hiring in 2017 and as more duties fell to her since the start of the pandemic, Manahan pressed AOS 98 former Superintendent Keith Laser to draft a description to put in front of the CSD school committee. “Where my position is technology support, there was a lot being asked of me. It was certainly a situation that called for it, but I don't really have anything to fall back on, to say 'okay, the situation has passed' or 'we're back to this.' All those things are still on my plate.”

From December 2020 to the end of March 2021, the two reviewed many of the tech integrator’s responsibilities, but going into April, there was “radio silence” from the central office until Laser approached her with AOS 98’s Technology Director position. The tech director is an “orphan” role which has been held by several administrators in the past, she said. Since her hiring, former assistant superintendent Shawn Carlson served as tech director before the role fell to former Special Services Director Lisa Smith. After Smith’s 2020 resignation, the role was split between Manahan and Roseberry who split the job's duties and stipend evenly.

Wary of continuing in a 50/50 role, Manahan stepped back at the end of the 2019-2020 school year and Roseberry and Gray split the position for the following year. Laser offered Manahan the tech director role again at the end of the 2021 school year; she said she did not want it unless the position became a unique one with its own duties and did not operate as an add-on.

“I am of most value to you teaching in the classroom and alongside teachers,” Manahan told Laser. He agreed and shopped the position back around to Roseberry. Manahan said she still believes the position should be a separate, full-time one even as a small district.

Conversation around the team’s duties and challenges went latent over the 2021 summer. The beginning of the next school year at BRHS was challenging with Laser’s departure and new Superintendent Robert Kahler’s arrival, students and teachers still requiring some virtual programming, planning for virtual events like parent teacher conferences and open house, all while welcoming back to a full campus of students and day-to-day tech support needs.

“Then in late fall we started seeing problems with the network at the high school,” said Manahan. “And it's gotten really bad. Teachers are super frustrated with their inability to plan on having a stable network to teach their lessons. And the kids? They think it's a joke, honestly.”

Students and teachers resorted to using hotspots via personal devices and their private network plans. Manahan encouraged teachers to copy BRHS Principal Tricia Campbell on emails regarding network issues so that they could inform the central office and build awareness of teachers' situations in their classrooms. Recognizing the issue was beyond her and the tech team, Campbell arranged a meeting with Kahler in December to discuss the structure of the tech team and better understand each member’s duties, said Manahan. With increasing network issues it was unclear whose responsibility it was to take the lead in resolving the network problems. Kahler asked for patience and time to resolve the problem, one which took much time to develop and will need much time to resolve, Manahan said paraphrasing Kahler. “At that point I started looking because I could see the writing on the wall,” said Manahan.

“I am just one of many in that building who make kids feel safe and confident and there's just no sense of appreciation from the board. Our building principals are right there with us and they are bending over backwards to try to remove as many obstacles as possible so we can keep up with the day-to-day stuff, but when their obstacles – (the ones) the board puts in front of them – aren't getting dealt with, then that takes them away from us on the front lines. And us away from kids. Our primary mission is to educate kids and to make sure we are meeting their needs every single day.” -Abby Manahan

Out of a feeling of responsibility and wanting to be helpful in resolving BRHS's network issues, Manahan said she reached out to NetworkMaine, the University of Maine System branch which provides a network for all Maine's schools. Another December meeting resulted with NetworkMaine, Facilities and Maintenance Director Dave Benner, Security Director Kyle Canada, Roseberry, Gray and Manahan. NetworkMaine identified no issues with connectivity to the CSD campus. The hard line from NetworkMaine lands at the BRES building and an over the air radio signal from BRES provides access to the network at BRHS. NetworkMaine suggested the CSD run a hard line, fiber optic preferably, from BRES to BRHS in place of the existing radio transmitter and receiver. A new line was never installed.

“We came back from the holiday and the network, if you can believe it, got even worse. Now, teachers and students are not only unable to connect to the internet, but all the technology and equipment we got from COVID funds like smart TVs can’t be used because they can’t connect to the internet. Teachers are having to wire their devices into the TVs using them as external monitors because we still don't know what the problem is. We've lost a lot of trust with the teachers.”

The Boothbay Register reached out to Kahler, Campbell, Roseberry and CSD school committee Chair Stephanie Hawke about Manahan’s resignation and the circumstances surrounding it. Kahler cited personnel matters as confidential, but spoke to the network issues and protocol around resignations.

“We are monitoring the amount of network traffic, having an outside vendor come in to do a system audit to see if they have any recommendations for how we can strengthen our network capabilities,” he said. “This will allow us to be more preventative in regard to any network issues.”

In the meantime, the central office, tech team and building administrators are monitoring network traffic and the tech team continues to find daily workarounds for latency and disconnections, said Kahler. With many new hardware additions like 1:1 devices and advanced technologies for the STEAM makerspace like 3-D printers and CNC’s, the network has greater demand. The system audit and network traffic monitoring will inform the tech team if any additional servers or upgrades will help mitigate network issues, said Kahler.

As the CSD continues to work on a draft budget, the position’s salary remains intact and work identifying technology needs and other facets of the tech team’s operations is underway. “This may involve some restructuring of internal systems, responsibilities, as well as updating job descriptions (which, like policies, are regularly reviewed and updated when necessary). This work will be completed before we post to refill the tech team position.”

AOS 98 posted an Education Technology Integration Specialist for Boothbay Region Schools on ServingSchools.com March 2.

Said Kahler, “One of my practices is to offer any and all staff members … an exit interview. The purpose of the exit interview, beyond personally thanking staff members for their services, is to determine what, if anything, we could do moving forward to ease the transition of the new hire as well as to improve our overall systems … My personal and professional belief is that we can always improve ourselves and our systems which is why I offer the (opportunity) …”

“Abby Manahan is one of those rare gems. Her knowledge, ability to teach, passion for her field and ability to effectively share what she knows is evident the moment she begins to answer a question, solve and explain a technology mystery for the layman, or teach a new tool to students and educators alike. Ms. Manahan has truly made a lifelong impact on both students and staff of BRHS and CSD” – BRHS Principal Tricia Campbell

Campbell deferred questions about network issues and the circumstances of Manahan’s resignation to the central office, but addressed Manahan’s personal and professional character.

Manahan is always on the go and can constantly be found solving problems and helping others and leading BRHS staff through professional development focused on expanding integration in the classroom and instructional practices, Campbell said. “And she is one of the best at it … (having) served the Boothbay Region High School and CSD incredibly well.”

“We are beyond grateful for her endless efforts that were front and center in getting us through one of the most challenging times in the history of education. We could not have done it without her. Ms. Manahan led our technology efforts through the global pandemic and technology led education … As a school leader I feel incredibly grateful to her. She is and always will be a Seahawk and a member of the BRHS family. We will feel her absence throughout our school and she will be greatly missed.”

Roseberry and Hawke did not respond to questions.

Manahan said leaving BRHS is bittersweet because the issues leading up to her decision to move on could have been avoided with initiative and better leadership from central office and the school board. However, a persistent pattern of disregard for human resources spanning from before the pandemic made it clear the necessary changes were not going to happen.

“I suspect I may be painted as some sort of disgruntled, frustrated employee, but really I’m just disappointed. Disappointed in a lack of leadership, curiosity and concern from central office and the board, in the understanding of the day-to-day operations, and any empathy around that given what we've all been through. And I don't think they understand: … We're all holding each other up, but the board needs to be supportive and I just don't – I'm not feeling it.”

“There's just a lot of work to be done, not enough people to do it … I think it's great that we're having these exploratory conversations around a new building, but we will have nothing to put inside those buildings if we don't start treasuring and nurturing and caring about the human resources that we have – that, at the bottom line, is why I'm moving on.”

BRHS teachers provided the Boothbay Register with a letter, signed by 25 educators and staff, on Manahan’s departure.

To all who care about and have a stake in the quality of our CSD schools:

The purpose of this letter is to let everyone know how much Abby Manahan meant to both the teachers and the students at Boothbay Region High School and to express our extreme frustration, that by all accounts, Abby’s departure was avoidable.

Abby’s resignation from the high school is an enormous loss for both students and teachers. As the technology integrator, she is the only person in the high school that worked directly with every single student, and every single staff member in the building. Abby is a certified teacher who co-teaches our Digital Literacy class this year. Abby is a dedicated, engaging, and innovative classroom teacher; she inspires students to think critically and creatively in an ever evolving technological landscape. Additionally, she is the main person students go see to get help with their never-ending technology issues. She has put in the time and effort to build a rapport with nearly every single student in the building. Students feel comfortable asking her for help and trust that she will be able to fix their problems.

Abby is a technology specialist who delivers professional development to all staff and provides direct technology support for instruction. In some way, Abby has helped every single teacher in the building. She is a consummate professional, a fantastic problem solver, and someone who simply can be counted on.

Unfortunately, the population that will be most affected by Abby’s loss will be the students. In this job market, it will be nearly impossible to find someone with Abby’s skillset. There are some people who are adept with technology, some who are good at teaching kids, and some who are good at teaching adults, but being able to do all three at a high level is extremely rare. We are worried about being able to find a qualified candidate for this position next fall, let alone in April when she is set to leave. At this time her position has still not been posted despite her resignation happening three weeks ago. We often refer to ourselves as a STEAM school, but we’re not sure how this will be possible without a qualified technology integrator for the high school and a technology director for the CSD. The best thing that could have been done for both students and staff was to address concerns that would have kept Abby in the CSD.

It is discouraging to learn that significant issues within the technology department were not addressed in a timely manner and are still unresolved to this day. We are a small school with an exceptional staff, but in the past two years alone we have lost two irreplaceable teachers. This is a trend that cannot continue; there is not an infinite supply of exceptional teachers willing to come to Boothbay. We need to do everything we can to keep our talented teachers here, teaching our kids.

Sincerely, The BRHS Staff