A changing of the guard marked the MSAD 35 school board meeting July 15 when Heidi Early-Hersey was named assistant superintendent and new Superintendent Caroline Arakelian attended her first Board of Directors meeting.
Early-Hersey served as interim superintendent after John Caverly resigned the post a year ago. Arakelian came on board July 1.
The move with Early-Hersey was a job title change, not a new position, according to board Chair Joe Long.
Long said in an email, “Heidi has returned to her old duties as Director of Teaching and Learning, Title IX coordinator, etc., but we are electing to change her title to Assistant Superintendent to make more formal the idea that she is not confined to those defined duties, but may also assist the Superintendent in other duties as needed.”
The board meeting was the first for Arakelian in her new position. She said she was thrilled to be there and expressed appreciation for the warm welcome she had received from staff. “It’s been a wonderful week and a half,” she said.
She told the board she planned to talk to many more people in the weeks to come, including school administrators, staff and students, and would report the conversations to the board for discussion.
Arakelian, who previously served as superintendent of the Governor Wentworth School District in Wolfeboro, N.H., said she is learning about special education law and other Maine education laws.
$225,000 grant for health care course work
Early-Hersey reported that MSAD 35 is one of three districts in Maine to receive a $225,000 Career Pathways grant from the Maine Department of Education in partnership with the Maine Department of Labor.
The funds from the two-year grant will be used to develop a curriculum offering high school students a pathway to health care careers, she said.
The grant will provide funds for lab equipment as well as apprenticeships and course work for students interested in phlebotomy, radiology tech, or emergency medical technician careers.
There will be an additional avenue to earn college credits for those students interested in nursing or medical school, according to Early-Hersey.
The plan would also allow students to tap into York County Community College for foundational courses such as medical terminology and an introduction to biomedicine, and earn college credit.
Extended Learning Opportunities coordinator Rob Scully was the primary author of the grant application, with Early-Hersey and Marshwood High School counselor Kyle Lontine assisting to prepare the proposal in the brief time between the announcement of the grant and the application deadline, Early-Hersey said.
The board voted to hire occupational therapist Katie Garrett to serve students in all district schools. Early-Hersey told the board Garrett will provide services that were formerly contracted. “Bringing the position in-house is a savings over contracted services,” she said.
The number of students needing OT varies year-to-year, and contractors are generally paid at a much higher hourly rate than an in-house provider, according to Early-Hersey.
The board accepted the resignation of Eliot Elementary School Grade 2 teacher Nicole Harvey, who is taking a position in another district, and approved the hiring of Grade 3 Central School teacher Arian Kennedy.
