Spruce Mountain Schools: Meet the Staff!

Spruce Mountain Elementary School

Nathan Harnden is the Title 1 math interventionist at the elementary school. This is his third year at that school and eighth year in the district. He provides support for students who struggle with math. He now lives in Wilton now, which is where he grew up. Previously he lived in Auburn, teaching sixth grade in the Gray-New Gloucester Middle School. He has four children, three of whom are grown with children of their own. His youngest child, Austin, is involved in many sports, so he spends a great deal of time at his practices and games. Otherwise, he spends free time outside, playing music on the keyboard and trumpet, and visiting with his older kids and their children.

Spruce Mountain Middle School

Patricia Breton is an education technician at the middle school. She was born in Tulsa, Oklahoma, and has lived in many states between there and Jay where she currently resides. She has a loving husband, a beautiful daughter and a cute puppy named Jax, that she adores. Spending time with family is what she enjoys most of all.

Spruce Mountain High School

Nicole Burgess started teaching at the high school last year as a social studies teacher, focusing on United States history. She graduated from Central Maine Community College with an associates degree in human services. After falling in love with working with children, she decided to further pursue a degree in education. She graduated from Thomas College with a bachelors in secondary education, social studies. She enjoys spending time with her family, especially traveling with them to new places. She loves working for Regional School Unit 73 and has the best students she could ever ask for.

Robbin Nichol is a science teacher at the high school. He was born in England but was brought up in Scotland with brief spells in various other places dotted around the world as his father was in the Royal Navy. After high school he graduated from Stirling in 1981 where he studied sciences. He then obtained an associates degree in electrical and electronic engineering, taught electronics for a couple of years and then worked at the University of Strathclyde, while pursuing his masters and ultimately his doctorate. He was involved in research in atomic spectroscopy, supervised post graduate research experiments and taught post graduate courses in instrumentation and electronics during his 10 years there. In 2000 he was employed in an English firm, troubleshooting to get their robotic lab research on track. Upon successful completion of that project, he moved to Maine and since 2001 has taught physical sciences for schools in Livermore Falls and RSU73. He married in 2001 and has two stepdaughters and four grandsons. He lives with his wife and his black Lab, Oscar, in Jay.