To the Editor:

There will be a public budget meeting at Telstar on May 29 to provide details of the 2019-2020 budget, which has been unanimously approved by the MSAD 44 Board of Directors following months of review by the Finance Committee of the board. The budget validation referendum will then follow on Tuesday, June 11. A mailer with all the budget details was recently sent to all district households. Please contact the central office at 824-2185 if you did not receive one.

Here are some highlights of what we’re doing in MSAD 44. Taxpayer support for our innovative programs has resulted in hundreds of thousands of dollars of additional foundation funding.

• We currently have 12 members of our senior class enrolled at Central Maine Community College (CMCC). They will be earning a year’s worth of college credits free, while also finishing the remainder of their high school graduation requirements. This program is partially supported by a Gear Up Grant that the school district has received.

• In our second year offering of pre-Kindergarten, we have provided opportunities for all 4-year olds in the district whose parents were interested in having them participate in this program. We now have almost 30 pre-Kindergarten students enrolled from across the district. Much of this program has been initially supported by outside funding that we successfully obtained through a state grant.

• Telstar Freshman Academy (TFA) is currently completing its fifth year. Students have opportunities in experiential education and 21st century skills like critical thinking, collaboration, creativity and communication.

Recently, in a Think Tank program, students were expected to determine a real life local issue, research it, consider a solution and communicate it to a panel that included Sen. Lisa Keim and a wide variety of other community members. I was fortunate to have been included in this group and was very impressed with the efforts of the students. One team researched teen drug abuse, and actually began developing a real smartphone APP that would provide students with an alternative to drug abuse (see: https://www.telstarfreshmanacademy.org).

• For the third year in a row, our TFA students have taken a class field trip to Washington, D.C. In addition to the national museums they attended, the students personally met with Sen. King and Rep. Golden. This trip was also partially funded through the Gear Up program mentioned above.

• As a result of funding that the district received through a second Gear Up grant, members of the Junior Class had the opportunity to visit the Boston area to tour a variety of colleges earlier this spring. These tours were well-received and provided the students with an opportunity to visit and tour several campuses including Boston College, the Massachusetts School of Pharmacy, Wheaton College and Endicott College.

• The North Star Mentoring program is a six-year, grant-funded, hands-on mentoring program designed to raise the post-secondary education aspirations of students. It connects young people with caring adults through community engagement, cultural exchange, and adventure challenge and leadership. Students have had extraordinary experiences like visiting University of Maine at Orono, camping and bicycling at Acadia National Park, and canoeing the Androscoggin River. This is currently funded through a $600,000 grant from the Lerner Foundation as the result of a combined effort between MSAD 44 and the University of Maine 4-H Learning Center. https://extension.umaine.edu/bryantpond/lakeside-classroom/northstar/.

• The School Board recently had the opportunity to see a presentation by Mr. Pete Hedden and some of his eighth-grade students that focused on the use of their 3D printer. Funding for the printer and the associated materials was made available through a grant the district received from the Perloff Foundation. That funding has been expanded to also include the addition of a second printer at the high school, with a third slated to be added to the elementary art program next year.

• The district is currently working with American Youth Camps to form a sister school relationship with a school in China. Current plans include sending a team of students and staff to that country in the fall and likely offering a summer camp at Telstar this summer for visiting Chinese students. The start-up of this effort is being partially supported by a contribution by Project Opportunity.

This is just a sampling of programs that significantly contribute to the success of our students and to maintaining a positive culture in our schools.

Please support the 2019-2020 budget. Supporting our students is an investment in our future.

Marcel Polak
Chairman
MSAD 44 School Board
Woodstock