BATH

“Our promise is citizen scholars equipped for a new economy,” the leader of the state’s newest public charter school told a dozen interested parents Monday.

Parents from Freeport to Woolwich, many with their children, attended Harpswell Coastal Academy’s first informational meeting for prospective students Monday at the Winter Street Center — the first of three scheduled after the Maine Charter School Commission voted 7-0 to approve the school’s application Feb. 5.

John D’Anieri, the consultant for Harpswell Coastal Academy who was recently named the school’s superintendent and principal, fielded a range of questions from prospective school parents Monday, including several about instruction and standardized testing, technology resources, disciplinary approach, physical activity, extracurricular activities and some details yet to be ironed out, such as transportation, food service and long-term facilities plans.

With community partners in the fishing and farming industry, D’Anieri was asked if the students would truly be trained for the jobs of the future for Maine. He said the student work will move increasingly into the context of actual work places.

“Our classrooms are Maine shorelines, working waterfronts, forests and farms, artist studios, civil engineers work sites … everywhere where we can get kids out and learn about the actual work people do,” D’Anieri told parents.

“Our partners are Maine’s educators, entrepreneurs and community organizations” in what is a very communitybased approach, he said. “Our promise is citizen scholars equipped for a new economy.

“It will be: if you were a civil engineer, how would you have to look at this plan,” D’Anieri said.

It would be pushing kids from skills to content to, “by the time they graduate, have a really good idea of how that stuff may be used and where they would use it.”

“Every student will have an internship or other outsideof the-school experience by the time they graduate,” D’Anieri said.

He referred to a recent Harpswell Board of Selectmen meeting in which engineers presented data about a collapsed pier at Mitchell Field.

The question of what to do about the pier presents a huge environmental task, D’Anieri said, and is something the students at Harpswell Coastal Academy can study, “and can study for years.”

“There’s not anything that we’re proposing that hasn’t been done well somewhere,” D’Anieri said.

Margaret Duffek, of Brunswick, asked many questions Monday and, after the session, said her son had gone through two very tough years at Brunswick Junior High School, including bullying.

“It’s exactly what my son needs,” Duffek said. “It’s a smaller classroom; it’s more individualized learning, and I sounds like there’s more hands-on stuff.”

She feels her son is excited about attending the charter school, which is more financially feasible for his parents than a private school.

“I’m excited to come and help out anyway I can,” she said.

Harpswell Coastal Academy plans to open in September with 30 sixth-graders and 30 ninth-graders.

It plans to add students in future years to become a grades-6-through-12 school serving 280 students by 2017- 18.

Similar informational meetings open to parents and students are scheduled for today at 7 p.m. at Freeport Community Library, 10 Library Drive in Freeport; and Monday, March 4, at 7 p.m. at Curtis Memorial Library, 23 Pleasant St., Brunswick.

Parents must submit an online “declaration of intent to enroll” form by 5 p.m. Thursday, March 28, if they plan to enroll a child. Forms are available at the information sessions.

For more information visit http://harpswellcoastalacademy.org.

dmoore@timesrecord.com

More meetings

¦ SIMILAR INFORMATIONAL MEETINGS open to parents and students are scheduled for today at 7 p.m. at Freeport Community Library, 10 Library Drive in Freeport; and Monday, March 4, at 7 p.m. at Curtis Memorial Library, 23 Pleasant St., Brunswick.