BATH

At their last regular meeting of the year, the Regional School Unit 1 Board of Directors discussed the new Morse High School and the Literacy Mentoring Partnership, among other items.

The directors heard from Monica Blatt, who discussed Fisher Mitchell’s Literacy Mentoring Partnership.

“This is the second year that Mary Parker and I have coordinated a mentor/mentee program at Fisher Mitchell [with Morse High School] Academy students and Fisher Mitchell Grade 3 students. Every Tuesday afternoon, our Academy teens walk to Fisher Mitchell and whole-heartedly build relationships with our students through literacy activities,” said Blatt.

Last year, the program was funded through the Barbara Bush Teen Trendsetters Program, said Blatt. Teen Trendsetters partners 1st and 2nd graders who are reading behind grade level with teens for weekly reading activities. While the program is still active at the K-2 Dike- Newell School, there was no funding or program available this year for 3rd Graders at the grade 3-5 Fisher Mitchell School.

“One could have thrown their hands up in the air and simply said, well, that’s the end of that — no materials, no stipend, and truthfully, no space at Fisher Mitchell School to do the program,” said Blatt. “But as you see, that’s simply not the way we rock and roll.”

Blatt and Parker worked together to essentially recreate Teen Trendsetters from scratch. Unlike the Barbara Bush program, Parker and Blatt’s program gave the students more choice of what to read, increased writing and had the student invent a “fib” that sounds like a fact. Also, the new program worked with an entire class of third graders instead of just with a select number of students. Now, even without the outside funding, one 3rd grade class at Fisher Mitchell has had access to a literacy mentoring program.

Also Monday, William Perkins of Phippsburg reported to the rest of the board on the activities of the Facilities Committee. According to Perkins, floorboards at the Woolwich Central School have sustained water damage and will need to be replaced.

RSU 1 Superintendent Patrick Manuel said that only some of the floorboards will need to be replaced on the 4-year-old floor, and that the project could be completed in February.

Perkins also reported on the state of drinking water testing at RSU 1 schools. So far, only Phippsburg, which uses well water, has been tested and cleared. All the other schools run on the Bath water system, which has been tested and is safe. However, each of the schools needs individual testing to ensure safety. Manuel added that testing should be completed by the end of January and results will be known shortly after that.

“I should add that there has been no cause for concern, but it’s wise to go forward with the testing,” said Perkins.

Manuel updated the board on progress with the new Morse High School project, noting that details on the Wing Farm site are being taken care of. He also announced that the school district will begin having town halls over the next two months to present the site to the communities involved and receive feedback. The first town hall will be in Phippsburg on Jan. 11, 2017. The board entered into an executive session at the end of the meeting to discuss property issues related to Wing Farm.