In just one month, I’ll present my new school budget proposal to the Portland Board of Public Education. While we don’t have all of our numbers yet, steep increases in the cost of living and reduced state funding will make for a challenging road ahead as we plan the fiscal year 2023 budget. Each year, […]
Forecaster opinion
Posted inThe Forecaster
Brunswick Superintendent’s Notebook: The love of animals can lead to leaps in learning
We’ve all heard about the benefits of pet therapy for those who are sick, in the hospital or just lonely. Recent studies show that pet therapy can have the same effects on students, whether at home or in educational settings, as it does in health care settings: improved energy levels, increased self-esteem, heightened moods and […]
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Posted inForecaster Opinion
Forum: One new RSU 5 family’s journey of hope
(Editor’s note: This guest column by Bonnie Violette, director of instructional support in RSU 5, is running in place of Superintendent’s Notebook by Becky Foley this month.) This month, RSU 5 welcomed new students from Angola, Congo and Nigeria. Their families traveled long distances to make the journey to the United States. I had the […]
Posted inAmerican Journal, Forecaster Opinion, Lakes Region Weekly
Mainewhile: Celebrating the shout of joy that was Ashley Bryan
If you, like me, have ever had the great good fortune to spend even so much as a single afternoon out on Cranberry Island, then the odds are very high that you, like me, had the great good fortune to be invited into the home of Ashley Bryan. Because that is what Ashley did. He […]
Posted inAmerican Journal, Forecaster Opinion, Lakes Region Weekly
Here’s Something: COVID lockdown story points to media’s failings
A newly released study overseen by an economics professor at Johns Hopkins University comes to the same conclusion that many have been saying for the duration of the pandemic – lockdowns are unprecedented government overreach and next to useless. The study, released last week, found that government-imposed lockdowns and shelter-in-place emergency orders in the early […]
Posted inAmerican Journal, Forecaster Opinion, Lakes Region Weekly
Life Unwound: Grounding brings peace in troubled times
“Peace is every step.” – Mindfulness teacher Thich Nhat Hanh (1926-2022) Valentine’s Day. We pass newspaper stands in pharmacies: COVID numbers up, climate temperatures up and down, stock market down. Messages of hate. We read sour headlines, then lift our gaze to the sweets. Candy hearts with messages of love. Chocolate. Sometimes I don’t know […]
Posted inAmerican Journal, Forecaster Opinion, Lakes Region Weekly
Mainewhile: Inventor of airplane car deserves plenty of props this month
Hello, February. Welcome! February is a funny month. It is short and cold, and everyone starts yearning for spring even though it’s really still a good way off. Worse, we all have to suffer through Valentine’s Day smack dab in the middle of the month. Ugh. On the upside, thanks to February also being the […]
Posted inAmerican Journal, Forecaster Opinion, Lakes Region Weekly
Sustainably Speaking: Small steps lead to big results in climate change fight
Editor’s note: Sustainably Speaking is a new monthly column written by members of the Freeport Sustainability Advisory Board that addresses ways to combat climate change and other environmental challenges. This time of year 15 years ago, my husband and I would have been suiting up in our snowshoes to walk out, across the bay, to […]
Posted inAmerican Journal, Forecaster Opinion, Lakes Region Weekly
Through My Lens: Somalis have warm spot for cold American winters
Why are Somalis choosing to live in one of the coldest states in the U.S.? I had been asked this question many times. The answer lies in Somali music and poetry. The lyrics are full of a fictional world: A world of clouds and thunder, rainy, cold and snowy – yet green, full of rivers, […]
Posted inAmerican Journal, Forecaster Opinion, Lakes Region Weekly
Here’s Something: America shouldn’t be playing along in the Winter Olympics
As the old saying goes, if you want something done right, you have to do it yourself. That’s especially true when leadership fails. And right now, American political leadership is failing on many levels. If the last year hasn’t made it abundantly clear already, President Biden is failing when it comes to causing inflation by […]