A report by a team of researchers from the Maine Education Policy Research Institute and the Center for Education Policy, Applied Research and Evaluation at the University of Southern Maine offers unqualified praise for Great Salt Bay Community School.
The researchers, Richard Barnes and Sarah Wintle, visited Great Salt Bay Community School (GSB) March 24-25 as part of a study of “higher performing, more efficient public schools in Maine.”
Barnes and Wintle met with members of the administration, faculty and staff, as well as parents and students in interview and focus group settings. The researchers observed classes and “non-classroom” interactions. They reviewed school documents, media coverage and state documents referencing the school.
The resulting, GSB-specific report recognizes the administration, the faculty and, time and time again, the community for contributing to the K-8 school’s success.
Barnes and Wintle specifically recognized Principal Jeff Boston and Assistant Principal Kim Schaff for their “effective and collaborative” leadership of the school.
Boston “has done an expert job negotiating his entry into the school community” following the departure of long-time Principal Dick Marchi, the researchers wrote.
Schaff, a GSB alumnus, former educational technician and teacher, “is a key player in the school who knows the community intimately and who cares very genuinely about the students,” they wrote.
The report mentions the strength of specific programs, including response to intervention, a weekly period set aside for teachers to “work with the most needy students,” as well as art, music and technology.
“The strength of the local arts spills over rather naturally into the school and provides very high-level art and music instruction and enrichment for all students,” according to the report.
The school “seamlessly” integrates technology in a variety of forms, including one-to-one computing for grades 3-8. Every student in grades 3-8 has a Google account, every teacher an iPod Touch.
Students on GSB’s iTeam learn about emerging technologies and help Technology Coordinator K.J. Flewelling maintain the school’s hardware.
Great Salt Bay teachers communicate, share ideas and enjoy, according to one focus group, a strong feeling of “‘collaborative cooperation as opposed to competition.'”
GSB treats students “as individuals with individual academic and behavioral needs,” according to the report. This treatment begins before the academic year starts, as teachers consider the needs of each student while planning curriculum.
The teachers “make approximately $6000 less than they would at schools in surrounding areas,” according to the report. “[Boston] suggested that teachers choose to stay at GSB… because they feel as though their professionalism is supported in the school and appreciated by the community.”
“A very strong ‘family’ atmosphere permeates the school at all levels,” the researchers wrote. “‘We’re so close and we help everybody,'” an unidentified teacher said. “‘I think that’s one of the reasons we’re so successful as a team.'”
This atmosphere extends to the student population, as “the school promotes positive, respectful relationships between students by pairing older students and younger students in different programs throughout the school year.”
Junior high students plant trees with kindergarteners, while “numeracy buddies” and “reading buddies” programs similarly pair students from the lower and upper grades.
Finally, the community plays a crucial role at Great Salt Bay. The report lists a handful of instances of community contributions of financial support, time and expertise.
“Examples… of the community supporting the school were almost endless in researcher’s conversations with students, teachers, parents and the administration,” Barnes and Wintle wrote.
Volunteers, including parents and retired educators, contribute to “a very low adult-to-student ratio,” increasing the amount of individual attention available to every child.
Boston said he was “pleased,” albeit unsurprised, at the contents of the report, calling it a “tribute to all the hard work” of students, faculty and staff, as well as the support of the community.
Great Salt Bay “will continue to work hard to provide the best educational experience for our students,” Boston said.
