Great Salt Bay Community School Principal Darcy Dakin poses for a picture in her office on Tuesday, Aug. 19. Students are always my priority as principal, Dakin said. Whatever I do here, students progress and experiences will be the priority. (Ali Juell photo)
The first day of school is usually a milestone for students, but this year, Great Salt Bay Community School Principal Darcy Dakin will mark one of her own.
After more than 20 years at other Maine school districts, Dakin comes to GSB in Damariscotta ready to embrace the school’s community and foster hands-on learning opportunities.
Dakin was unanimously approved by the Great Salt Bay School Committee, now the RSU 48 Board of Directors, for a two-year probationary contract on May 6. She succeeds Kim Schaff, who had been principal since 2013.
Dakin knew she wanted to go into education earlier than most. She said she was especially close with her second grade teacher, who inspired her to become an educator at a young age.
“Growing up … I would bribe the neighborhood kids with popsicles and ask them to play school with me,” Dakin said.
After graduating from the University of Maine Farmington with an education degree, Dakin started her career in Searsport in RSU 20, the same school system she grew up in. She worked as a special education teacher before moving on to teach seventh graders.
In 2007, she joined Bucksport-based RSU 25. Dakin said she “wore a lot of hats” over 18 years, working as a middle school English teacher, a special education coordinator, and eventually, principal at Miles Lane School.
Dakin also has two master’s degrees from the University of Maine Orono, one in special education and the other in education leadership.
“My diverse background has really given me a better understanding of all perspectives in education,” Dakin said.
She and her husband Robert Dakin decided to move closer to his work, and as she looked at schools in Lincoln County, she said she was attracted to GSB’s education philosophy and its “small school feel.”
Since starting at GSB July 1, Dakin said she’s been busy preparing schedules and making goals for the new school year. Her main priority, she said, is getting settled into the community and understanding students’ needs.
“Students are always my priority as principal,” Dakin said. “Whatever I do here, students’ progress and experiences will be the priority.”
With school starting on Tuesday, Sept. 2, Dakin said she hopes to help teachers foster more hands-on learning opportunities like the Maine Farm & Sea to School program, which teach kids about Maine’s agricultural and aquaculture industries.
“I have a strong belief that we learn by doing, experiencing, and reflecting on those experiences,” she said.
Dakin also hopes to add some new events to the GSB schedule. She said she wants to plan a breakfast for students and their grandparents in the spring and hopes to organize a veterans’ lunch in the future.
Like some students, Dakin is starting to get some first-day-of-school jitters, she said, but she’s excited to meet staff and students as they all begin a new school year together.
“I’m going to use this first year to really get to know (the school staff), to get to know the culture,” she said.
