Scott White, a longtime local educator, stands in Damariscotta in 2021 just before taking on the role of Principal at Union Elementary School. Now, community members are rallying to support White and his family in the wake of a cancer diagnosis. (LCN file)
Hundreds of Lincoln County students, educators, and families are coming together to support Union Elementary School Principal Scott White and his family in the wake of the longtime educator’s diagnosis with a rare form of brain cancer.
“This whole thing has been humbling,” said White on Thursday, Dec. 5. “The generosity of the community and just the cards that I’m getting in the mail – they just bring tears to your eyes to read.”
White, of Waldoboro, experienced a seizure this summer, and was ultimately diagnosed with brain cancer in October. As soon as the diagnosis was made public, White’s fellow educators, former students, and other community members rallied around the beloved teacher, who has worked between four local schools for the majority of his career.
“He has been a coach to so many over the years, a teacher, a mentor to teachers – he’s just a very special person. He’s really touched a lot of lives over the years, and I don’t even think he realizes how many people he’s affected,” said Allison Davis, administrative assistant at Union Elementary School and a friend of White’s.
White grew up in Waldoboro and was inspired by his father, a teacher at Lincoln Academy, to become an educator and coach. His first teaching job was at the then D.R. Gall Middle School, in Union, where White taught health to seventh and eighth graders.
White remained at D.R. Gall for another seven years as assistant principal and athletic director. He then spent one year as principal at Warsaw Middle School in Pittsfield, but returned to Lincoln County to work as principal at South Bristol School in 2006. He would remain in this role for 15 years before arriving at Union Elementary School in 2021, where he has held the role of principal ever since.
White is active and seemed extremely healthy before his cancer was discovered, said Davis, noting that he is a runner who paints houses in addition to his work in schools. He also was a dedicated soccer coach.
After experiencing a seizure in August, White said, doctors initially thought it may have been connected to a tick-borne illness. It was after another seizure and extensive testing that they discovered multifocal glioblastoma – “a fancy word for brain cancer,” White said.
Throughout the period of uncertainty before White’s diagnosis and the shock that followed, he continued to work until doctors instructed him to stop this fall.
“He pushed the limits and stayed as long as he could,” Davis said.
White said he did so and has continued to stay involved with the school because of how much the community means to him. Stopping in at an early December staff meeting to say hello was “humbling,” White said.
“I love the school,” White said. “It’s got some really dedicated team members. We work together for a common goal – not just around trying to push test scores.”
As an educator, White said his goal is to help “foster and develop kids so that when they grow up they’re able to handle the world.” This involves helping them learn to resolve conflict and get along with people of a range of opinions and beliefs.
“That’s the part I really like,” he said. “We get to see kids really grow up right in front of our eyes.”
The most challenging part of this process, White said, can be helping children overcome “fixed mindsets,” when they may feel stuck or hopeless – whether in regards to academic or personal struggles. Relationship building and trust are important for helping students overcome those feelings, he said.
“We try to teach kids to be in a growth mindset, where we’re all in this together,” White said. “Whether you look different than the person sitting next to you, or you look the same, you know – we want to work together for a common goal.”
Longtime local educator Scott White stands with his wife Carrie and children Patrick, Madelyn, Grace, and Gavin. White was diagnosed with brain cancer this fall, prompting a strong community response of support and outreach from former students, athletes, and others who know him as an educator, coach, mentor, and friend. From left: Patrick, Scott, Madelyn, Grace, Carrie, and Gavin White. (Courtesy photo)
Now, the students and other community members who have looked up to White over the years have a new common goal to unite them.
“Everybody is just trying to find a way to support him and his family,” Davis said. “I’m getting contacted by so many people who just want to do whatever they can.”
Davis, who has spearheaded efforts to organize support for White and his family, said she has heard from White’s former classmates, students, athletes he coached, families, fellow teachers and past employees.
A GoFundMe campaign Davis launched on Nov. 21 has raised more than $28,000 as of Tuesday, Dec. 10. Members of the Union Elementary School and broader community were also showing their support through T-shirts and hoodies emblazoned with the words “Team Mr. White” and the gray brain cancer awareness ribbon; a few hundred had been sold already as of Dec. 3, Davis said. A benefit dinner is also planned for Saturday, Dec. 14 at Medomak Middle School.
The magnitude of the community’s response, Davis said, reflected the vast scope of White’s influence and his role as a beloved principal, teacher, and coach over the years.
“He just cares so much,” she said. “I think it’s just that he genuinely cares for people and tries to make a difference in peoples’ lives. He’s very genuine, and I think that really comes through to everybody, even if you’ve only met him once.”
White said his initial reaction to the diagnosis was shock that has been joined now with gratitude.
“I still have a chance to see the people that I love and continue to build the relationships that I have with people,” he said. “And that’s a good feeling.”
While White seeks treatment at the Harold Alfond Center for Cancer Care in Augusta, he credited his community and family, including his wife, Carrie White, with helping him stay grounded.
“My wife is my rock, and she is constantly trying to keep me in the moment,” he said. “I’m not an in-the-moment kind of guy. I am, ‘what’s next, what’s next?’ But this whole thing has been humbling.”
With Carrie White’s help, Scott White said he was working “not to perseverate on the past or worry about the future, but to live in the now.”
Scott and Carrie White have four children – Gavin, Grace, Madeline, and Patrick White – all of whom Scott White is extremely proud.
“They’re just great,” White said. “The kids have been fantastic.”
White’s youngest son is still in high school, and his older children are in college or working, with one as far away as Washington, D.C. The whole family has been able to come together this holiday season, White said.
“We’ve spent more family time together,” he said. “It’s gratitude that we may not have taken advantage of otherwise.”
The support and notes White has received from past students, community members, and even strangers in recent weeks have all been “humbling,” he said.
“I don’t figure myself any different from anybody else. I’m just a guy who goes to work and tries his best to be nice to people,” said White.
White also thanked Davis for organizing support for him and his family, and the community for rallying around them.
“It’s very humbling, with the community (response),” White said. “It’s good to see and feel something positive.”
The Union Elementary School Parent and Teacher Committee’s benefit dinner for White will be held from 4:30-6 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 14 at Medomak Middle School. Payments must be made in person via cash or check.
Those interested are encouraged to sign up by filling out the RSVP form at bit.ly/MMSdinner or calling Davis at Union Elementary School at 785-4330.
A GoFundMe for medical costs and support for White and his family is available at bit.ly/White_GoFundMe and Team Mr. White merchandise can be found at bit.ly/TeamMrWhite.
