NEW SHARON – Three hours after Susan Pratt clocked in for her first day of work as SAD 9’s assistant superintendent, the state released the list of schools not making adequate progress in implementing the No Child Left Behind Act.

Three SAD 9 schools – Academy Hill, Cascade Brook and Mount Blue Middle – were on the much-publicized monitor-status list and Pratt was thrown immediately into figuring out what went wrong and how to fix it.

It was a quick transition for Pratt, the former principal of SAD 58’s Phillips School, into dealing with administrative issues.

So, she poured over the hundreds of pages of data and soon learned where the shortfalls are. SAD 9 has since appealed Cascade Brook’s place on the list, and the appeal was granted.

Tossed right in

Despite the frenzy, Pratt has stayed positive, saying it was a good way to start because she quickly got to know the people she needed to know, both locally and at the state-level.

“Whenever you really stop and analyze the data about our children, it’s always a good thing,” Pratt explained. She said working with teachers and administrators throughout the nine-town district to improve the curriculum has been rewarding and thought provoking.

“We are in good company on that list,” she added. “It isn’t about failing teachers, but about high standards.”

She is hopeful that with the work of the SAD 9 team, no district schools will make the list next time.

It’s been a busy month since she first joined SAD 9. Boxes remain unopened behind Pratt’s desk in the district’s central office in New Sharon.

Pratt just hasn’t had the time.

Nevertheless, she is pleased with how the first month has gone, and excited about the future.

Two things that have worked their way out of the moving boxes is a copy of the teacher’s prayer and another placard that is titled “Children Learn What They Love.”

Born, raised and educated in the Farmington area, first at Mt. Blue High School and then the University of Maine at Farmington, Pratt has never lived anywhere else. That suits her just fine.

Staying connected

She began her education career as a math tutor at UMF in 1977 and has since worked as a teacher in Strong and then as principal at Kingfield Elementary and Phillips Elementary, surrounded by young learners and professional teachers.

Since becoming an administrator in a central office, Pratt said she misses the children her life’s work and passion have revolved around.

She and Superintendent Michael Cormier visit one school each week. Pratt jokes that gives her “the fix I need.” Later this week, she will read books to young students at the Mallett School as part of their literacy week.

In SAD 58, she was revered for her technological savvy. That’s an area of expertise Pratt is excited to share with SAD 9.

Among her plans for the future is to look for data management systems that could benefit the district, like the PowerSchool system she helped to set up in SAD 58. PowerBook is an online student information system from Apple that is accessed by parents, students, teachers and administrators and has information like grades and attendance.

It’s an expensive improvement process, she says of technology, but she is confident that it’s a process SAD 9 will educate itself about and then pursue.

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