Patricia Bradbury is the principal of several elementary schools in the

Milo area.
By Jim Smedley
Staff Writer
NORWAY
When the children at Harrison Elementary School return to class on Groundhog’s Day there will be a little surprise for them in the hallway.

It won’t be Punxatawney Phil.

Their new principal, Patricia Bradbury, 54, said she will be there greeting the students when they arrive for class.

“I can’t wait to stand in the hallway and greet those kids when they come off the bus,” Bradbury said. “That’s when I know it’s real.”

It’s a busy time for Bradbury, who is the K-6 principal of several SAD 41 elementary schools in the Milo area. She’s had to mix the holidays in with preparing to leave one job, getting ready for another, moving and finding a place to live.

She lives in Indian Purchase 4, an unorganized territory outside of Millinocket.

Bradbury said Indian Purchase 4 has the charm of Oxford Hills, and she really liked the name.

She was born and raised in the Berkshire Hills of western Massachusetts and said the area has a lot of similarities to the Oxford Hills.

Bradbury attended Berkshire Community College then transferred to the University of Maine at Orono and has been in Maine ever since.

She learned of the Harrison opening while attending a principal’s conference in Portland in the fall.

“I talked to people and one of the conversations I had was about this district (SAD 17),” Bradbury said. “People spoke highly of this district and the superintendent had a great reputation.

“I sent a resume and letter of interest and got an interview,” she said.

Superintendent Mark Eastman said personalitywise and educationally that Bradbury was going to be a great fit at the Harrison school.

“We’re talking about a very experienced principal, who has also had experience as a special ed director,” Eastman said. “She just has a terrific background.”

Bradbury has been involved in public education for 32 years. She has spent about 14 years each in special education and administratively as a principal.

She said she has loved it all: being a classroom teacher, special education director and a principal.

From 1990 to 1991 she was a consultant to the Maine Department of Education, special education division. She traveled for a year visiting schools from Cape Elizabeth to Fort Kent, reviewing their records and talking to educators and community members about the program to write up an overview of it.

She said the year of in-service was good.

“You find out what you’re doing and what other districts are doing,” Bradbury said. “It’s easy to get caught up in your own little world and not know what’s going on elsewhere. The year with the state gave me a better perspective. It was a valuable year and I wouldn’t trade it for anything.”

Bradbury said she looks forward to settling into the Oxford Hills area and the abundance of available outdoor activities.

“I love everything outdoors,” Bradbury said. “I like hiking, camping, snowmobiling and motorcycling. I have my license, but I will not drive to school on a motorcycle.

“I also love to read and write and teach kids how to write,” she said. “The whole step of teaching children to write helped me.”

Bradbury said she writes personal things that she only shares with “very close friends.”

“When walking things will come to mind and I’ll jot down a word or phrase and work from that,” Bradbury said.

She said she fondly remembers a four-week summer program, The Maine Writing Project, that was overseen by Jeff Wilhelm.

“I wrote and read the whole summer,” Bradbury said smiling.

jsmedley@sunjournal.com

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