By Jodi Hausen,Staff Writer

RANGELEY – Students here will be greeted by new educational leaders when they return to school Aug. 31.

Phil Richardson, the Rangeley Lakes Regional School’s new superintendent, said he and the school’s new dean of students and kindergarten-through-eighth-grade principal, Rich Curley, will be working with the school board, parents and students to see what they are doing well and where they can improve. He hopes to provide graduates with the tools they will need after graduation.

“My vision for education is that all students leave the public school with the skills they need to pursue postsecondary education,” Richardson said Thursday. He would like them to write well, read well, speak well, work well with others and independently, and be independent thinkers, he said. He hopes his school will prepare graduates not just for four-year programs but also two-year schools, vocational programs or internships.

Rangeley’s high school will see several improvements – a new roof will be installed in September and October, all carpeting will be replaced with tile, and bleachers in the gym will also be replaced, Richardson said.

He said the new foreign language teacher will likely be a Spanish teacher, but the school is also working to provide French instruction.

“Our commitment is to provide a place where students feel safe and comfortable and education that has value in it,” Richardson said. Education should be three things, he added: It should be equitable, personalized and rigorous for all kids.