DIXFIELD – Dozens of pupils from Canton and Peru will begin classes in different schools Aug. 31 as a result of SAD 21’s realignment and merger with the Peru school system.
“This has been very positive. We’ve all worked together and everyone is pleased,” said Superintendent Thomas Ward.
The district includes the towns of Canton, Carthage, Dixfield and Peru.
Youngsters at Canton Elementary School, which has served kindergarten through grade 4, will now attend classes at Peru Elementary School. Pupils in grades six, seven and eight at Peru Elementary School will be bused to Dirigo Middle School in Dixfield. A public hearing on the closure of the Canton school is scheduled for Sept. 12, with a referendum set for Sept. 20.
Ward said children from the two schools had a chance to visit their new classrooms at the end of the last school year.
With the addition of Peru, the district now has 200 more students, bringing the total to nearly 1,050. While waiting for a new elementary school to be built in Peru, which is expected to be completed by the fall of 2008, the district has purchased several modular classrooms to serve students and has reshuffled some of its offices.
Two more double-wide modular classrooms will serve students at Dirigo Middle School, bringing the total to three, and a new double-wide modular will provide classroom space for Dirigo High School students in Dixfield. A single-wide modular classroom, which had been at the middle school, has been moved to the rear of the Central Office and will be the site of the special education director’s offices.
Ward said that when the new elementary school is completed in Peru, all elementary students will attend classes there, and Dixfield Elementary School will serve the district in a variety of uses, such as for administrative offices, high school classrooms and the secondary alternative school.
“All the modulars will go away,” Ward said.
Other changes this year include earlier starting and ending times for Peru students, 16 new staff members, and the largest high school enrollment ever.
Dirigo High School Principal Dan Hart said about 400 students are expected on the first day of classes, including a senior class in the low 90s and a junior class of 113. He said several families have moved in from the Lewiston/Auburn area. An after-school program to help high school students needing additional academic help will begin, and another after-school program will provide academic and enrichment programs for students in all four schools.
“We’re all very excited about the new school year,” Ward said. “And I’m very appreciative of all the work by the custodians with all the moves, and to the teachers and administrators for all their hard work.”
And with the merger complete, there is one SAD 21 Board of Directors, not two.
Comments are no longer available on this story