LIVERMORE FALLS – SAD 36 directors have approved a one-year sabbatical for high school English and drama teacher Anne Weatherbee if she moves forward with a plan to attend Harvard University next year.

Weatherbee told directors Thursday she is in the process of applying to Harvard University’s Graduate School of Education in the Arts in Education program.

There are obstacles to overcome, she said, but she wanted to inform the board of her intentions.

Weatherbee, who has transformed the high school drama productions into community productions, has studied a couple of summers at Harvard University, she said.

Her children have graduated from college, and she would like to get her masters in arts education to improve what she does now, she said.

Harvard’s program will give Weatherbee the opportunity to design her own graduate studies.

There are two required courses she needs to take on the policies and possibilities of arts in education.

Her other courses would be tailored to meet the needs of programming at Livermore Falls High School for performing arts for the next 10, 15, 20 years, Weatherbee said.

Over the summer, she was interviewed by university admissions for the graduate program.

This month she’ll sit in on classes and attend an applicant’s seminar.

First she needs to be accepted into the program and apply for a fellowship, she said.

“What I’m trying to do is convince Harvard to invest in rural Maine,” Weatherbee said.

In her letter to the superintendent and school board, Weatherbee said, “I am very proud of what I have been able to offer my students, and I am excited to learn more and be able to bring new ideas back to (Livermore Falls High School.)”