DIXFIELD — Superintendent Craig King said he will promote greater teacher collaboration during his first year at RSU 10.

“I want to emphasize the concept of a professional learning community,” he said Friday. That means teachers, grouped by grades or subjects, will work together; student data will be studied and new teaching strategies applied if needed; and common goals will be set for all students.

“The late start Wednesdays gives teachers a chance to work together,” he said.

Teachers will attend workshops Monday and Tuesday, and students will return to school Wednesday.

Students in grades seven to 12 will receive iPads to do their school work. The tablet computers will replace laptops.

The new technology is part of the district’s emphasis on integrating technology with learning. The district has four years remaining in the Maine Learning Technology Initiative.

Freshmen students will be subject to new graduation standards. They must demonstrate they have met all the requirements of standards based instruction which follows the federal Common Core program. In order to receive a diploma, a student must prove they have learned a specific body of information.

“I want teachers to be able to envision success for themselves and for their students. That’s half the battle,” King said.

The mass customized learning will continue in each school. The heart of this philosophy is allowing students to learn subject matter at their individual speed and accountability.

New teachers or other professional staff include Brenna Parent as Mountain Valley Middle School guidance counselor, Patrick Forgue as Dirigo High School English teacher, Carly McCann as Meroby Elementary School assistant speech and language teacher, Wendy Morrill as English teacher at Buckfield Junior-Senior High School, Kim Hamel as first  grade teacher at Rumford Elementary School, Larissa Cayer as fourth grade teacher as Meroby, Mary Pennington as art teacher at the middle school, Veronica Decker as part-time art teacher at Rumford elementary, and Jessica Curato as kindergarten teacher.

Open positions include a two-thirds time library media specialist at Buckfield Junior-Senior High School, special education teacher at Meroby, a sixth-grade teacher at Hartford-Sumner Elementary School, a teacher at Mountain Valley Middle school and a science teacher at Dirigo Middle School.

Substitute teachers will fill in.

RSU 10 has nearly 500 employees and nearly 2,770 students from the towns of Canton, Carthage, Dixfield, Peru, Buckfield, Hartford, Sumner, Byron, Mexico, Roxbury, Rumford and Hanover.

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