AUBURN — Edward Little High School has won a 10-year accreditation but with a continued probation because of needs in the school, the Auburn School Committee was told Wednesday night.

Superintendent Katy Grondin said those needs would have to wait because getting a new school “is out of our control.”

As far as programs and curriculum, there’s work to continue, “but there’s a ton of accolades in this letter, a lot of positive things they’re saying about the high school,” she said.

Grondin congratulated Edward Little High School Principal Jimmy Miller and staff for positive changes that grabbed praise from the New England Association of Schools and Colleges Commission on Public Schools.

In a May 18 report to Miller from the association’s Committee on Public Secondary Schools, Edward Little was commended for a long list of strengths, including the school’s strong focus on curriculum leadership, developing a range of experiences “that provide authentic learning experiences both within the school campus and beyond.”

The report also cited a broad commitment by all school stakeholders of an aligned curriculum focused on student achievement, effective leadership of the principal and other building administrators, and consistent maintenance of acceptable staffing levels and appropriate class sizes during a period of limited budgets.

To that, Miller warned, the recent budget puts the school at a critical level of being able to maintain recommended programs and class sizes.

Recommendations in the report were for the high school to continue efforts to improve lessons, such as mass customized learning and building proficiency-based curriculums.

Miller said he’s excited about the curriculum recommendations because “they are nothing more than what we already have planned in place,” he said. “They saw exactly what we hoped they’d see.”

As far as the school’s physical condition, Miller said there are two parts: One is keeping up with upgraded bathrooms, flooring, windows and doors.

“We have improved on those, but we’re still far from where we need to be,” Miller said.

The second is whether the building meets the needs of today’s students.

“The answer is absolutely not,” Miller said. “If we were to rebuild Edward Little today, it would not have the same design as 1961.”

Since the school was built, more programs, including technology, music, special education and fine arts, have been added.

The high school has only one science lab for eight classes, Miller said. “The capacity of the building physically to provide education opportunities to kids is what’s dwindled the most.”

The accreditation report is to be updated within a year on the status of state funding to help build a new high school. Edward Little is on a list waiting for state school construction money that could arrive sometime in the next several years.

In introducing the report, Miller said it’s important to have the school accredited by objective, outside experts. The accreditation shows the school is doing what it’s supposed to do.

Several School Committee members thanked Miller and high school staff for their work.

City Councilor Mary LaFontaine, the mayor’s representative on the School Committee, said she appreciates what Miller and the faculty and staff are doing “to make do with a less than ideal situation. We’ve all been to high school. We see the issues. We would all like to see a state-of-the-art facility,” LaFontaine said.

But the school continues to do many things well “to make sure our curriculum is where it should be for our students. Thank you.”

bwashuk@sunjournal.com

Auburn applying for Washburn school improvement grant

AUBURN — The Auburn School Committee approved applying for a school-improvement grant from the Maine Department of Education to improve lessons at Washburn Elementary School.

Washburn is considered a “priority” school and was given a state score of F last year for test scores below state averages in math and reading.

Sue Dorris, who oversees the Title I program for Auburn schools, explained that the application for the grant would give Washburn $1.7 million over five years to add staff and programs to boost student learning.

The changes would include expanding early learning by having a full-day prekindergarten program, hiring a prekindergarten teacher and parent liaison and a prekindergarten ed tech. A summer “JumpStart” program would be added to help incoming kindergartners improve reading and school readiness skills.

The grant would allow Washburn to hire an instructional coach, a literacy and math coach, to increase parent and community involvement and to increase teacher skills with two new ed techs.

Eventually, the school could increase learning time for students by offering before- and after-school tutoring and an eight-week summer school program.

School Committee members Chris Langis and Peter Letourneau said getting the grant would be positive but shared concerns about maintaining costs after the grant runs out.

“I see six new positions here,” Langis said. He did not want to see those positions added to the budget five years from now.

Dorris said the money would be used to make improvements in teaching and learning.  “We have no dreams of holding onto the positions after the five years.”

School Committee Chairman Tom Kendall said he disagreed, that if the positions and changes prove successful, a case should be made to add the positions to the budget.

The grant application will be reviewed between June 16-19, Dorris said, adding Auburn should learn June 24 whether it will receive the grant.

In other business, presentations were given to bring more college courses to Edward Little High School through the University of Maine and Central Maine Community College.

Edward Little Assistant Principal Jim Horn said the programs will allow and encourage more high school students to take college courses in high school, reducing their college debt and saving them time.

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