RUMFORD — Regional School Unit 10 has been allocated $1.6 million from the federal government to meet math and literacy goals, improve test scores and decrease absenteeism, Assistant Superintendent Matt Gilbert told the board of directors Monday at Mountain Valley High School.

The money is “to help our students improve their performance in RSU 10,” he said.

Gilbert said it will help improve Northwest Evaluation Association test scores of students at or above their grade level by 5%. The test results for last spring were due Aug. 1 but have not been received, he said.

As for absenteeism, Gilbert said that over the past school year 37% of district students were chronically absent. the goal is to lower the rate to 29% by the spring of 2024.

“Over the pandemic, chronic absenteeism took a huge jump and we’ve been working to slowly reduce that rate,” he said. “And for a lot of schools that 8% decrease would be a considerable amount, but from the work we’ve done the past few years, we’ve been decreasing in the double digits over the last two years.”

The district’s student population on Oct. 1, 2022, was 1,748, Gilbert wrote in an email Tuesday

In other business, directors Greg Buccina of Rumford to continue as board chairman for the 2023-24 school year and Janet Brennick of Mexico as vice chairwoman.

Buccina has served as chairman for two terms and is in his fifth year on the board. This is Brennick’s first time as the vice chairwoman. She is serving her third term on the board.

In other news, the board approved the Summer Falcon Camp project, where 10 Mountain Valley High School students attend a hiking and overnight camping trip to the White Mountains in New Hampshire or the Bigelow Range in Maine later this month.

The trip will be guided by Mountain Valley High School teachers and outdoor enthusiasts Todd Papianou and Karen Wilson, who led eight high school students last summer on overnight camping and paddling trips in western Maine. Papianou is a Maine Guide and leader of the school’s Outing Club.

The Summer Falcon Camp project is funded by Maine West, a nonprofit organization that funds initiatives in western Maine to keep children healthy, Wilson said at the meeting.

“(Maine West) wanted to make sure that the students that might not have the opportunity to get outside and experience the summer camp get that experience,” she said.

Papianou said the focus of this year’s camp is some biking and hiking with a backpack focus. In preparation for the trip, students will work on map and compass skills and make walking sticks, he said.

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