JAY — At the Regional School Unit 73 board of directors meeting Thursday, Sept. 28, Kristopher Targett, principal at the middle school provided copies of the speech he gave at the Holocaust and Human Rights Center’s [HHRC] annual awards banquet in Falmouth.

At the Sept. 21 event, Targett was the guest speaker. “I was asked to speak about the incidences about swastikas, racial language and other incidents that happened last year at the middle and high schools and how we responded,” he said. “How restorative practices and education came together and has made a difference and helped deter any more of those events.”

In October 2022, two Livermore Falls teens were charged with drawing one swastika each in two bathrooms at Spruce Mountain High School and writing a racial slur. Later that month the two students were expelled.

In a separate incident that month, during an away football championship game featuring the Spruce Mountain Middle School seventh/eighth grade team, racial comments were made by some of its players and parents.

“It was no secret what had transpired in our schools about a year ago, as the actions of a few created profound effects on many,” Targett stated in his speech, noting “These incidents were stark reminders of a serious problem within not only our school walls but with society as a whole.”

The Spruce Mountain community refused to be passive observers, his speech continued. The issues were immediately reported to administrators, civil rights team project advisor and social studies teachers, Targett noted. Their guidance and support was sought as addressing the incidences required collective effort, he stated.

Middle school personnel reached out to HHRC for further guidance as expertise and perspective from an organization committed to combating hate and promoting human rights was needed, Targett said. The problem was tackled head-on with social studies teachers addressing not only the surface issues but the underlying questions and concerns of students, he noted.

Some staff attended a restorative practice seminar to learn strategies to help students take responsibility for their actions, learn from their mistakes and present their newfound understanding to others through “accountability projects”, Targett said.

Three teachers attended HHRC workshops on teaching the Holocaust in public schools while seven staff from the middle and high schools attended a seminar focused on reducing bias and hate in schools, he stated.

Through their social studies curriculum, eighth grade students began to learn about the Holocaust while aiming to foster empathy, critical thinking and a commitment to preventing such atrocities from happening again, Targett noted. “The Maine Jewish Museum brought in Violins of Hope and humanized the stories of the past that none of our students had known,” he stated. “Materials obtained through the US Holocaust Memorial Museum’s summer institute were also integrated into our curriculum. This demonstrated our commitment to providing our students with a comprehensive understanding of this dark chapter in human history,”

Staff is actively working to weave the lessons learned into the curriculum and is prepared to address destructive behavior because it believes everyone can learn, grow and change for the better, Targett stated. “The story of our Spruce Mountain community is not unique, for it reflects the broader narrative of humanity,” he noted. “It is a narrative of facing challenges head-on, seeking help when needed and embracing education as a force of change. It is a story of transformation – of turning hate into understanding and discrimination into empathy.

“We have a long road ahead in our journey but we are doing our best to make a difference for our kids,” he concluded in his speech.

“It is really nice to know all the hard work that is being done is being recognized and seen by other organizations and a lot of other schools around the state,” he told the board. “Sometimes we don’t always see the good stuff when we are right down in the trenches doing the hard work. We don’t always hear about the positive stuff we are doing.”

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