Regional School Unit 9 Superintendent Christian Elkington, center, speaks to the board of directors Aug. 27 at Mt. Blue High School in Farmington about the first week back to school. The picture shown is from Aug. 2023 meeting; from left are Assistant Superintendent Monique Poulin,  Superintendent Christian Elkington, Chairperson Dorothy Robinson and Vice Chairperson Gwen Doak. File Photo/Franklin Journal

FARMINGTON —The Regional School Unit 9 [RSU 9] board of directors met Aug. 27 to review preparations for the new school year. The meeting featured updates from both Mt. Blue High School and Mt. Blue Middle School principals.

Principal Joel Smith of Mt. Blue High School opened the meeting with an update on the high school’s preparations for the new academic year. Smith referenced his recent welcome letter to the school community, where he emphasized the school’s commitment to providing a comprehensive educational experience. In the letter, Smith wrote, “Our main goal is to prepare students for college, careers, and the world beyond high school,” while highlighting the variety of courses, extracurricular activities, and integrated learning pathways available to students at Mt. Blue High School.

During the meeting, Smith elaborated on the positive developments within the school, noting the start of fall sports and other activities. “As you saw the parking lot when you came in, it’s starting to look like a high school again,” Smith said, mentioning that boys’ and girls’ soccer games are in progress and the cross-country team has returned from a field trip to Acadia. He also updated the board on the progress of the gym floor renovation, stating, “I’m happy to report we do have two coats on there, and I think the lines will be going down. So we’re ahead of the middle school.”

Following Smith’s update, Mt. Blue Middle School’s Principal James Black and Assistant Principal Katie Duchesne addressed the board with an update on their preparations for the new school year. Black expressed enthusiasm for the upcoming year, highlighting the extensive work completed over the summer to ensure a smooth start. “We’re excited. We put in a lot of work over the summer to get ready for opening day,” Black said. He also noted, “We’ve got great new staff in positions, so they’re excited,” underscoring the efforts made to ensure a strong start to the academic year.

Duchesne detailed the summer training sessions focused on the Building Assets, Reducing Risks [BARR] program and trauma-informed practices. “We had 25 staff come in, sixth and seventh grade teachers as well as exploratory teachers for the year two BARR training,” she said. “One day was all about trauma-informed practices, which is really important.”

Duchesne stressed the importance of understanding students’ backgrounds and the impact of trauma on their behavior, underscoring the need for sensitive interactions and appropriate referrals. She added, “It was just nice to have everybody back in the building and doing training and activities with them.”

Black also highlighted the benefits of the BARR program in supporting students’ learning. “Kids want to come to school to learn most of the time,” he said. “Sometimes there are barriers in place, and just digging into and finding out what those are … it’s really been beneficial.”