LIVERMORE — Spruce Mountain Primary School administrators are disputing claims that bullying is a major cause of chronic absenteeism in Regional School Unit 73, saying most attendance problems stem from family routines, parenting challenges and barriers outside the school’s control.

A parent advocate, however, says some families are afraid to speak publicly about bullying concerns.

In an April 29 interview following public reaction to earlier reporting on chronic absenteeism and behavior concerns in the district, Principal Darcy Shink and Dean of Students Kasey Purington defended the school’s culture, described extensive behavioral and attendance intervention systems, and argued that online discussions had unfairly linked attendance concerns to bullying allegations circulating on social media.

“I think it was just poor timing,” Purington said. “I think when Darcy did the board report, and you guys have posted the article, it was shortly after that the Facebook page around here kind of blew up around bullying situations, and it was actually at a different school.”

The April 7 board discussion focused heavily on chronic absenteeism, with Shink reporting that 19% of students were chronically absent and another 15% attended between 80% and 90% of school days.

“This is not mainly an issue of students refusing to come to school,” Shink told the board at the time. “When students are here, they’re engaged, willing to participate. The bigger challenge is getting students to school consistently in the first place.”

Shink said many attendance problems at Spruce Mountain Primary School are tied to inconsistent routines rather than transportation availability.

“Instead, we are seeing patterns tied to inconsistent home routines, difficulty getting students up and out the door, school not always being treated as a daily priority,” Shink said during the board meeting.

Shink and Purington expanded on those concerns April 29, repeatedly pointing to electronics use, sleep schedules, poverty, family instability and parenting challenges as major attendance barriers.

“When I look specifically at attendance at our most chronically absent students and families, all of those kids want to be here,” Purington said. “None of those situations, and I can confidently say that, are kids not wanting to come to school.”

There are other barriers, Purington said.

“It’s parenting,” Shink said, adding that staff hear from students about staying awake late on electronic devices.

“The electronics, we hear from the kids all the time,” Shink said. “Parents are going to bed not removing those things from the bedrooms, and they’re waking up in the middle of the night and going on the electronics.”

Purington said some students report struggling to wake parents in the morning.

“We’ve heard kids say, ‘I was trying to get my mom to wake up this morning to come to school,’” Purington said. “I think it’s parents staying up late, too, and not having routines themselves in the morning.”

Shink added, “You’ve got to set an alarm clock,” noting that every phone has one.

Administrators also tied attendance and behavioral struggles to broader social and economic issues affecting families.

“We do live in a very impoverished area,” Shink said. “Maybe they’re not going in public a lot and having to teach those expectations. They don’t have transportation or funds to go and do those things.”

BEHAVIOR SUPPORT

Shink said incoming kindergarten students increasingly arrive without basic school-readiness or socialization skills.

“We are having to think outside the box with some kiddos that are coming to us that have never seen a setting like this because they’re at home with no social atmosphere,” she said.

Purington said schools are increasingly spending time teaching behavioral expectations that educators once assumed students would already know.

“We are doing a lot of teaching around behavior that I think teachers are feeling like they never had to do 10, 20 years ago,” Purington said.

Shink said the school uses PBIS, Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports, along with a multi-tiered system of support for academics, attendance and behavior.

PBIS is a statewide framework used in Maine schools to support students’ social, emotional and behavioral development through interventions and positive reinforcement strategies. The three-tiered system is designed to improve behavioral, emotional and academic outcomes by providing different levels of support based on individual student needs.

Multi-Tiered Systems of Supports, or MTSS, is a schoolwide framework used to address students’ needs through different levels of intervention and support. Staff, programs, data and resources are organized across the entire school to provide support such as classroom strategies and individualized services.

Purington said interventions increase depending on student behavior and attendance concerns.

“We have students (where) that’s not enough for them,” Purington said regarding schoolwide expectations and incentives. “They need that extra level of checking in. They need that extra level of reinforcement and accountability.”

Administrators said restorative practices are a major part of the school’s behavioral approach, partly because of state laws limiting suspensions and recess restrictions for younger students.

“We can’t even take recess away from students,” Shink said. “Unless they are a danger to themselves or others, we’re not allowed to take recess from them.”

Shink said staff members are handling needs far beyond academics.

“We have volunteers coming in giving haircuts,” Shink said. “We are bathing kids. We are giving them clothes. We are providing food bags for them weekly. It’s so much more.”

“We’re meeting some very high needs because they can’t be met in the home,” she added

Shink said criticism directed at the district has been difficult for staff members who feel they are going “above and beyond for so many students.”

THE BULLYING QUESTION

Parent and youth advocate Tessa Elliott challenged the district’s portrayal of the attendance situation. She said she is the parent of a child in RSU 73 who is experiencing bullying.

Elliott alleged bullying concerns are contributing to student absences districtwide.

“A significant number of students in our district are missing school, and a major contributing factor appears to be ongoing issues related to bullying,” Elliott said.

Elliott said families are often reluctant to speak publicly because they fear retaliation.

“There is a real and widespread fear of retaliation, including concerns that their children could be treated worse by peers or face negative consequences within the school environment,” Elliott said.

She said at least 25 parents were prepared to support those concerns and alleged some families had signed confidentiality agreements related to incidents involving their children.

For her part, Shink disputed the idea that bullying is widespread at the primary school.

“In the two years I’ve been here, I’ve only had one parent recently come to me thinking that their child was being bullied,” Shink said.

Purington said some online commenters on social media incorrectly tied those bullying discussions to attendance problems at Spruce Mountain Primary School.

“I’ve seen some comments around, like, ‘Well, I think the attendance is bad because parents are afraid to send their kids to school,’” Purington said. “That’s not the case here. We are definitely not seeing that.”

The school provided a “Rude vs Mean vs Bullying” framework used with students and families. The guide defines bullying as repeated targeted behavior intended to create fear or power imbalance.

“A lot of times when we do the investigation, especially at this level, we’re talking between 5 and 7, sometimes 8 years old,” Shink said. “They’re engaging in play and then it just gets rough.”

The school also provided family climate survey data collected between October 2025 and January 2026. Families rated “My student feels safe at school” at 3.2 out of 4, while “All students are treated fairly at my student’s school” received a 3.02 rating.

Despite attendance and behavioral challenges, administrators said students generally enjoy being at school.

“Kids love being here,” Shink said. “They love their teachers. The atmosphere here is so nurturing and fun.”