FARMINGTON — New staff and summer programs were highlighted by Regional School Unit 9 principals Keith Acedo and Carol Kiesman, who shared updates from their schools Sept. 9 during a board of directors meeting.

Acedo, principal of Academy Hill and Cushing schools, said the year began on a positive note.

“We have a great start of the school year. A lot of smiling faces and quite a few new staff,” he said.

Both schools have set up the BARR program, which stands for Building Assets, Reducing Risks, after summer training sessions.

BARR is a school improvement and student support model that focuses on building strong relationships between teachers and students, using data to identify needs early, and implementing targeted interventions to help students succeed academically and socially.

“I know we are very excited to have this fully implemented,” Acedo said.

Acedo also congratulated fourth grade teacher Gracie Vaughan of Academy Hill, who was named the district’s Novice Teacher of the Year.

Acedo noted challenges in finding substitute teachers, especially in winter. He said they even sometimes have had the music or art classes led by education technicians.

“I have an ed tech or duty monitor who loves art may sub there at time,” he said. “We do our best.” Superintendent Christian Elkington added that staff often need to be pulled from other duties to fill gaps.

New staff at Cushing School include resource teacher Teena Gusler, art teacher Leah White, and long-term music substitute Alex Ernst. At Academy Hill, new hires include adaptive skills teacher Kami Thompson and long-term music substitute Darby Sabin. Both schools also saw facility upgrades over the summer, including adaptive skills classrooms at Academy Hill and new heaters at Cushing.

Kiesman, principal of Cape Cod Hill School, reported that her school hosted a three-week summer enrichment program with daily attendance of 15-20 students, supported by the Community School grant.

“It was hard for me to narrow down all the good and wonderful things happening from our summer enrichment … to first weeks of school,” Kiesman said. “This summer it was really impressive.”

She praised Anita Stevens, who will serve as the school’s community grant coordinator. “She puts a great effort into everything she does,” Kiesman said.

Cape Cod Hill also enters its third year of BARR implementation, with new staff receiving onboarding training this month. Kiesman added that team teaching among 3rd, 4th and 5th grade teachers will expand after strong results last year.

New staff at Cape Cod Hill include fifth grade teacher Sarah Poli, music teacher Catherine Begin and student support services specialist Barbara Marshall.