Telstar High School staff is reimagining ways to celebrate students — moving away from academics-related acknowledgements in favor of recognizing their qualities.

As part of Telstar’s 2023 reaccreditation in New England Association of Schools and Colleges, the staff developed what they call Portrait of a Graduate — spirited monthly assemblies that award four students with recognition for their empathy, communication, learner’s mind-set, perseverance, responsibility or self-goal directedness.

“It’s all coming together now,” Telstar Principal John Eliot said. “All the positives are coming together.”

These awards replace student of the month recognitions, which are primarily for academics and community service.

Eliot said other school programs are ongoing, such as 7Peaks, “which is all about your aspirations and what you are going to do after high school,” playing a central role. Students no longer pay for Advanced Placement classes, PSAT or SAT testing — everything is included in the school budget. This takes stress from students and encouraged more students to test, he said.

He praised teachers for moving from traditional lectures to a workshop model and emphasized the value of experiential and outdoor learning.

“Not just learning about the outdoors and environment, get outdoors and read,” Eliot said, adding that such experiences open people up — a lesson he learned while working with special needs students.

ACCREDITATION

About half of Maine’s high schools hold NEASC accreditation. In 2023, Telstar began the push toward reaccreditation with Superintendent Mark Kenney serving as principal and John Eliot as dean of students.

The process requires schools to meet standards aligned with other New England institutions.

As part of the review, Eliot corrected outdated online information and updated public-facing documents, including Telstar’s school profile.

“It’s accurate it’s updated… it’s beautiful,” he said, noting that small schools lack public relations staff. “We are scrambling behind the scenes to get it all done.”

The one- to two-year self-study examines curriculum and instruction, student learning, faculty qualifications and professional development, leadership and guidance, student support services, school culture and equity, community engagement, and facilities, technology and resources.

A peer review team of New England educators visited Telstar to verify that the self-study reflected classroom practice. The team observed classes, interviewed students, teachers and administrators, and reviewed documents and data.

COMMUNICATION AWARD

On Dec. 17, four students — one from each grade — received the school’s Portrait of a Graduate Communication Award: freshman Kadence Walker, sophomore Connor Nguyen, junior Malia Luis and senior Vivienne Charette.

“Our Portrait of a Graduate describes communication as the ability to effectively express and listen to ideas from a variety of audiences through speaking, writing and creative expression, building respectful relationships and connections,” Eliot told students.

To illustrate the importance of communication, Eliot showed a video of the first satellite transmission in 1962 from Andover’s Telstar 1 satellite, after which the high school was named.

Set to patriotic music, the announcer said, “Now comes the historic moment … this is the first picture transmitted to outer space and received back again on Earth. Scenes of the dome in Andover are flashed across the sea and man marks another milestone in its aim of scientific milestones.”

When presenting the award to Luis, a German exchange student, Eliot said, “She is a student who has a unique communication skill that goes above and beyond,” citing her bilingual abilities.

Eliot said he plans to hang a Portrait of a Graduate banner in the gym by all the athletic banners.

“When everyone comes to watch basketball, they will know — we are an academic school, too,” he said.

Amid all of these changes, Telstar received national recognition by U.S. World and News Report as fifth best high school in Maine for 2025.

“Scoring well is important, but showing improvement on these types of assessments can be just as important,” Eliot told the students. “You can also help by making sure you meet the standards and requirements to earn your diploma.”

Eliot said students can help by making plans for after high school, whether that involves college or not.

“I don’t know about you, but I not only want to stay in the top five, but I would like to be number one,” he said. “I think I will be happy if we are able to stay in the top 10 and that is truly a realistic goal. If we all do our part we can do it.”