LEWISTON – State education officials were wrong when they said a private Lewiston high school was a “diploma mill” that sold diplomas to customers, Education Commissioner Susan Gendron now says.
In a letter to North Atlantic Regional High School, Gendron said the statements were “ill-chosen” and “inaccurate” when they were made to the media, to the military and to families looking into the school.
“They can, in fact, issue diplomas,” Gendron said Thursday.
Steve Moitozo, who heads the school, said he was happy with the resolution, but that the department’s “diploma mill” suggestions likely cost him tens of thousands of dollars over the years.
“My estimation is we lost hundreds of families,” he said.
Established in 1989 with 17 students, North Atlantic Regional High School caters to home-schoolers and public school transfer students from the United States, Canada and other countries. Nearly 500 families are from Maine.
Most of the school’s 2,500 students have never set foot inside the building. They’ve never attended a traditional class with one of the school’s certified teachers or met their classmates. Instead, they show proof that they’ve done their course work at home or in a traditional school. Once they’ve earned 17.5 credits, North Atlantic awards a diploma.
The school costs $350 a year. Senior year costs $450.
Home-schoolers use North Atlantic to convert their home course work into traditional high school credits. The school also offers tutors, provides certified teachers to students who want a custom-made class and helps families find lessons to use on their own.
But North Atlantic made headlines two years ago when Florida students turned to the school after failing the state’s high school graduation exam. The students transferred their public school credits to North Atlantic, paid their fees and received diplomas from North Atlantic instead.
In Maine, it was classified as a private school that did not receive public funds and was not regulated by the Maine Department of Education. At the time, Maine and Florida officials acknowledged that the school was operating legally.
But one Maine Department of Education spokesman said consumers were buying diplomas, not earning them in a way recognized by the state.
Moitozo said military recruiters, scholarship committees and college officials were told the same thing when they called the department to inquire about North Atlantic and its students.
After years, Moitozo said, the school couldn’t take it any more. His attorney, a local legislator, Gendron and others met to discuss the situation. In January, Gendron wrote a letter saying the department would no longer suggest that North Atlantic is a “diploma mill.”
Instead, she said in the letter, officials will tell people the private school is “recognized by the department as providing equivalent instruction.” That means students who attend aren’t truant from their local public schools. And although the state doesn’t regulate the school or vouch for its standards, North Atlantic has the right to award credits and diplomas.
If parents have questions about the school’s academics, Gendron said, they should contact the school directly.
“It really is up to the consumer to ask questions. What is the best place for your child?” she said.
Maine has 300 private institutions that count as schools for attendance purposes but do not receive public funding and are not regulated by the state.
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