Maine Islands Coalition Meeting Minutes June 11, 2010

In Attendance

MIC Members:

Roger Berle, Chair, Cliff Island

Marjorie Stratton, Co-Chair,Vinalhaven

Malcolm Donald, Rep, Cranberry Isles

Beverly Roxby, Rep,  Frenchboro

Mark Tierney, Rep, Little Diamond

Mark Greene, Rep, Town of Long Island
Eva Murray, Rep, Matinicus Island

Doug Boynton, Rep, Monhegan Island

Lisa Shields, Rep, North Haven

Dexter Lee, Rep, Swan's Island

 

Islanders:

Jan Coates, North Haven

Kathi Lovell, North Haven/Long Island

Bob Earnest, Chebeague Island

Rick Rogers, Islesboro

Lew Collins, Vinalhaven

Gloria Delsandro, Vinalhaven

Ed Daranyi, Peaks Island

Ellen Mahoney, Peaks Island

Tom Marx, North Haven

 

Legislators:

Hannah Pingree, Speaker of the House, District 36,

Chuck Kruger, House District 48

Chris Rector, Senate District 22

Jon McKane, House District 51

Peter Stuckey, House District, 114

 

Speakers/Guests:

Melissa Olson, Islesboro Central School

Julie Bartsch, Rural School and Community Trust

Jesse Campbell, Monhegan School

 

Island Institute:

Rob Snyder, Vice President of Programs

Jen Litteral, Policy Director

Chris Wolff, Community Development Director

Suzanne Pude, Director, Maine Coast Community Wind Program

Ruth Kermish-Allen, Education Director

Emmett Hodder, Intern, Community Wind

Mary Terry, Casco Bay Affordable Housing Fellow

 

MIC Members - Absent:

Donna Damon, Chebeague

Alden Finney, Great Diamond

Rudy Graf, Isle au Haut

Nakomis Nelson,  Islesboro

Marjorie Phyfe, Peaks

 

 

Pre-Meeting Event

MaineHousing, Genesis Community Loan Fund, Island Institute and the Maine Island Coalition hosted a media event to announce the 2010 Affordable Housing Initiative for Maine Islands.  Participants included, Dale McCormick, Director of MaineHousing; Hannah Pingree, Speaker of the Maine House of Representatives; Rob Snyder, VP of Programs for the Island Institute; Roger Berle, Chair of the Maine Island Coalition.  Liza Fleming-Ives, Associate Director of the Genesis Community Loan Fund; Bob Earnest of the Chebeague Island Community Association, Doug Boynton of the Monhegan Island Sustainable Community Association, and Ellen Mahoney of Peaks Island HomeStart spoke with reporters after the event.

 

Meeting Called to Order

Roger Berle called the meeting to order at 10:30 pm and welcomed guests and committee members. 

 

Announcements and Introductions

Attendees introduced themselves.  Roger invited legislators to provide brief legislative updates.

 

Legislative Updates

Representative Hannah Pingree, Speaker of the House, talked about the budget process and reported that working together, the legislature passed a balanced budget.  There is one remaining budget issue at this time.  The Congress has not passed the six-month Federal extension to Medicare.  If this is not passed, the Governor will curtail spending in the areas of Education and Health and Human Services or the Legislature will return for a special session to deal with the budget shortfall. 

 

Speaker Pingree noted that the legislature had put forth bond packages for transportation, off shore wind, and economic development.  Voters approved the bonds this past week.  She also reminded people of the Housing Bond, of which the Island Housing program is one part.  Islands may be eligible for other programs within the larger bond to promote energy efficiency, create new jobs, and create affordable housing here in Maine.

 

She also made note of the number of legislators who have termed out and encouraged the MIC to work to engage new legislators and educate them around island issues.

 

Senator Chris Rector thanked Hannah for her service and cited her as an example of why term limits may not be such a good thing.  Good leaders and managers are term limited out.

 

Senator Rector spoke about the Maine Resources Committee and reminded attendees that both Chairs, Senator Damon and Representative Percy, have termed out and are no longer on the Committee. He praised the depth of their knowledge and urged the MIC to work with the new committee chairs and members. 

 

Senator Rector noted that there is a bill, sponsored by Peter Mills, to allow the pension fund to invest some venture capital for fledgling Maine businesses.  He noted that it is difficult to attract venture capital to Maine and this bill provides a good way to address this issue.

 

He also urged the MIC to talk with candidates and begin the education process early around island and coastal issues and concerns.

 

Representative Peter Stuckey mentioned that within the Bond packages is some funding for the expansion of Southern Maine Community College.  He also noted that there is bond money dedicated to the creation of a Dental School and public health clinics in Maine.  Dental health is a very under addressed need in the State.

 

Representative Stuckey noted that in the area of Health and Human Services the state faces a "pay me now or pay me later" scenario.  We need to be creative and look for areas of innovation and resources to address the HHS needs of the state.

 

Representative Chuck Kruger thanked the group for their work and said he saw his role in this first year was to listen, learn and help the island and coastal communities.

 

Representative Jon McKane noted that he represents Monhegan and has worked with the island on LURC related issues.  He suggested that the MIC work to send ideas about legislation to legislators early to enable legislators to work toward change.  He also suggested that a Legislative Island Caucus might be of value.

 

Islands and Education

Program Participants:

            Ruth Kermish-Allen, Island Institute Education Director - A Briefing on Island School Enrollment Data and Trends
            Melissa Olson:  Islesboro Central School Magnet Coordinator - Innovative Strategies for Sustainable Island Schools
            Julie Bartsch, Rural School and Community Trust - The National Perspective: Sustainable Rural School  Strategies
            Jesse Campbell, Monhegan School - Matinicus, Monhegan, Isleford, Isle au Haut, Frenchboro Creating a System to Share Curriculum

 

Ruth introduced the topic of island school sustainability and how the Island Institute is working with islands on this issue.  The central question is how we can work together to stem the tide of declining enrollments and strengthen our year round island communities.  Ruth shared some trending information (See Handout).

 

This lead to a brief discussion of long term trends and the need to recognize that in small island communities, a small change in numbers can make a big impact.  However, a decline in one year does not predict a long-term trend.  Hannah Pingree noted that looking at enrollment data over a 25 to 30 year period shows an overall trend of declining island school enrollment, which reflects the statewide trend of declining enrollment.

Julie Bartsch, Rural School and Community Trust (http://www.ruraledu.org/) joined the group via skype.  Julie had four focus areas for creating innovative strategies around low enrollment.

The first was a consideration of the structure of school and looking redesigning the educational model.  This includes looking at time a as variable and learning as a constant.  She cited island collaborative opportunities and suggested looking at Alaska for examples of such a model.  For islands that do not have high schools, the creation of an intriguing secondary educational opportunity could allow families of high-school aged students to remain on island.    

 

The second consideration is the availability of affordable housing to attract and retain families.  She spoke of some innovative work in Kansas in this area.

 

The third area is looking at Rural USDA grant money.  The Island Institute has a grant to provide video conference equipment to all island schools allowing the schools to link together remotely.  The equipment will be in place over the summer.  Other states are using USDA grant money to explore technology and access to programs and as an option for curriculum enhancement. 

 

A fourth area to look at is the maximization of island summer populations to create an opportunity for year round schooling on island.  This could include summer residence programs, extended school year programming, and teaching institutes. It could also include bringing students from other areas of the country or of the world to create some credit bearing workshops that benefit the year round residents and visitors.  She suggested thinking about it as a summer learning lab for kids.

 

Other suggestions included looking at NOAH programs to make connections with other coastal schools.  The Nellie Mae Foundation is a grant maker supporting educational efforts.  The New England Secondary School Consortium advocates around policies around alternative teaching certification and new school models including social service as an educational component.

 

Melissa Olson, the Islesboro Central School Magnet Coordinator, talked about the Islesboro Central School model. The magnet school program was established in 1997 accepting off island students in grades 5 through 12. Students paid tuition.   Early on, the program hosted 2 to 4 students per year.

 

In 2009, after a visioning process, the program expanded.  The program is not a specific separate school program, rather the school itself is the magnet.  The program recruits tuitioned students from the mainland and those students experience the same "school" as island students.  The 8 am boat brings the mainland students to the island where they are met by a bus. The students take the 3:30 ferry back to the mainland.  While there has been some use of the Quick Silver water taxi service in the past, this year the budget allows students to remain on island until 6 pm most days.  The accommodation allows students to participate fully in after school programs.

 

Each mainland student is paired with an Island host family with a student in the same grade.  This expands the education of both students and provides support for the mainland student.

 

The magnet program is intended to address declining enrollment.  Ten years ago, there were 120 island students in the school.  Affordable housing is one issue related to declining school enrollment.  To enhance enrollment, the school works to attract mainland students.  The draw is the small class size and the island experience. Classes are set at 10 to 12 students per class.

 

Melissa works on out reach to the mainland through press releases, flyers, meetings and presentations.  The meetings and presentations include current magnet families and students.  Word of mouth has proven to be the best outreach.

 

The result is that there are now 14 magnet students and 20 are expected in the fall.  Students are accepted in grades 5 through 12 but generally enter at the 6^th or 9^th grade.  The magnet students provide diversity in that they are new to the island and generally not related to any of the other students.  The program is considering expanding diversity further through AFS students. The program has fostered creatively, friendly competition, and fellowship.

 

Applicants must complete an application, interview, and visit the school.  Openings are determined based on space available in each class.  It is a competitive process.

 

Mainland students do pay tuition of $4,000 for middle school and $5,000 for high school.  A monthly payment schedule is available.  Conversation around the cost of educating students and the tuition are on going within the community.  The community has historically supported the school and just completed a renovation of the school facilities.  To date, the goal has been to maintain a strong enrollment.

 

Jesse Campbell, the Monhegan teacher, spoke, via skype, about creating a colleague group of island teachers from Matinicus, Monhegan, Isleford, Isle au Haut, and Frenchboro.  The first goal was to create a colleague group for teachers at these remote island schools.  This critical friends group served as a way to share ideas, problem solve, and provide each other with support.  Over the past year, the group has discussed ways to broaden this valuable experience to students.  With community support, the group has had the kids work together through joint field trips, skype, noteshare, blogs, and email.  Kids in the same grades work across islands to create a colleague group.  Using technology, teachers can teach to their strengths, across islands.  The work is based in the teachers working relationships forged through two years of the critical friends group.

 

Looking forward, the group is focusing on creating a common curriculum that can be shared.    Each year a theme would be set for the entire school and the content adjusted for grade and individual need.  Creating a four-year curriculum rotation allows the schools to coordinate topics to study and to share resources.  Developing a concrete curriculum allows for each teacher to teach ideas based in the same theme while not teaching the exact same things.  This allows for shared field trips and collaboration of island students across islands. 

 

This next year will be one of implementation.  The group is not exactly sure how it will look day-to-day.  The goal is to have the kids work together on a regular basis.  The theme will be island ecology, each island school will look at their own ecology, and then share that experience with the other islands. There will be a shared Island Fellow to help coordinate the work.  The group wants to extend the classroom from one room to across the bay.  They also want to provide support and resources for new teachers.

 

The conversation was then opened for questions.

 

1. On Islesboro, what is the teacher/classroom component for each class and how do you address special education needs?

1. We have K through 12.  The grade school classroom combinations are:

                  K, 1, 2

                  3,4

                  5,6

In middle school, there is one teacher for social studies and one for language arts in addition to a classroom teacher.  We have a teacher who specializes in special education and an Ed tech to assist.

 

Q. On Islesboro, how do you deal with applications and taking on mainland kids at tuition below the state standard?

A.  There is a disparity and lots of discussion regarding how much the island is willing to pay versus the tuition.  However, to date, having more students in the school lowers the cost per student. 

 

The application process is based upon space available, transcript review, interview, and student essays.  A selection committee handles the applications.  We have taken students with specific needs when we were able to address those needs within the staffing and space availability.

 

We have seen an enrollment cycle of up to 125 and down to 60 island students. The recent school renovation was funded equally by taxes and donations.  The summer population is financially supportive of the school as is the year round population.  There is a balance to keep in terms of overall enrollment and maintaining the uniqueness of the school.  At this time, there is a 2.16 million dollar budget, including debt service for the renovations.  We need island students to keep things in balance and to remain sustainable.

 

• Special education students present some real issues on islands.
• Special education is challenging in rural and island schools, as it is difficult to provide the services with the resources at hand.  On Islesboro, the percentage of students requiring services is 18 - 19%, which is in line with the mainland schools. 
•  
• On Islesboro, have you taken in a student who was not a fit?
• Magnet students are reviewed every year.  We have not asked anyone to leave but some leave on his or her own.  A few have seen it as a not good fit.
•  
• How does the Islesboro School do in the area of achievement?  Do magnet students and island students compare favorably?
• The statistics are difficult because the pool is so small that a small change can appear as a big statistical change.  We focus on the long-term trend, which is fine.  We focus on how this program brings socialization to our students.  The small size of the school makes sports and other extra curricular activities difficult in terms of having a viable number to participate.
•  
• How does the Islesboro School provide transportation for special events?
• We provide water taxis for many events.  The host family also takes in the magnet kids if there is an issue with the ferry etc.
•  
• How does the Islesboro School track in terms of post secondary school?
• All but one has gone on to post secondary education of some sort.  One went into the military. 

 

There was a general follow up conversation around tracking post secondary education as an indicator of island school success might be an unfair yardstick.  Many factors influence a student's decision around college.  Some might stay to lobster or join a family business.  That does not mean that the island did not provide an excellent education.

 

It was noted that island kids are appealing to colleges and universities due to their unique island experience.

 

It was also noted that using the yardstick of "how many go off to college and stay in college" is important.  Leaving the community and going off to college and staying is an issue for islands and isolated small towns. 

 

• How do you attract home schooled students to magnet schools?
• It is a challenge.  The goal is to invite the students into the school system through extra curricular activities, home school nights, and other events.  It is important to work to reach those who might have had a bad experience and allow them to interact with the school in some way.  There are many opportunities, on a case-by-case basis of way home schooled kids can interact with the school system and kids.

 

            Several people mentioned the importance of allowing for the opportunity for          home schooled children to join in and to provide parents with support around    meeting the curriculum needs. 

 

• How do you define a successful school model?
• The discussion was around creating a school that meets the current needs but does not depend totally on the current families, teachers and administrators.  The school program has to be both flexible to account for change and stable enough to allow for continuous education and institutional memory.  The community, especially through times of transition, must support sustainability of schools. 

 

      North Haven has created a school brochure to share with other island and   mainland students to attract people to the high school  Families are willing to host the student during the school year.  The audience for this program is the other tiny islands with out a high school.  Only three islands in Maine have high schools. The central question is, "Can you imagine sending your kid to another island?" This is a key question for many island families, transitioning from a small island to a big mainland high school is a significant change.  Upheaval may occur involving the entire family or one adult moving off island to live on the mainland while the student is in high school.  Sometimes a student lives with one or more family friends on the mainland during high school. 

 

• Is this model of inviting other island students to attend high school at an island school viable?
• The model asks:
•  
  • Can we help ourselves remain vibrant in the classroom with this model?
  • Can we be of service to individual islands and have it be appealing through the use of host families and working with the island family?
  • Will the draw of a small island high school with individualized attention attract mainland families?

 

It was noted that we need to be careful not to stereotype island students.  Different models will attract and serve different students with different needs.  There are issues around families preparing children to leave island for school and there are lots of differing models and parents. 

 

Mark Greene of Long noted that good things are happening on island.  There was a recent debate on if the school should expand back to a K to eight.  Given the numbers, the school is likely to stay as a K to five.  There is some conversation, as Great Diamond Island has grown, to include those kids in the Long school.  There is lots of community support for the school and there has been a long-term good teacher in place.  The need for work, housing and school support go together to create a sustainable island community.

 

Roger Berle of Cliff noted there were five children in the school in the fall.  The number dropped down to 3 mid-winter due to a family leaving the island.  The family is back, and the school year finished up with five children.  There are three pre-school kids in the community.  Roger noted that Superintendent Morse has supported Cliff during the Portland budget process.  Morse is likely to serve as the island school principal next year.

 

The Frenchboro School is holding at 12 to 13 students.  Beverly Roxby noted there is interest in a pre-school program on island and Beverly asked about the existence of pre-schools on other islands.  She also noted that the MDI superintendent has been wonderful in helping island students bridge into middle school.  He has attended Frenchboro events and town meeting and has engaged the community.

 

Gloria Delsandro of Vinalhaven identified herself as the school team leader.  The challenge has been in responding to changing dynamics.  One year students may be interested in AP course and the next year the students may be less engaged.  There are multiple pathways in education.  There are drop out issues and students skipping school to work.  The message to the community is the value of the community being involved in the school.  It is important to get more parents involved.

 

Ellen Mahoney and Ed Daranyi spoke about issues on Peaks. The community has made progress in responding to potential school budget cuts.  There is an island effort to expand the summer time draw for children's camp experience to bring kids together.  There is a central organized collaborative working to create a structure to enhance the camps and help identify the school and Children's Workshop as community assets central to the quality of life on island. The Peaks Island Children's Workshop is hosting community events such as yoga and informational programs in an effort to address wider community needs.

 

Ruth thanked everyone for participating in the discussion and announced that she is planning an August 4 meeting to continue the dialogue around island schools.

 

Island Updates

Vinalhaven - Marjorie Stratton

There is $400,000 Bond pool to address island airport needs.  In working toward matching the funds and creating project plans, the project came to a standstill.  The bond lawyers are concerned about state money being used on islands due to issues of access "open to the public."  Representative Pingree and Senator Rector are advocating to the islands.  Representative Kruger noted that the case to make is that public access is available through island air taxi service.

 

The Town of Long Island - Mark Greene

Mark noted that there is FEMA money for logging to clean up spring storm damage on Long, Cliff, Peaks and Cushing islands. 

 

The affordable housing group is looking at building two rent-to-own homes on town owned land using the MaineHousing Islands program money.

 

Mark mentioned a Maine Seacoast Mission 2-day workshop slated for mid-November to address senior issues.

 

Swans Island - Dexter Lee

Swans has received a $398,000 federal stimulus grant.

 

Frenchboro - Beverly Roxby

The island is working on the creation of a wellness center but there are pitfalls.  The group is working to air the grievances and move forward, with the assistance of the Seacoast Mission, to create a wellness center housed in a green building.

 

Peaks Island -  Ed Daranyi and Ellen Mahoney

The Peaks Island Children's Workshop just received a Barbara Bush Literacy grant. 

 

Affordable housing initiatives are underway to help young families on island. 

 

There has been a shift in the police staffing on island.  The new staffing pattern will be one police and one fire fighter on island 24/7.  The exception will be that during the summer weekends, there will be two police officers.  Police and Fire officers are City of Portland employees.

 

Roger announced that Kathy Fiveash has resigned at the MIC representative for Isle au Haut.  Rudy Graf will remain as the alternate and work to identify a replacement for Kathy.

 

Island Institute Strategic Plan

Rob Snyder, VP of Programs, presented an overview of the strategic plan with a focus on how the MIC and the Institute can work together.  Over the past two quarters, the Institute has been seeking input on the future. This included input from the MIC.  Working with the Island Institute Board, the staff has created a 3-year strategic plan. 

 

The plan has three broad outward goals: foster island economic development; support island schools; and support island leadership.  The MIC is a key partner in the broad goal of island leadership.  The MIC focus on what works on islands, much like this meeting focus on education, is important.  Rob asked the group to consider expanding this convening role as it relevant to island issues.  Rob announced the Mary Terry would be joining the staff in September to work toward designing and implementing programs to support island leadership.

 

Rob spoke about the policy related work that the MIC has taken on and stressed how fortunate we have been to have strong coastal leadership in the legislature over the past several years.  This will be changing and we need to educate island legislatures, learn who will chair committees, and find ways to meet our goals.  Jen Litteral, Island Institute Policy Director, will work closely with MIC representatives to educate and drive legislators to meet our needs.

 

Speaking about island legislators, Hannah Pingree noted, "I represent a lot of islands and my seat needs engagement."  She noted that she has been involved with the MIC from the beginning and sees the opportunity to take the role of the group to the next level.  She suggests the MIC get out and meet legislators and take information back to our communities.  Hannah proposed the creation of an MIC executive committee with committee members regularly going to Augusta to address issues, testify, and educate legislators.  She noted the age of island leaders and that we need to work to bring young leaders forward.  Overall, she urged the MIC to be more pro-active and to begin to plan to make that possible.

 

Jen Litteral spoke about the role of MIC to educate and make outreach.  The gubernatorial forum planned for August is one such venue.  The major party candidates are invited to participate in the forum.  Don Carrigan has agreed to moderate the discussion.  The tentative date is Friday August 13 from 1-3pm. Once the date is confirmed Jen will notify MIC members.

 

The group discussed ways to share the forum with islanders who might not be able to attend.  Suggestions included recording it for later distribution and using the video conference equipment to simulcast the event to island venues.

 

It was again noted that the islands are losing huge resources as legislators rotate out of office this term.  Roger noted that it is increasingly important for islanders to make their voices heard.  The group discussed ways to figure out a policy agenda to get ahead of issues rather than respond to them.  An MIC executive committee working with the Island Institute is one way to identify an address island related policy issues.  Jon McKane suggested that the MIC presence in Augusta when the legislature is in session is very valuable. 

Other ideas to expand MIC's role included:

•  
  • participating in the freshman legislator bus tour
  • polling islanders to learn about issues of concern
  • regular brainstorming sessions around policy issues
  • the use of the executive committee to brainstorm
  • the creation of a legislator's island caucus
  • identifying issues for legislators early in the session to allow time to address the issues
  • meeting on islands to expand the presence of the MIC
  • inviting island legislators to an island "bus tour" and/or MIC meeting on an island
  • invite new legislators to the MIC meetings
  • creation of a MIC newsletter or email update for legislators and MIC reps

 

Jen Litteral noted that the group has been reactive in the past and is working toward being more proactive. 

 

The meeting closed with a brief discussion of setting meeting dates and agendas in advance to allow for planning.  Tentatively, the group agreed to meet in conjunction with the Gubernatorial Forum in August, in conjunction with the Sustainable Island Living Conference in November, in Augusta in February, and possibly in Augusta again in May.  There was also conversation about the viability of meeting on an island.  Dates will be confirmed once the Gubernatorial Forum date is set.

 

The meeting adjourned at 2:00 p.m.