NOAA ’bout it! Federal funding that supports Maine’s coast is at risk. Speak up to show policymakers these critical investments matter. Learn more and share your voice now!
Posted by Gerogia Howe & filed under Blog.
Island Institute’s Susie Arnold reflects on the power of partnership at the 2025 Maine Climate Change Adaptation Providers Network meeting.
Posted by Laura England & filed under Blog.
I grew up on Peaks Island and recently moved to Deer Isle to work as an Island Institute Fellow to support Deer Isle & Stonington’s Adult & Community Education. I’m helping people with career transitions and assisting those whose jobs, like lobstermen, require new technological skills for tracking and reporting. As I unpacked boxes in my new apartment, I saw the little trail of memories that have led me to this moment and to become an Island Institute Fellow.
Posted by Renny Sabina & filed under Blog.
The Inter-Island Event is a grass roots outer-island tradition that has taken place nearly every fall since the 1980s in which the children of Maine’s outer island schools convene on a host island for an opportunity to expand their social networks and connect with kids from other island communities. The schools that participate in the Inter-Island event have some of the smallest student populations—in fact, the children on most of these islands can count their classmates on one hand.
Posted by Neil Arnold & filed under Blog.
The trajectory for this school year has been so unexpected, and in many ways so hard, which makes long-standing, successful collaborations even more valuable. On May 21, 2020, students, alumni, teachers, and families gathered together for a virtual celebration marking the 10-year anniversary of the Outer Islands Teaching and Learning Collaborative, or TLC. Even though the pre-planned party couldn’t take place in person, the TLC is very good at making virtual celebrations fun and funny, and this one was no exception.
Posted by Neil Arnold & filed under Blog.
On May 26, 2020, the Island Institute formally welcomed the fourth cohort of the Mentoring, Access, and Persistence (MAP) Program and celebrated the achievements and next steps of the MAP20 graduates. This annual event, usually held in person on a college campus as a kick-off to the MAP Summer Leadership Intensive, took place virtually on Zoom, and despite being online, still created a wonderful opportunity to connect and celebrate.
Posted by Neil Arnold & filed under Blog.
Equity. It’s a concept that many value but can struggle to put into practice. When it comes to the state of Maine’s efforts to develop strategies to aggressively respond to climate change, what does it look like to design with a commitment to equity and to meeting the needs of all Mainers at the center? While much of the world came to a screeching halt this spring, members of the Maine Climate Council’s working groups doubled down on their efforts to develop recommendations on how to reach the state’s climate goals.
Posted by Neil Arnold & filed under Blog.
“I can help” is a phrase that the students and teachers of Maine’s smallest and most remote island schools have been saying a lot lately. They are coming to the aid of frustrated parents and teachers as they sit in front of their computers feeling overwhelmed, maybe even in tears, trying to figure out Zoom or Google Classroom for the first time. These island helpers are experts in learning online, thanks in part to the Outer Islands Teaching and Learning Collaborative* (or TLC). That expertise has allowed them to more smoothly shift to the new educational reality that all schools and families are finding themselves in, and to provide assistance and reassurance to their mainland colleagues and family members.
Posted by Neil Arnold & filed under Blog.
Anyone who has collaborated with others on a project knows that it usually takes a lot more time than simply going it alone does. And if the collaboration involves multiple schools and nonprofit organizations, you’re going to need a healthy dose of patience, persistence, and probably some money. This is one of the many reasons why the staying power of the Kelp4Kids after-school program on Peaks Island, run by high school students from Baxter Academy for Technology and Science, is so remarkable. Now in its third year, Kelp4Kids was started by Baxter alum Emma Christman and allows students’ creativity to flourish, while still educating themselves in hands-on, self-motivated ways.
Posted by Neil Arnold & filed under Blog.
I love my job. I especially love the 60% of my time that is allocated to supporting and coordinating the Outer Islands Teaching and Learning Collaborative, or TLC, as we affectionately call it. Monhegan, Matinicus, Frenchboro, the Cranberry Isles, Isle au Haut, Cliff Island, and Massachusetts’ Cuttyhunk are all home to small island schools. This year, the Cranberries have the largest student population of the TLC, with nine students in their K-8 school. A network of one- and two-room schoolhouses in Maine and Massachusetts, the TLC connects teachers and students, both virtually and in person.
Posted by Neil Arnold & filed under In the news.
The Island Institute is excited to be partnering with the nonprofit Rural Aspirations Project to bring together three small, isolated, rural Maine high schools and take an in-depth look at the unique role and purpose of rural education and its connection to rural community, vitality, and sustainability. The schools involved are: Islesboro Central School and Vinalhaven School in Penobscot Bay and East Grand School located in Northern Maine near the Canadian border. Learn more about the “Portrait of a Graduate” project and other grantees in this announcement from the Barr Foundation.
