JMG president feels program is ideal for SAD 46

By Mike Lange
Staff Writer

    DEXTER — During periods of tight budgets, school districts are always looking for additional funding sources without imposing a greater burden on taxpayers.
    So it was no surprise that SAD 46 was pleased to learn that the Harold Alfond Foundation was awarding a challenge grant to Jobs for Maine Graduates (JMG) to expand its program to Dexter Regional High School.

    A $300,000 grant would fund the program for up to three years for DRHS and Lawrence High School in Fairfield; and if JMG proved its worth, the local cost to keep it running would be minimal.
    That was the message brought to the SAD 46 board of directors last week by JMG President Craig Larrabee. “This program does not replace anything you’re currently offering,” Larrabee said, “but complements things you’re already doing.”
    The JMG philosophy centers on mentoring and plenty of one-on-one instruction from the specialists who teach the program. It also offers a venue for students to interact with local employers and community-based organizations.
    Larrabee said that the average JMG student comes from an “economically-disadvantaged household who may not be doing well academically. But we don’t like the term ‘at risk.’ Any student can be ‘at risk,’ depending on what happens on any given day.”
    Larrabee cited statistics that showed more Maine JMG students graduate from high school in four years (90 percent) than traditional students (84 percent) and the number of JMG students pursuing postsecondary education has risen from 33 percent to 52 percent in the last 10 years.
    The instructors’ salary and benefits are paid by JMG, not the local school districts, although Larrabee stressed that they “should feel that they’re part of your faculty. They’ll have the same duties as a regular teacher and a schedule very similar to the school calendar.”
    The only difference is that JMG has programs that operate during the summer, so the teacher’s vacation time will be different than the district’s schedule, Larrabee explained.
    The JMG CEO urged the school to consider hiring an instructor as soon as possible, if the program is approved, so they can “hit the ground running” before the end of the school year. “That way, we can be ready for the new school year,” Larrabee said.
    The board will make a decision at their April 2 meeting on whether to accept the funding and add the JMG program.
    JMG programs are already in place at Foxcroft Academy, Penquis Valley High School and Greenville Consolidated School.
    In other business brought up at the board meeting, Dexter Regional High School Principal Stephen Bell announced that “Shadowing Day” at DHRS is scheduled for Harmony and Athens schoolchildren on April 7, the day before Parents’ Night. This gives junior high school youngsters a preview of DHRS and an opportunity to meet the school staff.
    “It will be a little different this year since the Class of 2018 will be the first ones to graduate with a standards-based diploma,” Bell said. Instead of the standard question-and-answer session for parents of children entering high school, there will be a presentation on the standards-based testing “and what they’re (the students) going to experience for the next four years.”
    Bell also said that the curriculum committee has been holding meetings on a new five-block scheduling program instead of the current four-block timetable. “The leadership team is solidly behind it, and the staff took a vote and they’re 95 percent in favor of it. So it looks like its heading in the right direction,” said the principal.
    He plans to make a full presentation to the board at its April meeting.