Foxcroft Academy turns 200

DOVER-FOXCROFT — For two centuries now, Foxcroft Academy has served as the secondary educational institution for the local community, being founded only a few years after Maine became the nation’s 23rd state. 

Exactly 200 years to the day, Foxcroft Academy kicked off its Bicentennial with a Tuesday morning assembly in the gym. 

Head of School Arnold Shorey began the event by saying that Tuesday, Jan 31, 2023 was the official 200th birth of Foxcroft Academy. He said James S. Holmes and citizens petitioned the state and Foxcroft Academy became the very first school in Maine’s history to receive its charter. 

“It’s truly remarkable for an institution to say it’s 200 years old,” Shorey said. “For me it speaks to a great motto that stands the test of time and a successful governance structure dedicated to students’ success and a strong sense of community.”

He said the motto “Knowledge is power” remains unchanged in two centuries. In the 1820s, knowledge was gained by reading books, texts and newspapers and a challenge was to be able to learn to read.

“Today the challenge is not where to find the reading material but to determine what is true knowledge and not fiction,” Shorey said. “In all cases, knowledge is power is still the mantra that is the basis of student success.”

He explained that Foxcroft Academy governance is provided by a board of trustees, with members selected for the knowledge they bring to the position. The school contracts with RSU 68 to serve as the secondary school for Charleston, Dover-Foxcroft, Monson and Sebec, an agreement that runs through 2034.

Shorey said community support has been vital for 200 years and a celebration of the bicentennial is a celebration of community.

“As a community, we celebrate our differences and learn from each other. Students at Foxcroft Academy have the distinct opportunity to build relationships with students from all over the world,” he said, pointing out the wall of flags representing the nations where the student body hails from. 

“I am proud to say that our motto ‘Knowledge is Power,’ trustee leadership, and the amazing community that FA is part of contributed significantly to the first 200 years of Foxcroft Academy. You might ask ‘what about the next 200 years?’ I think the last line of the vision captures Foxcroft Academy’s future ‘whether our students come from Central Maine or around the world, we celebrate diversity, and pledge to maintain our focus on educational excellence for all.’”

Board of Trustees Vice President Ethan Annis, a 2003 Foxcroft Academy graduate, said planning began more than five years ago. He said the Bicentennial Committee will hold events throughout the upcoming year.

Annis, a 2003 graduate of Foxcroft Academy, mentioned his wife, parents, a grandfather and a great-grandmother (Class of 1912) are all alumni of the school. He said his children will be 2029 and 2031 graduates.

“Foxcroft Academy, for all of these 200 years, has been the center, the heartbeat if you will, of the surrounding communities,” Maine Department of Education Commissioner Pender Makin said. She said the school is not simply the buildings that have stood over the year, but the people and the tradition passed down.

Student Council President senior Lauren Martin said she will soon be a fourth generation Foxcroft Academy graduate. “Growing up, I have always referred to this school as a second home and I am fortunate to have my high school career within these four walls,” Martin said.

“Foxcroft Academy has allowed all of us to pursue our education, passion, and dreams,” she said. “It has provided us with the foundation for a successful future while giving us lifelong memories. The levels of educational programs empower students in the classrooms to their fullest potential.”

Town Manager Jack Clukey, a member of the Foxcroft Academy Class of 1988, said the school was founded three years after Maine became a state and nearly 100 years before the towns of Dover and Foxcroft joined together. Clukey said residents took education seriously two centuries ago and “since 1823, Foxcroft Academy and the community have never looked back.”  

“Pony Pride didn’t just come about yesterday when a team won a big game or even last fall when another gold ball was added to the trophy case,” he said. “Pony pride is 200 years old and each accomplishment by you the students just keeps adding to that.”

Clukey said as town manager he cannot emphasize how important the school, not just Foxcroft Academy but RSU 68, is to the community because it helps bring people and industry to town.

He said the school values community service and the region “is very fortunate that Foxcroft Academy instills these values as part of its educational requirements.”

Foxcroft Academy has thought outside the box when thinking of giving back, as Clukey said about a decade ago the school and community partnered to create the Foxcroft Youth Sports program.

The Honorable Kevin Stitham, past president and secretary of trustees, current honorary trustee and a 1970 graduate, shared from his “sack of stories” spanning 200 years of school history.

“The 200-year lesson of Foxcroft Academy (is) a student succeeds here as long as they make one true and strong connection,” Stitham said. “It could be a subject, an activity or a teacher, or really anyone here.”

He said thankfully most students make many connections during their time at Foxcroft Academy.

“All that life is does not wait to start until after we leave Foxcroft Academy. The truth is life came right through the doors when we headed in on our first day,” Stitham said. “It stayed with us while we were here and it walked right out the door with us after our last day here.”

“We each leave behind the memory of who we were while we were here,” he said.  ‘Those memories are a bit true and a bit not true, but that isn’t the point. The point simply is that those memories are as real as they can be to each of us.”

Stitham said Tuesday is the first day of the third century of Foxcroft Academy and his wish is the school and communities never lose sight of helping all students, including those who color inside the line, just outside the line, way outside the line and those who see no lines at all.