North
Haven Community School
Maine School Administrative District #7
93 Pulpit Harbor Road
North Haven, Maine 04853
Tel. 207-867-4707
Fax. 207-867-4438
web page: www.northhavencommunityschool.org
e-mail: nhcs@sad7.k12.me.us
Maine School Administrative District #7
93 Pulpit Harbor Road
North Haven, Maine 04853
Tel. 207-867-4707
Fax. 207-867-4438
web page: www.northhavencommunityschool.org
e-mail: nhcs@sad7.k12.me.us
Barney Hallowell,
Principal
Thomas Marx,
Superintendent
School
Profile 2008 - 2009
North Haven Community School is the sole preK-12 school of Maine School
Administrative District # 7. The school is fully accredited by the New
England Association of Schools and Colleges, the only Maine island
school, and one of only a handful of public K-12 schools in New
England, to have earned that distinction. NHCS is
located
on North Haven Island in Penobscot Bay, twelve miles offshore from
Rockland, Maine. The smallest public K-12 school in the
state,
its 2008-9 school population stands at 71 students - 8 in PreK, 16 in
Elementary (grades K - 4), 20 in Middle School (grades 5 - 8), and 27
in High School (grades 9-12). Two tuition students currently
attend NHCS from other districts. The student-teacher ratio
is
about 6:1.The school employs fourteen full-time teachers and a full-time principal. Eight teachers hold Master's Degrees. As well, there are four part-time teaching/consultant positions and a Vocational Education instructor from the Midcoast School of Technology. The district is administered by a part-time superintendent. There is a five person Board of Directors of MSAD #7, elected annually at the Town Meeting for 1-3 year terms. The annual operating budget for SY 2008-9 is approximately $1.6 million
The Island: North Haven Island is approximately nine miles long by three miles at its widest point. The population of 350 year-round residents swells to more than 1500 at the height of the summer season. The island is served by a Maine State ferry out of Rockland, Maine. There are three ferry runs a day. The seventeen car, 250 passenger ferry, Capt. Neil Burgess, takes about 1 hour to make the crossing of Penobscot Bay between North Haven and Rockland.
The Island Economy: The economy of the island is based largely on the summer resident and boating populations. While the school is the island’s single largest employer, boat building and maintenance, the building trades, caretaking and lobster fishing are the principal means of employment. Other service businesses, the grocery store, and some summer shops and restaurants account for other full and part-time employment.
The School Facility: In September 2008, NHCS students and staff moved into a new, $8.13 million school building, The new 22,000 sq. ft. building is highly energy efficient with solar panels to generate electricity and produce hot water for the heating system. The new facility has a regulation-size basketball court, a library, kitchen, fitness room, and science lab. There is a separate special projects workshop that houses the vocational program. A 50 passenger handicapped-accessible school bus, a smaller, 20 passenger minibus, and a student-designed and modified electric VW van provide for the school's transportation needs.
The School Calendar and Schedule: There are 175 student days (and 181 teacher days) on the 2008-2009 school calendar. The school day runs from 8 a.m. until 3:05 p.m. on Monday through Thursday, and 8 a.m. to 12 noon on Friday (to accommodate student and teacher needs for medical appointments, athletic team trips and weekend travel).
The School Curriculum and Program: North Haven Community School offers a full elementary, middle and high school curriculum, including special education and an applied technology program, Music, computer technology, physical education, art, photography, drama, guidance, and foreign language are provided by teachers in those specialty areas. There is a privately-funded North Haven Arts and Enrichment program that augments and enriches the core curriculum with instruction, assemblies, residencies, workshops and performances by a variety of artists, speakers, craftspeople and performers at school and at Waterman’s Community Center, with a 136 seat theater, downtown.
Class groupings are heterogeneous, and, generally, consecutive classes are grouped together. The average combined class at NHCS is about 10 students. Kindergarten students attend school from 8:20 AM - 12 N for the first two trimesters, and a full day in the final trimester, The certified pre-K program meets four mornings a week at Waterman’s Community Center. Fifteen percent of NHCS students are special needs children. Most are mainstreamed in their regular classrooms, and receive support services from a full-time special education coordinator/teacher and a reading specialist.
Co- and Extracurricular Activities: The school provides some co-curricular and extracurricular activities. There is a school band and chorus. The high school students publish a school yearbook - The Pilot - annually. There are drama programs for grades K-12, and several major productions annually. Several electives are offered to high school students each trimester such as art and photography, applied technology, computer applications, boatbuilding, college writing, cetology, and community service. There is a limited offering of sports teams, some combined with Vinalhaven, our neighboring island’s school. In the fall, there is cross-country and soccer. In the winter, the North Haven boys and girls "Hawk" squads represent NHCS in Class D West basketball competition. Tennis is offered as a club activity in the spring. The rowing team participates year-round in New England Youth Rowing Association events and has won several NEYRA championships. The school participates in Kieve's Leadership School, TRIBES, CREST, Student Council, the Tour de Sol, and Knowledge Fair. The teaching staff has been actively involved in the Island Institute's Island Schools Program for many years, and participates in partnerships with Bowdoin College and L’Ecole La Source in Meudon, France.
Graduation Requirements: A minimum total of 25 credits is required for graduation from NHCS. Starting in grade 9, students must earn 4 credits of English, 3 each in Math, Science, and Social Studies (including 1 in U. S. History in grades 11-12), 2 in a foreign language, 1 each in Fine Arts, Health, and Computer Proficiency, .25 credit yearly for Knowledge Fair and 2 in Physical Education to graduate, Students may acquire a maximum of 2 credits for community service work. The school uses a variety of alternative means of assessment including portfolios, projects, presentations and performances. Seniors are required to present their cumulative high school portfolios to a review panel during their final trimester in order to qualify for graduation.
Assessment and Grading: While letter and numerical grades are not used in grades K - 6, letter grades are used in grades 7 - 12, and are entered on students' high school transcripts. A letter grade of A is the equivalent of 90-100; B, of 80-89; C, of 70-79; and D, of 65-69. No credit ("NC") is recorded for work below D (below 65). A narrative assessment is included for each course on a student’s trimester Progress Report, and on mid-trimester reports. An Honor Roll is announced for each trimester, and yearly. "High Honors" recognizes students who receive all A's in their full-credit courses. "Honors" is awarded to students who have received all A's and B's in their full-credit courses.
School Performance: NHCS has been the recipient of several Maine Department of Education Innovative Education Grants for curriculum development and school restructuring. It has been designated as a Consistently High Performing School on the basis of student performance on the Maine Educational Assessment by the Maine Department of Education. NHCS was the subject of Tom Gjelten's, Schooling in Isolated Communities. North Haven Arts and Enrichment, a private 501(c)(3) foundation that provides financial support for art instruction and enrichment programs at NHCS, has been cited by state and national foundations for the school and community's partnership in the arts, and its drama program was featured on CBS Sunday Morning. Islands, a student and community created musical, was performed at the New Victory Theater in New York City in 2001, and shown on Maine and National Public Television. Milk Man, a ballet adapted by NHCS music/drama teacher Courtney Naliboff won international acclaim and was featured on Maine Public Radio. The school’s drama students have won individual and cast awards at the MPA Drama Festival, and its cross country and basketball teams have qualified recently for post season competitions. NHCS was featured as a “Cool School” for its place-based, experiential curriculum and program in the Spring 2008 issue of Edutopia Magazine, a publication of the George Lucas Educational Foundation.
NHCS has had almost a zero dropout rate, and 100% graduation rate, for over twenty years. Daily attendance averages about 93%. In the past fifteen years, approx. 80% of its graduates have gone on to post secondary education including Bowdoin College, Rochester Institute of Technology, College of the Atlantic, and the University of Maine system. NHCS graduates have received degrees recently from Colorado College, Bowdoin College, and Brown University. NHCS juniors have scored among the top ten high schools in the State on the mandated SAT the past three years.
OUR MISSION
IS TO EDUCATE, EMPOWER AND CHALLENGE STUDENTS TO REALIZE THEIR
FULL POTENTIAL, AS INDIVIDUALS
AND AS CITIZENS OF THE WORLD,
AND TO DEVELOP A LIFE-LONG THIRST FOR KNOWLEDGE.
Competence, Compassion, Challenge and Community
AND AS CITIZENS OF THE WORLD,
AND TO DEVELOP A LIFE-LONG THIRST FOR KNOWLEDGE.
Competence, Compassion, Challenge and Community
View from walkway .
Hawk Logo on new gym floor.
Rowing Team on Thoroughfare
2009 School Wide Photo